EXE files on my Mac

[BlueMacawBird]

I have found a large number of what I'll call .exe files on my Mac. They are in a folder called libexec, under usr. See the attached screen shot. While the files do not display an actual file extension, the icons are just a black rectangle with exe in the upper left corner. Get Info describes them as Unix executable files which is reassuring.

I became suspicious when I found my machine (in this case, an M2 Pro Mac Studio) running an awful resource hog named diskimagesiod. Following the process in Activity Monitor led to the folder described above.

I have three primary machines (the Studio discussed above, a Mac Mini M4, and a MBP 16" M1Pro). All of them have these files on them. All of these machines are running MacOS 15.3.2

So, are these files a legitimate part of MacOS or are they malware? I'm coming to the conclusion that they are legitimate, but I had not seen them before. The only security I run beyond native MacOS defenses is Malwarebytes (free version with limited functionality) and Little Snitch.

Thanks,

John

 

[chrfr]

They're all normal parts of macOS.

 

[ipaqrat]

"EXEC" files are UNIX executables, not windows ".EXE" executables. Generally, a Windows .exe in the normal MacOS file system will display the blank-page icon, and will be inert if you try to launch it.

FYI, Among linux and unix files, that "d" at the end of a filename typically stands for "Daemon", a style of executable that is or supports runnable app/services.

 

[bogdanw]

I became suspicious when I found my machine (in this case, an M2 Pro Mac Studio) running an awful resource hog named diskimagesiod.

From the manual (man diskimagesiod in Terminal):
"diskimagesiod - Handles I/O for disk images
diskimagesiod manages attached disk images, and is part of DiskImages2 framework"

 

[BlueMacawBird]

Thanks to everyone for responding. I thought the files were normal MacOS but wanted to hear from the community about them.