Can I remove "com.apple.webkit.networking.xpc"?

Question

My MacBook Air purchased 06/2017 has been shutting down unexpectantly and I also get the beachball. Was researching and noted in my firewall I have this WebKit "allowed."  Is this okay? I have no idea what it is and there are many various answers. I am thinking it is part of the computer problem. Can I remove it/is it necessary? I ran EtreCheck today. Thank you for any answers!EtreCheck version: 3.4.6 (460)Report generated 2018-01-14 10:20:02Download EtreCheck from https://etrecheck.comRuntime: 2:49Performance: ExcellentClick the [Lookup] links for more information from Apple Support Communities.Click the [Details] links for more information about that line.Problem: Computer is restartingHardware Information: ⓘ   MacBook Air (13-inch, 2017)   [Technical Specifications] - [User Guide] - [Warranty &amp; Service]   MacBook Air - model: MacBookAir7,2   1 1.8 GHz Intel Core i5 (i5-5350U) CPU: 2-core   8 GB RAM Not upgradeable       BANK 0/DIMM0           4 GB DDR3 1600 MHz ok       BANK 1/DIMM0           4 GB DDR3 1600 MHz ok   Handoff/Airdrop2: supported   Wireless: en0: 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac   Battery: Health &#x3D; Normal - Cycle count &#x3D; 64   iCloud Quota: 102.53 GB availableVideo Information: ⓘ   Intel HD Graphics 6000 - VRAM: 1536 MB       Color LCD 1440 x 900Disk Information: ⓘ   APPLE SSD SM0256G disk0: (251 GB) (Solid State - TRIM: Yes)   [Show SMART report]       EFI (disk0s1 - MS-DOS FAT32) &lt;not mounted&gt; [EFI]: 210 MB       (disk0s2) &lt;not mounted&gt; [APFS Container]: 250.79 GBUSB Information: ⓘ    USB30Bus       Apple Inc. BRCM20702 Hub           Apple Inc. Bluetooth USB Host Controller       Logitech USB ReceiverThunderbolt Information: ⓘ   Apple Inc. thunderbolt_busVirtual disks: ⓘ   Macintosh HD (disk1s1 - APFS) / [Startup]: 250.79 GB (95.20 GB free)       Encrypted: Yes (Unlocked)       Physical disk: disk0s2 250.79 GB (95.20 GB free)   (disk1s2) &lt;not mounted&gt; [Preboot]: 250.79 GB       Physical disk: disk0s2 250.79 GB   (disk1s3) &lt;not mounted&gt; [Recovery]: 250.79 GB       Physical disk: disk0s2 250.79 GB   (disk1s4) /private/var/vm [VM]: 250.79 GB       Physical disk: disk0s2 250.79 GBSystem Software: ⓘ   macOS High Sierra 10.13.2 (17C88) - Time since boot: about one hourGatekeeper: ⓘ   Mac App Store and identified developersKernel Extensions: ⓘ       /Applications/zoom.us.app   [not loaded]   zoom.us.ZoomAudioDevice (1.1 - SDK 10.8) [Lookup]System Launch Agents: ⓘ   [not loaded]   8 Apple tasks   [loaded]   169 Apple tasks   [running]   113 Apple tasksSystem Launch Daemons: ⓘ   [not loaded]   37 Apple tasks   [loaded]   185 Apple tasks   [running]   108 Apple tasksLaunch Agents: ⓘ   [loaded]   com.microsoft.update.agent.plist (Microsoft Corporation - installed 2018-01-07) [Lookup]Launch Daemons: ⓘ   [loaded]   com.adobe.fpsaud.plist (Adobe Systems, Inc. - installed 2017-12-14) [Lookup]   [loaded]   com.microsoft.autoupdate.helper.plist (Microsoft Corporation - installed 2018-01-07) [Lookup]   [loaded]   com.microsoft.office.licensingV2.helper.plist (Microsoft Corporation - installed 2017-06-10) [Lookup]User Login Items: ⓘ   iTunesHelper   Application (Apple, Inc. - installed 2017-12-07)       (/Applications/iTunes.app/Contents/MacOS/iTunesHelper.app)Internet Plug-ins: ⓘ   FlashPlayer-10.6: 28.0.0.137 (installed 2018-01-10) [Lookup]   QuickTime Plugin: 7.7.3 (installed 2017-12-20)   Flash Player: 28.0.0.137 (installed 2018-01-10) [Lookup]User internet Plug-ins: ⓘ   ZoomUsPlugIn: 4.0.36452.0616 (installed 2017-07-04) [Lookup]Safari Extensions: ⓘ   [enabled]   Ebates Cash Back - Ebates Performance Marketing, Inc. - http://ebates.com/ (installed 2018-01-13)   [enabled]   Grammarly for Safari - Grammarly - https://www.grammarly.com (installed 2017-12-30)3rd Party Preference Panes: ⓘ   Flash Player (installed 2017-12-14) [Lookup]Time Machine: ⓘ   Skip System Files: NO   Auto backup: YES   Volumes being backed up:       Macintosh HD: Disk size: 250.79 GB Disk used: 155.59 GB   Destinations:       Seagate Backup Plus Drive [Local]       Total size: 3.00 TB       Total number of backups: 5       Oldest backup: 10/29/17, 6:02 PM       Last backup: 1/9/18, 1:56 PM       Size of backup disk: Excellent           Backup size 3.00 TB &gt; (Disk size 250.79 GB X 3)Top Processes by CPU: ⓘ       68%    com.apple.WebKit.WebContent       13%    WindowServer       12%    mdworker       11%    mdworker       11%    mdworkerTop Processes by Memory: ⓘ   1.24 GB    com.apple.WebKit.WebContent   801 MB     kernel_task   471 MB     com.apple.WebKit.WebContent   265 MB     Safari   218 MB     com.apple.WebKit.WebContentTop Processes by Network Use: ⓘ   Input      Output     Process name   3 MB       152 KB     Mail   936 KB     466 KB     com.apple.WebKit.Networking   762 KB     11 KB      com.apple.WebKit.Networking   371 KB     34 KB      mDNSResponder   9 KB       7 KB       usbmuxdTop Processes by Energy Use: ⓘ    48.66 com.apple.WebKit.WebContent    20.76 Mail    13.88 WindowServer     5.06 com.apple.WebKit.WebContent     4.78 com.apple.WebKit.WebContentVirtual Memory Information: ⓘ   1.46 GB    Available RAM   26 MB      Free RAM   6.54 GB    Used RAM   1.43 GB    Cached files   0 B        Swap UsedSoftware installs (last 30 days): ⓘ   Security Suite: (installed 2018-01-03)   Microsoft AutoUpdate: (installed 2018-01-07)   Microsoft OneNote for Mac: (installed 2018-01-07)   Microsoft Word for Mac: (installed 2018-01-07)   Microsoft Excel for Mac: (installed 2018-01-07)   Microsoft PowerPoint for Mac: (installed 2018-01-07)   Microsoft Outlook for Mac: (installed 2018-01-07)   Adobe Flash Player: (installed 2018-01-10)   Install information may not be complete.Diagnostics Events (last 3 days for minor events): ⓘ   2018-01-14 09:13:00   Last shutdown cause: 3 - Hard shutdown   2018-01-13 17:17:46   Microsoft Word.app Crash [Open]   2018-01-13 06:49:33   DesktopServicesHelper Crash [Open]

dot.com · Accepted Answer

Webkit related stuff is part of Safari (and some other browsers as well). Don&#x27;t remove it. It would appear you probably have a web page that is using lots of CPU due to a movie running or some other CPU intensive task or some HTML code that is not correct. Would suggest you look closely at what you have in browser (how many windows and tabs have you got open for example)? Perhaps quit and restart browser or start all over with a clean browser state (just one tab in one window).You could use Activity Monitor to see which one of your Web pages is using lots of CPU/Memory resources and try and kill that individual process. That will terminate one of the tabs in your browser in case you can&#x27;t figure out which one is causing the problem. Do you know how to use Activity Monitor?Good luck...

Sweetiegirl · Answer

Hello!No, I do not know how to use Activity Monitor. Thank you for asking!  I will leave the WebKit alone then-thank you. It is still shutting down unexpectantly.  I do have several pages "pinned." Could this be a problem?  It really didn&#x27;t start happening until I started using our cable (Spectrum) virus software (which I since removed). I do have the firewall on -is that okay? Do I need an anti-virus program?  Thank you kindly for answering all these questions!

dot.com · Answer

Not sure what you mean by "pinned" - do you mean non-responsive?Virus software on a Mac is a rather difficult thing to answer. Some people treat it with religious zeal and say never-ever-ever do it. Some think it might help. In any event it often slows down or causes problems on the Mac system. It is possible for Mac&#x27;s to get virus problems, but very unlikely. I would suggest looking around here on these discussions and learning more.As far as the firewall being on, are you referring to the Systems Preferences "Security &amp; Privacy" Firewall option? Does your router from your ISP provide any firewall features (most do)? I don&#x27;t have any experience with Spectrum service or their routers, so perhaps someone here who does can comment?In general a firewall is a good idea, but I&#x27;m not a firewall expert, so can&#x27;t really give advice about something I don&#x27;t use. In general firewalls protect you from unwanted inbound connections. For me, network outbound connections that are uncontrolled are more important, so I use a product called LittleSnitch, but it too has it&#x27;s friends and enemies on these discussions. It does create a lot of notifications to you while you&#x27;re first getting it running, but it allows you to create rules on what is allowed and what is not, and that requires some time to research what is and isn&#x27;t a good idea. After you use it a while (hours to days to weeks typically), the number of unwanted notices is minimal.Good luck...

Sweetiegirl · Answer

By pinned, I mean websites on safari, where you can pin them for easy access. Yes, I have firewall on.  I&#x27;m still getting the beach ball and shutdowns.Thank you for your help!  I&#x27;ll keep researching...