What may be deleted in the Extensions folder?

[carlsson]

I don't like having things in my system that I don't know what they are. I have googled this but could't find any descent answer.

Do any of you guys know what these files are (found in /Library/Extensions/):

- AppleMobileDevice.kext​

- Dropbox.kext​

Obviously from the Dropbox installation?​

- DymoUsbPrinterClassDriver.kext​

I installed a Dymo labeler a long time ago. Safe to remove?​

- FTDIKext.kext​

- HighPointIOP.kext​

- HighPointRR.kext​

- hp_io_enabler_compound.kext​

I don't have any HP devices.​

- SiLabsUSBDriver64.kext​

- SoftRaid.kext​

There was also a WacomTabletDriver.kext, but I deleted that since I don't use my Wacom tablet for now.

Thanks,
/Andreas

 

[Nermal]

I also have the two HighPoint ones plus SoftRAID and I have no idea why...

 

[frou]

I think Apple ship some third-party kernel extensions as part of the OS.

If we go into System Information.app > Software > Extensions, and sort by the "Obtained from" column (descending), everybody will have at least ~10 non-Apple ones.

 

[mijail]

Not an answer, but reporting after digging a bit into this...

In macOS 12.2, I see that I have a duplicated AppleMobileDevice.kext in both /Library/Extensions and /Library/Apple/System/Library/Extensions.

According to the System Information app, both kexts are version 4.0 and signed by Apple, and they only seem to differ in their last modification date; the /Library/Extensions one from 2019, the other from 22 Jan 2022.

However, a quick look at the plists inside the bundle shows that they are different. Not sure how trustable this is, since an innocent rebuild of the same source will typically cause signature/metadata differences.
The KnockKnock app and friends doesn't even list them.

Even if both seem to be genuine, I guess that having a duplicate kext probably isn't good, so I tried deleting the /Library/Extensions one. Turns out that I can't, it has a com.apple.rootless xattr set, so neither the GUI nor the CLI will touch it. So looks like I would have to follow the SIP rabbit hole to delete the kext...

So, lots of weirdness, but nothing that clearly marks it as evil. I might still dig a bit more, to see if both kexts are really duplicate or whether they get loaded at all (they doesn't seem to).

 

[Tagbert]

Not an answer, but reporting after digging a bit into this...

In macOS 12.2, I see that I have a duplicated AppleMobileDevice.kext in both /Library/Extensions and /Library/Apple/System/Library/Extensions.

According to the System Information app, both kexts are version 4.0 and signed by Apple, and they only seem to differ in their last modification date; the /Library/Extensions one from 2019, the other from 22 Jan 2022.

However, a quick look at the plists inside the bundle shows that they are different. Not sure how trustable this is, since an innocent rebuild of the same source will typically cause signature/metadata differences.
The KnockKnock app and friends doesn't even list them.

Even if both seem to be genuine, I guess that having a duplicate kext probably isn't good, so I tried deleting the /Library/Extensions one. Turns out that I can't, it has a com.apple.rootless xattr set, so neither the GUI nor the CLI will touch it. So looks like I would have to follow the SIP rabbit hole to delete the kext...

So, lots of weirdness, but nothing that clearly marks it as evil. I might still dig a bit more, to see if both kexts are really duplicate or whether they get loaded at all (they doesn't seem to).

I have a pretty generic install that was a new install when I got my MBA. these are the kexts that I show

/Library/Extensions
HighPointIOP.kext by HighPoint Technologies
HighPointRR.kext by HighPoint Technologies
SoftRAID.kext by OWC

/Library/Apple/System/Library/Extensions
AppleKextExcludeList.kext by Apple
AppleMobileDevice.kext by Apple

I suspect that they were all part of the default install. the HighPoint and OWC seem to be RAID drivers.

 

[chabig]

I also have the two HighPoint ones plus SoftRAID and I have no idea why...

Those are shipped by Apple.

 

[chown33]

- FTDIKext.kext​

This is most likely a driver for an FTDI USB-to-serial interface. It's typically used when connecting to devices that use a serial port, such as Arduino boards.

If you're still using an Arduino, or whatever device used an FTDI USB-to-serial interface, then removing it may prove problematic. You should probably refer to the latest Arduino docs for info on connecting to the boards from whatever macOS version you're using.

- SiLabsUSBDriver64.kext​

This appears to be a SiLabs serial driver. For more info, see here:

What is SiLabsUSBDriver.kext?

What is SiLabsUSBDriver.kext? Is this part of the official Yosemite system and if so, how do you know? Where can someone go to find this out from Apple directly? Thanks.

apple.stackexchange.com

Found by searching for: "SiLabsUSBDriver64.kext" (with the quotes)

 

[Gregg2]

I don't like having things in my system that I don't know what they are.

Good luck with that. Did you ever notice how many items are backed up? Many things are hidden, you know. So maybe, "I don't like having things in my system that I can see and don't know what they are." is more appropriate. Even then, if you can figure out what everything else is, kudos to you! Just don't delete something that you can't identify from System.