MRT RAM consumption issue - Catalina

[singyuk]

Two weeks ago, MRT start popping up on my activity monitor and used up so much RAM and my disk space on every bootup. It pops right back up no matter how much time I force quit. Does anyone know how to disable the MRT? I cannot find the MRT.app in CoreServices folder. Please help

 

[UtterDisbelief]

Two weeks ago, MRT start popping up on my activity monitor and used up so much RAM and my disk space on every bootup. It pops right back up no matter how much time I force quit. Does anyone know how to disable the MRT? I cannot find the MRT.app in CoreServices folder. Please help

Protecting against malware in macOS

In macOS, Apple protects against malware using XProtect and the Malware Removal Tool (MRT), and updates these tools automatically.

support.apple.com

 

[singyuk]

Protecting against malware in macOS

In macOS, Apple protects against malware using XProtect and the Malware Removal Tool (MRT), and updates these tools automatically.

support.apple.com

Thank you for your reply. It says malware detection launches a series of steps over the next seconds, hours, and days. I cannot work on my things when MRT keeps eating up my RAM and Disk space

 

[pastrychef]

Two weeks ago, MRT start popping up on my activity monitor and used up so much RAM and my disk space on every bootup. It pops right back up no matter how much time I force quit. Does anyone know how to disable the MRT? I cannot find the MRT.app in CoreServices folder. Please help

What happens if you kill the MTR process from Activity Monitor?

Have you tried removing Symantec? That causes more problems than it helps.

There are a lot of Google Chrome processes (backup and sync?). Is this intended?

 

[singyuk]

What happens if you kill the MTR process from Activity Monitor?

Have you tried removing Symantec? That causes more problems than it helps.

There are a lot of Google Chrome processes (backup and sync?). Is this intended?

Thank you for your reply, if I kill the MTR, it pops back on the list in 3secs. Symantec and Google Chrome have no problem at all before the MTR issue.

 

[singyuk]

Just that it almost used up all my RAM and also my Disk space. The OS is getting laggy and glitchy, I cannot do my work on it.

 

[UtterDisbelief]

Thank you for your reply, if I kill the MTR, it pops back on the list in 3secs. Symantec and Google Chrome have no problem at all before the MTR issue.

It sounds like MRT is reacting to something in your system. Google Chrome is known for getting everywhere.

As @pastrychef says, try removing these apps until MRT settles down. Then you'll know if it is something else.

 

[pastrychef]

Check to see what you have in:

/System/Library/LaunchAgents/
/System/Library/LaunchDaemons/
/Library/LaunchAgents/
/Library/LaunchDaemons/
~/Library/LaunchAgents/

If you have malware, these are the most common places they will reside.

With Catalina and APFS, there's really no need for anti-virus software. The system files are stored on a read-only partition. Whatever malware users encounter are probably installed by the users themselves. These are trojans, not viruses. No anti-virus can protect users from themselves. Running anti-virus software will only eat CPU cycles and RAM because of the background processes they run.

 

[pastrychef]

Macs can get viruses, but do Macs need antivirus software?

Wondering if you need antivirus for Mac? Macs can get viruses and there are protections in macOS to keep you safe - but it's wise to extend the protection.

www.macworld.co.uk

 

[pastrychef]

It sounds like MRT is reacting to something in your system.

The more I think about it, the more I'm leaning towards something Chrome is doing. If you look at his processes, there are A LOT of Chrome processes. It might be fighting with MTR and replacing whatever MTR is removing thereby causing an endless loop.