Although there is less malware in macOS computers if you do not install unauthorized applications, you still maybe encounter malware from the internet when you are using a mac computer. This article will tell you how to identify malware in macOS using the macOS activity monitor.
1. How To Identify Malware In Activity Monitor macOS.
- Activity Monitor is a built-in macOS utility that displays information about the processes and applications running on your system. You can use it to identify malware on your Mac by following these steps.
- Open Activity Monitor by searching for it in Spotlight or by navigating to the Applications > Utilities folder.
- Click the “CPU” tab at the top of the Activity Monitor window to display the CPU usage information.
- Click the column %CPU or CPU Time to sort the processes by CPU usage.
- Look for any processes that are using a high amount of CPU resources, especially if they are unfamiliar or seem suspicious.
- If you find a suspicious process, select it and click on the “i” button at the top left corner of the Activity Monitor window to view more details about the process.
- Check the “Process Name“, “Process ID“, and “Path” fields to see if the process is associated with a legitimate application or if it is running from an unknown location.
- If the process appears to be malware, you can force quit it by clicking on the “X” button at the top left corner of the Activity Monitor window.
- To remove the malware completely, you should also run a malware scanner or antivirus software to scan your system for any remaining malware or viruses.
- Remember to be cautious when force quitting processes in Activity Monitor, as some legitimate processes may also use a high amount of CPU resources. It is always best to do research and consult with experts before taking any action.
2. Some Anti-virus Applications For macOS.
- Malwarebytes for Mac – This software is designed to detect and remove malware, adware, and other potentially unwanted programs.
- Bitdefender Antivirus for Mac – This software provides real-time protection against malware, phishing attempts, and other online threats.
- Norton 360 for Mac – This software offers comprehensive protection against malware, viruses, and other online threats, as well as a VPN and password manager.