AirPort process hogging CPU with VPN present (#2): Fixes

Yesterday we noted an Apple Knowledge Base article documenting an issue where Mac OS X spawns a process entitled "AirPort" that can occupy an inordinate amount of processor resources when certain VPN connections are present.

Apple's solution for the problem is to "make sure your third-party VPN client software is up-to-date" and "contact your network administrator or the manufacturer of your VPN client software." However, many users experiencing this problem are using the latest software offered for their VPN setup.

MacFixIt reader Gary Fong writes:

"A number of our MacBook 2.0GHz laptops are experiencing the Airport Processing hogging CPU issue. We're using the most current version of CheckPoint VPN."

As such, another workaround is as follows:

1. Launch Activity Monitor, located in Applications/Utilities.
2. Click on the process entitled "AirPort," then press the red "Quit Process" button
3. Navigate to /Library/Preferences/SystemConfiguration and delete the file com.apple.airport.preferences.plist

This procedure is generally only effective until a restart.

For more information on quitting problematic processes using Activity Monitor, see this article. For AirPort-related troubleshooting information, see this tutorial.

Feedback? Late-breakers@macfixit.com.

Previous coverage:

• Apple addresses AirPort process hogging CPU under Mac OS X 10.4.8

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