Groups | Search | Server Info | Keyboard shortcuts | Login | Register [http] [https] [nntp] [nntps]

Groups > comp.sys.mac.system > #67735 > unrolled thread

Process names

Back to article view | Back to comp.sys.mac.system

Contents

  Process names Mickey MacMouse <mickey@mousehouse.com> - 2014-12-20 14:30 +1300
    Re: Process names Jolly Roger <jollyroger@pobox.com> - 2014-12-20 01:43 +0000
    Re: Process names JF Mezei <jfmezei.spamnot@vaxination.ca> - 2014-12-19 21:15 -0500
    Re: Process names Mickey MacMouse <mickey@mousehouse.com> - 2014-12-20 18:17 +1300
      Re: Process names Jolly Roger <jollyroger@pobox.com> - 2014-12-20 05:59 +0000
      Re: Process names Martin Frost me at invalid stanford daht edu <nospam@stanford.edu.invalid> - 2014-12-19 22:38 -0800
        Re: Process names Mickey MacMouse <mickey@mousehouse.com> - 2014-12-20 20:04 +1300
          Re: Process names Siri Crews <chine.bleu@yahoo.com> - 2014-12-19 23:32 -0800
            Re: Process names Mickey MacMouse <mickey@mousehouse.com> - 2014-12-23 13:10 +1300
              Re: Process names Siri Crews <chine.bleu@yahoo.com> - 2014-12-22 16:24 -0800
                Re: Process names Mickey MacMouse <mickey@mousehouse.com> - 2014-12-23 19:15 +1300
                  Re: Process names Barry Margolin <barmar@alum.mit.edu> - 2014-12-23 11:16 -0500
                    Re: Process names Mickey MacMouse <mickey@mousehouse.com> - 2014-12-24 16:34 +1300
                      Re: Process names Jolly Roger <jollyroger@pobox.com> - 2014-12-24 14:49 +0000
                        Re: Process names Mickey MacMouse <mickey@mousehouse.com> - 2014-12-25 19:31 +1300
    Re: Process names JF Mezei <jfmezei.spamnot@vaxination.ca> - 2014-12-20 03:17 -0500
      Re: Process names Mickey MacMouse <mickey@mousehouse.com> - 2014-12-21 09:48 +1300

#67735 — Process names

I was just looking at Process Viewer to check CPU usage of an app and
spotted a few weird processes popping up and disappearing. These had
strange names like the Apple logo, the infinity sumbol, or a few other
weird characters. I think they were all Root processes. Anyone know
what these are?

[toc] | [next] | [standalone]

#67736

On 2014-12-20, Mickey MacMouse <mickey@mousehouse.com> wrote:
>
> I was just looking at Process Viewer to check CPU usage of an app and
> spotted a few weird processes popping up and disappearing. These had
> strange names like the Apple logo, the infinity sumbol, or a few other
> weird characters. I think they were all Root processes. Anyone know
> what these are?

Can you please post a link to a screen shot so we can see what you are
describing?

How To Post Screen Shots To Newsgroups

You can post a screenshot link using a service like ImageShack.
ImageShack is an easy-to-use free media hosting service. It can be used
to upload images. Registration is not required in order to upload files.

1. On your keyboard, press Command-Shift-4.
2. On your keyboard, press the space bar.
3. Click the window you want. A picture file will appear on the desktop.
4. Go to <http://imageshack.us/> or <http://tinypic.com>.
5. Click Browse, then navigate to and select the picture file.
6. Click "Upload Now".
7. Paste the "Direct link to image" URL in a newsgroup message.

-- 
E-mail sent to this address may be devoured by my ravenous SPAM filter.
I often ignore posts from Google. Use a real news client instead.

JR

[toc] | [prev] | [next] | [standalone]

#67738

On 14-12-19 20:30, Mickey MacMouse wrote:
> 
> I was just looking at Process Viewer to check CPU usage of an app and
> spotted a few weird processes popping up and disappearing. These had
> strange names like the Apple logo, the infinity sumbol, or a few other
> weird characters. 

Activity Monitor, select process,

"Inspect" and in the new window, "Open Files and Ports" and take a
snapshot of that. This will yield clues on what executable it is running
and what data files it has (along with a whole bunch of other system files).

[toc] | [prev] | [next] | [standalone]

#67740

In article <201220141430104225%mickey@mousehouse.com>, Mickey MacMouse
<mickey@mousehouse.com> wrote:

> I was just looking at Process Viewer to check CPU usage of an app and
> spotted a few weird processes popping up and disappearing. These had
> strange names like the Apple logo, the infinity sumbol, or a few other
> weird characters. I think they were all Root processes. Anyone know
> what these are?

I was wrong. They are so quick to appear and disappear that I thought I
had read them as root. They are instead ??? user. It is tricky to get a
screengrab of one due to the speed and being random. I did get one as
shown in the top entry of this screengrab.
http://s12.postimg.org/aspu6wkgd/Process_Viewer.jpg
Most are single character names. A few have been two to three
characters. They could just be artefacts of Process Viewer being too
slow to retrieve all the information as with the impossible CPU
percentage. It is a slow old G3 CRT iMac.

[toc] | [prev] | [next] | [standalone]

#67741

On 2014-12-20, Mickey MacMouse <mickey@mousehouse.com> wrote:
> In article <201220141430104225%mickey@mousehouse.com>, Mickey MacMouse
><mickey@mousehouse.com> wrote:
>
>> I was just looking at Process Viewer to check CPU usage of an app and
>> spotted a few weird processes popping up and disappearing. These had
>> strange names like the Apple logo, the infinity sumbol, or a few other
>> weird characters. I think they were all Root processes. Anyone know
>> what these are?
>
> I was wrong. They are so quick to appear and disappear that I thought I
> had read them as root. They are instead ??? user. It is tricky to get a
> screengrab of one due to the speed and being random. I did get one as
> shown in the top entry of this screengrab.
> http://s12.postimg.org/aspu6wkgd/Process_Viewer.jpg
> Most are single character names. A few have been two to three
> characters. They could just be artefacts of Process Viewer being too
> slow to retrieve all the information as with the impossible CPU
> percentage. It is a slow old G3 CRT iMac.

That is peculiar.

1. What version Mac OS X are you running?

2. Do any of these processes show up in the listing you get when you
enter this command in terminal?:

ps awux

3. When did you first notice this issue?

-- 
E-mail sent to this address may be devoured by my ravenous SPAM filter.
I often ignore posts from Google. Use a real news client instead.

JR

[toc] | [prev] | [next] | [standalone]

#67742

Mickey MacMouse <mickey@mousehouse.com> writes:

> In article <201220141430104225%mickey@mousehouse.com>, Mickey MacMouse
> <mickey@mousehouse.com> wrote:
> 
> > I was just looking at Process Viewer to check CPU usage of an app and
> > spotted a few weird processes popping up and disappearing. These had
> > strange names like the Apple logo, the infinity sumbol, or a few other
> > weird characters. I think they were all Root processes. Anyone know
> > what these are?
> 
> I was wrong. They are so quick to appear and disappear that I thought I
> had read them as root. They are instead ??? user. It is tricky to get a
> screengrab of one due to the speed and being random. I did get one as
> shown in the top entry of this screengrab.
> http://s12.postimg.org/aspu6wkgd/Process_Viewer.jpg
> Most are single character names. A few have been two to three
> characters. They could just be artefacts of Process Viewer being too
> slow to retrieve all the information as with the impossible CPU
> percentage. It is a slow old G3 CRT iMac.

I don't know what Process Viewer is or where it comes from, but here's
a guess at what might be happening.

Perhaps you're running Process Viewer on a version of MacOS X that is
newer than the version your Process Viewer was built for, with the
result being that it's looking at incorrect kernel locations for data.

Martin

[toc] | [prev] | [next] | [standalone]

#67743

In article <myh9wqesgk.fsf@Sunburn.Stanford.EDU>, Martin Frost me at
invalid stanford daht edu <nospam@stanford.edu.invalid> wrote:

> Mickey MacMouse <mickey@mousehouse.com> writes:
> 
> > In article <201220141430104225%mickey@mousehouse.com>, Mickey MacMouse
> > <mickey@mousehouse.com> wrote:
> > 
> > > I was just looking at Process Viewer to check CPU usage of an app and
> > > spotted a few weird processes popping up and disappearing. These had
> > > strange names like the Apple logo, the infinity sumbol, or a few other
> > > weird characters. I think they were all Root processes. Anyone know
> > > what these are?
> > 
> > I was wrong. They are so quick to appear and disappear that I thought I
> > had read them as root. They are instead ??? user. It is tricky to get a
> > screengrab of one due to the speed and being random. I did get one as
> > shown in the top entry of this screengrab.
> > http://s12.postimg.org/aspu6wkgd/Process_Viewer.jpg
> > Most are single character names. A few have been two to three
> > characters. They could just be artefacts of Process Viewer being too
> > slow to retrieve all the information as with the impossible CPU
> > percentage. It is a slow old G3 CRT iMac.
> 
> I don't know what Process Viewer is or where it comes from, but here's
> a guess at what might be happening.
> 
> Perhaps you're running Process Viewer on a version of MacOS X that is
> newer than the version your Process Viewer was built for, with the
> result being that it's looking at incorrect kernel locations for data.
> 
> Martin

Process Viewer is the Apple's own app that is installed in the
Utilities folder when installing OS X. They changed the name of the app
in later OS versions.

[toc] | [prev] | [next] | [standalone]

#67744

> > > I was wrong. They are so quick to appear and disappear that I thought I
> > > had read them as root. They are instead ??? user. It is tricky to get a
> > > screengrab of one due to the speed and being random. I did get one as
> > > shown in the top entry of this screengrab.
> > > http://s12.postimg.org/aspu6wkgd/Process_Viewer.jpg

MacOSX allows file names like that, but I've never heard of anything from Apple 
running with a name like that. User ??? means the uid isn't a defined on your 
Mac: unix allows you to use uids that are undefined to a username, but it's not 
normal. This can happen for things like cp -p, tar -x -p, or running from a 
network volume with different usernames.

It looks highly suspiciuous to me, like you've picked up a parasite on your 
journeys through the intertubeworks.

I would suggest disconnecting your Mac from everything else, than find out 
what's starting the process, disable it, then hunt around the internet for to 
see if it's reported as malware.

With the activity monitor you can double click a process to inspect it and then 
look through the open files tab. With Termminal you can use ps -ajx to get the 
same process list.
    while true
    do
        echo =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
        ps -ajx
        sleep 1
    done
will fill you Terminal with process status every second. Once you see something 
suspicious, you can hit Control-C until it stops. The information is now fixed 
on the Terminal until you clear it, so you can easily copy and paste suspicious 
lines to a text edittor. This is easier than trying to get screen grab at just 
the right moment.

You can use the Terminal for other unix commands like lsof and netstat to track 
down suspicious activity.

> Process Viewer is the Apple's own app that is installed in the
> Utilities folder when installing OS X. They changed the name of the app
> in later OS versions.

Activity Monitor or Process Viewer is a GUI version of the unix top command.

-- 
:-<> Siri Seal of Disavowal #000-001. Disavowed. Denied. Deleted.
'I desire mercy, not sacrifice.'
Icke's razor: Given two equally plausible explanations, choose the weirder.
Be sure not to operate heavy machinery whilst on usenet.

[toc] | [prev] | [next] | [standalone]

#67763

In article
<chine.bleu-AA3959.23323819122014@news.eternal-september.org>, Siri
Crews <chine.bleu@yahoo.com> wrote:

> > > > I was wrong. They are so quick to appear and disappear that I thought I
> > > > had read them as root. They are instead ??? user. It is tricky to get a
> > > > screengrab of one due to the speed and being random. I did get one as
> > > > shown in the top entry of this screengrab.
> > > > http://s12.postimg.org/aspu6wkgd/Process_Viewer.jpg
> 
> MacOSX allows file names like that, but I've never heard of anything from
> Apple 
> running with a name like that. User ??? means the uid isn't a defined on your 
> Mac: unix allows you to use uids that are undefined to a username, but it's
> not 
> normal. This can happen for things like cp -p, tar -x -p, or running from a 
> network volume with different usernames.
> 
> It looks highly suspiciuous to me, like you've picked up a parasite on your 
> journeys through the intertubeworks.
> 
> I would suggest disconnecting your Mac from everything else, than find out 
> what's starting the process, disable it, then hunt around the internet for to 
> see if it's reported as malware.
> 
> With the activity monitor you can double click a process to inspect it and
> then 
> look through the open files tab. 

Process Viewer with early Mac OS versions doesn't do that. All it does
is display the information in the screengrab. Doubleclicking does not
do anything and there is no more information available from menu
options.



> With Termminal you can use ps -ajx to get
> the 
> same process list.
>     while true
>     do
>         echo =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
>         ps -ajx
>         sleep 1
>     done
> will fill you Terminal with process status every second. Once you see
> something 
> suspicious, you can hit Control-C until it stops. The information is now
> fixed 
> on the Terminal until you clear it, so you can easily copy and paste
> suspicious 
> lines to a text edittor. This is easier than trying to get screen grab at
> just 
> the right moment.
> 
> You can use the Terminal for other unix commands like lsof and netstat to
> track 
> down suspicious activity.

These processes are very quick. With Process Viewer set to 5 second
updates they appear and then disappear at the next update. There is no
real way to track them or see the information. They also seem to be
random and it is not possible to tell when they appear. 

They may not even exist and be just artefacts from a slow computer. The
real process underneath in Process View sometimes has the same CPU and
RAM data.

[toc] | [prev] | [next] | [standalone]

#67764

In article <231220141310091579%mickey@mousehouse.com>,
 Mickey MacMouse <mickey@mousehouse.com> wrote:

> In article
> <chine.bleu-AA3959.23323819122014@news.eternal-september.org>, Siri
> Crews <chine.bleu@yahoo.com> wrote:
> 
> > > > > I was wrong. They are so quick to appear and disappear that I thought 
> > > > > I
> > > > > had read them as root. They are instead ??? user. It is tricky to get 
> > > > > a
> > > > > screengrab of one due to the speed and being random. I did get one as
> > > > > shown in the top entry of this screengrab.
> > > > > http://s12.postimg.org/aspu6wkgd/Process_Viewer.jpg
> > 
> > MacOSX allows file names like that, but I've never heard of anything from
> > Apple 
> > running with a name like that. User ??? means the uid isn't a defined on 
> > your 
> > Mac: unix allows you to use uids that are undefined to a username, but it's
> > not 
> > normal. This can happen for things like cp -p, tar -x -p, or running from a 
> > network volume with different usernames.
> > 
> > It looks highly suspiciuous to me, like you've picked up a parasite on your 
> > journeys through the intertubeworks.
> > 
> > I would suggest disconnecting your Mac from everything else, than find out 
> > what's starting the process, disable it, then hunt around the internet for 
> > to 
> > see if it's reported as malware.
> > 
> > With the activity monitor you can double click a process to inspect it and
> > then 
> > look through the open files tab. 
> 
> Process Viewer with early Mac OS versions doesn't do that. All it does
> is display the information in the screengrab. Doubleclicking does not
> do anything and there is no more information available from menu
> options.
> 
> 
> 
> > With Termminal you can use ps -ajx to get
> > the 
> > same process list.
> >     while true
> >     do
> >         echo =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
> >         ps -ajx
> >         sleep 1
> >     done
> > will fill you Terminal with process status every second. Once you see
> > something 
> > suspicious, you can hit Control-C until it stops. The information is now
> > fixed 
> > on the Terminal until you clear it, so you can easily copy and paste
> > suspicious 
> > lines to a text edittor. This is easier than trying to get screen grab at
> > just 
> > the right moment.
> > 
> > You can use the Terminal for other unix commands like lsof and netstat to
> > track 
> > down suspicious activity.
> 
> These processes are very quick. With Process Viewer set to 5 second
> updates they appear and then disappear at the next update. There is no
> real way to track them or see the information. They also seem to be
> random and it is not possible to tell when they appear. 
> 
> They may not even exist and be just artefacts from a slow computer. The
> real process underneath in Process View sometimes has the same CPU and
> RAM data.

You can use the Terminal to run shell commands like ps. Their output stays on 
the terminal screen scroll back until you clear it. You can connect ps process 
ids to lsof and then to netstat to get an idea what a process is using. Again 
you can keep that on the scroll back. Once it occurs, Control-C and then look 
back for the information.

-- 
:-<> Siri Seal of Disavowal #000-001. Disavowed. Denied. Deleted.
'I desire mercy, not sacrifice.'
Icke's razor: Given two equally plausible explanations, choose the weirder.
Be sure not to operate heavy machinery whilst on usenet.

[toc] | [prev] | [next] | [standalone]

#67774

In article
<chine.bleu-1BA28B.16242022122014@news.eternal-september.org>, Siri
Crews <chine.bleu@yahoo.com> wrote:
> In article <231220141310091579%mickey@mousehouse.com>,
>  Mickey MacMouse <mickey@mousehouse.com> wrote:
> > In article
> > <chine.bleu-AA3959.23323819122014@news.eternal-september.org>, Siri
> > Crews <chine.bleu@yahoo.com> wrote:
> > 
> > > With Termminal you can use ps -ajx to get
> > > the 
> > > same process list.
> > >     while true
> > >     do
> > >         echo =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
> > >         ps -ajx
> > >         sleep 1
> > >     done
> > > will fill you Terminal with process status every second. Once you see
> > > something 
> > > suspicious, you can hit Control-C until it stops. The information is now
> > > fixed 
> > > on the Terminal until you clear it, so you can easily copy and paste
> > > suspicious 
> > > lines to a text edittor. This is easier than trying to get screen grab at
> > > just 
> > > the right moment.
> > > 
> > > You can use the Terminal for other unix commands like lsof and netstat to
> > > track 
> > > down suspicious activity.
> > 
> > These processes are very quick. With Process Viewer set to 5 second
> > updates they appear and then disappear at the next update. There is no
> > real way to track them or see the information. They also seem to be
> > random and it is not possible to tell when they appear. 
> > 
> > They may not even exist and be just artefacts from a slow computer. The
> > real process underneath in Process View sometimes has the same CPU and
> > RAM data.
> 
> You can use the Terminal to run shell commands like ps. Their output stays on 
> the terminal screen scroll back until you clear it. You can connect ps
> process 
> ids to lsof and then to netstat to get an idea what a process is using. Again 
> you can keep that on the scroll back. Once it occurs, Control-C and then look 
> back for the information.

Thanks for the tip. Terminal doesn't like that 'while do' script. The
ps command works but is difficult to catch one of the werid processes.

In Process Viewer I did manage to click on one of the '???' user
processes which had a blank name and the bottom panel displays this
information

Process ID: 536
Parent Process ID: -1478489552 ((null))
Process Group ID: -1559822204
Saved User ID: -1879010612 (???)

A process with the Yen symbol as the name also had similar information
of negative numbers.

[toc] | [prev] | [next] | [standalone]

#67777

In article <231220141915359669%mickey@mousehouse.com>,
 Mickey MacMouse <mickey@mousehouse.com> wrote:

> In article
> <chine.bleu-1BA28B.16242022122014@news.eternal-september.org>, Siri
> Crews <chine.bleu@yahoo.com> wrote:
> > In article <231220141310091579%mickey@mousehouse.com>,
> >  Mickey MacMouse <mickey@mousehouse.com> wrote:
> > > In article
> > > <chine.bleu-AA3959.23323819122014@news.eternal-september.org>, Siri
> > > Crews <chine.bleu@yahoo.com> wrote:
> > > 
> > > > With Termminal you can use ps -ajx to get
> > > > the 
> > > > same process list.
> > > >     while true
> > > >     do
> > > >         echo =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
> > > >         ps -ajx
> > > >         sleep 1
> > > >     done
> > > > will fill you Terminal with process status every second. Once you see
> > > > something 
> > > > suspicious, you can hit Control-C until it stops. The information is 
> > > > now
> > > > fixed 
> > > > on the Terminal until you clear it, so you can easily copy and paste
> > > > suspicious 
> > > > lines to a text edittor. This is easier than trying to get screen grab 
> > > > at
> > > > just 
> > > > the right moment.
> > > > 
> > > > You can use the Terminal for other unix commands like lsof and netstat 
> > > > to
> > > > track 
> > > > down suspicious activity.
> > > 
> > > These processes are very quick. With Process Viewer set to 5 second
> > > updates they appear and then disappear at the next update. There is no
> > > real way to track them or see the information. They also seem to be
> > > random and it is not possible to tell when they appear. 
> > > 
> > > They may not even exist and be just artefacts from a slow computer. The
> > > real process underneath in Process View sometimes has the same CPU and
> > > RAM data.
> > 
> > You can use the Terminal to run shell commands like ps. Their output stays 
> > on 
> > the terminal screen scroll back until you clear it. You can connect ps
> > process 
> > ids to lsof and then to netstat to get an idea what a process is using. 
> > Again 
> > you can keep that on the scroll back. Once it occurs, Control-C and then 
> > look 
> > back for the information.
> 
> Thanks for the tip. Terminal doesn't like that 'while do' script. The
> ps command works but is difficult to catch one of the werid processes.

You could use "top", which is the Terminal command that Process Viewer 
is similar to.

-- 
Barry Margolin, barmar@alum.mit.edu
Arlington, MA
*** PLEASE post questions in newsgroups, not directly to me ***

[toc] | [prev] | [next] | [standalone]

#67785

In article <barmar-D69A8C.11160223122014@88-209-239-213.giganet.hu>,
Barry Margolin <barmar@alum.mit.edu> wrote:
> 
> You could use "top", which is the Terminal command that Process Viewer 
> is similar to.

I used "top -l2000" and piped the ouput to a text file while watching
Process Viewer for a weird process name. Once one appeared I clicked on
it to get the ID number. I waited a few more Process Viewer updates and
then stopped the Terminal "top" command.

Performing a Find in the text file doesn't find the ID number for the
weird process name from Process Viewer. I tried a few weird processes,
but none turn up in the "top" command's output.

Stranger and stranger.

[toc] | [prev] | [next] | [standalone]

#67801

On 2014-12-24, Mickey MacMouse <mickey@mousehouse.com> wrote:
> In article <barmar-D69A8C.11160223122014@88-209-239-213.giganet.hu>,
> Barry Margolin <barmar@alum.mit.edu> wrote:
>> 
>> You could use "top", which is the Terminal command that Process Viewer 
>> is similar to.
>
> I used "top -l2000" and piped the ouput to a text file while watching
> Process Viewer for a weird process name. Once one appeared I clicked on
> it to get the ID number. I waited a few more Process Viewer updates and
> then stopped the Terminal "top" command.
>
> Performing a Find in the text file doesn't find the ID number for the
> weird process name from Process Viewer. I tried a few weird processes,
> but none turn up in the "top" command's output.
>
> Stranger and stranger.

This is a very old version of Mac OS X, right? It's quite possible
you're just seeing a bug in Process Viewer that causes it to show
processes that aren't actually there.

-- 
E-mail sent to this address may be devoured by my ravenous SPAM filter.
I often ignore posts from Google. Use a real news client instead.

JR

[toc] | [prev] | [next] | [standalone]

#67825

In article <cg023mFtkgjU3@mid.individual.net>, Jolly Roger
<jollyroger@pobox.com> wrote:
> On 2014-12-24, Mickey MacMouse <mickey@mousehouse.com> wrote:
> > In article <barmar-D69A8C.11160223122014@88-209-239-213.giganet.hu>,
> > Barry Margolin <barmar@alum.mit.edu> wrote:
> >> 
> >> You could use "top", which is the Terminal command that Process Viewer 
> >> is similar to.
> >
> > I used "top -l2000" and piped the ouput to a text file while watching
> > Process Viewer for a weird process name. Once one appeared I clicked on
> > it to get the ID number. I waited a few more Process Viewer updates and
> > then stopped the Terminal "top" command.
> >
> > Performing a Find in the text file doesn't find the ID number for the
> > weird process name from Process Viewer. I tried a few weird processes,
> > but none turn up in the "top" command's output.
> >
> > Stranger and stranger.
> 
> This is a very old version of Mac OS X, right? It's quite possible
> you're just seeing a bug in Process Viewer that causes it to show
> processes that aren't actually there.

That was one of my original thoughts. Just artefacts from the slow
computer not being able to retrieve and display the information fast
enough and ending up with a bit of garbage being displayed.

[toc] | [prev] | [next] | [standalone]

#67745

On 14-12-19 20:30, Mickey MacMouse wrote:
> 
> I was just looking at Process Viewer to check CPU usage of an app and
> spotted a few weird processes popping up and disappearing.


What version of OS-X are you running ?

Once the version is known, people here would be able to tell you what
mechanisms exist to launch pocesses in background. For instance, i Snow
Leopard, there is launchd but also older xinit, cron and possibly others.

Once you know what mechanisms exist, you can look at their configs/log
files for tell tale signs of those processes launched by numeric user.

The OS-X version will also determine how users are defined on your
system and what tools you use to get a list of all uid gids that exist
on your system and spot the ones without names associated with them.

[toc] | [prev] | [next] | [standalone]

#67748

In article <54953086$0$54650$c3e8da3$fdf4f6af@news.astraweb.com>, JF
Mezei <jfmezei.spamnot@vaxination.ca> wrote:

> On 14-12-19 20:30, Mickey MacMouse wrote:
> > 
> > I was just looking at Process Viewer to check CPU usage of an app and
> > spotted a few weird processes popping up and disappearing.
> 
> 
> What version of OS-X are you running ?
> 
> Once the version is known, people here would be able to tell you what
> mechanisms exist to launch pocesses in background. For instance, i Snow
> Leopard, there is launchd but also older xinit, cron and possibly others.
> 
> Once you know what mechanisms exist, you can look at their configs/log
> files for tell tale signs of those processes launched by numeric user.
> 
> The OS-X version will also determine how users are defined on your
> system and what tools you use to get a list of all uid gids that exist
> on your system and spot the ones without names associated with them.

Sorry. I thought I had said. It is an old G3 CRT iMac with 10.1 or
maybe 10.2. I can't check right now because it is at different
location.

[toc] | [prev] | [standalone]

Back to top | Article view | comp.sys.mac.system

csiph-web