Browser helpers hogging the CPU

QI like to have alternative browsers to Safari, and currently have Opera and Google Chrome installed.

According to Activity Monitor, their ’helpers’ are hogging the CPU, sometimes using over 100%! Are these normal and necessary?

AAsk yourself whether you really need them, or would find a less invasive alternative browser like Firefox to be just as suitable. If you can get rid of the other browsers, that should free up your Mac’s processor and memory capacity.

To remove Opera, you should only need to drag the app from Applications to the Trash. Chrome, however, is a bit more fiddly.

Quit the app, and drag it to the Trash. Then, in Finder, hold and choose Go > Library, and then open the Application Support folder within that location. When Chrome is running, its Helper shouldn’t hog your processor or memory. To remove it, trash its Application Support folder too. Move the folder named Chrome from the Google folder to the Trash. You should then restart, and empty the Trash. That should clear all detritus left by them, although there may still be smaller files left in your user account’s library. Do a final check in Activity Monitor to ensure that there are no processes still running for them. If there are, you may need to hunt those down and remove them too. Modern browsers are hefty and complex. Although it’s often wise to keep one running much of the time, keeping a second open too is likely to adversely affect your Mac’s performance for little benefit.