CoreDuet stuck in my Trash

I did what might not ought to be done and trashed the CoreDuet folder in the /var/db/CoreDuet ... now, I can't delete the folders for "CoreDuet" and "Knowledge", which are both empty. I used Get Info to unlock the CoreDuet folder. The Knowledge folder is not locked and permissions are unknown.


I have restarted my machine twice now, and nothing I do will delete these two folders. I also have CleanMyMac and used it's Trash cleaning function to try and delete, which failed.


I'm open to ideas. I have started searching for something helpful online, to no avail.


I'm guessing the best thing to do is reinstall my system. But if there is a better way, that takes less time, I'm all ears.


The motivation to remove this parasite app, was that even with handoff, etc. turned off, things are painfully slow in email. Touch a key, and it takes 10-20 secs for the spinning ball to stop and let me type another letter/number in. Then after the first two or three times, I can type like normal. I did the restart in safe mode trick, which worked for half a day. I can't expect to do that twice a day to use my computer "normally".


Retina 5K, 27-inch, 2017 iMac

OS Ventura 13.2.1


iMac 27″ 5K, macOS 13.2

Posted on Apr 26, 2023 2:16 PM

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Posted on Apr 26, 2023 2:31 PM

First, there is no reason to ever install or run any 3rd party "cleaning", "optimizing", "speed-up", anti-virus, VPN or security apps on your Mac.  This documents describe what you need to know and do in order to protect your Mac: Effective defenses against malware and other threats - Apple Community and Recognize and avoid phishing messages, phony support calls, and other scams - Apple Support.  


There are no known viruses, i.e. self propagating, for Macs.  There are, however, adware and malware which require the user to install although unwittingly most of the time thru sneaky links, etc.   


Anti Virus developers try to group all types as viruses into their ad campaigns of fear.  They do a poor job of the detecting and isolating the adware and malware.  Since there are no viruses these apps use up a lot of system resources searching for what is non-existent and adversely affect system and app performance.


There is one app, Malwarebytes, which was developed by a long time contributor to these forums and a highly respected member of the computer security community, that is designed solely to seek out adware and known malware and remove it.  The free version is more than adequate for most users.  


That being said CleanMyMac is considered to be akin to malware by most of the long time contributors to these forums. Uninstall it according to the developer's instructions.


Why did you try to delete those folders originally?


Can you put those items back into the /var/db/ folder? When in the Finder use the Go ➙ Go to Folder… menu option and enter "/var/db/". When the window opens move the two items from the Trash back to their original locations.


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Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Apr 26, 2023 2:31 PM in response to alespa

First, there is no reason to ever install or run any 3rd party "cleaning", "optimizing", "speed-up", anti-virus, VPN or security apps on your Mac.  This documents describe what you need to know and do in order to protect your Mac: Effective defenses against malware and other threats - Apple Community and Recognize and avoid phishing messages, phony support calls, and other scams - Apple Support.  


There are no known viruses, i.e. self propagating, for Macs.  There are, however, adware and malware which require the user to install although unwittingly most of the time thru sneaky links, etc.   


Anti Virus developers try to group all types as viruses into their ad campaigns of fear.  They do a poor job of the detecting and isolating the adware and malware.  Since there are no viruses these apps use up a lot of system resources searching for what is non-existent and adversely affect system and app performance.


There is one app, Malwarebytes, which was developed by a long time contributor to these forums and a highly respected member of the computer security community, that is designed solely to seek out adware and known malware and remove it.  The free version is more than adequate for most users.  


That being said CleanMyMac is considered to be akin to malware by most of the long time contributors to these forums. Uninstall it according to the developer's instructions.


Why did you try to delete those folders originally?


Can you put those items back into the /var/db/ folder? When in the Finder use the Go ➙ Go to Folder… menu option and enter "/var/db/". When the window opens move the two items from the Trash back to their original locations.


Apr 26, 2023 3:24 PM in response to Old Toad

Thanks for the info Old Toad. I have removed CleanMyMac at one point due to it causing apps to hang during launch. I removed it again to see how it goes. I'll look into the other app you mentioned.


Originally, I deleted these files because everything I did to reduce the "need" for CoreDuet to function, made no improvement. I'm a long time user of Macs since they hit the market. This is the first time I have experienced a feature/function from Apple that has caused me continual frustration by slowing down my computer so that I can't even type at times ... in the Mail program. The current feature of "Unsend" in my Mail program (I think) is making this worse. I can't turn it off. All I can do, is select the time delay in sending an email. I'm a big boy, and am willing to take the consequence of accidentally sending an email. So for me, that is a "feature" that just bloats things more.


My problem now is I can't find "/var/db/" with search, or otherwise.

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CoreDuet stuck in my Trash

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