VB Helper (Renderer) = Mac %CPU Usage

I'm using a Macbook Air w/ M1. Yesterday, I pulled up a few tabs with resources / books in the $4.99 sale (publisher spotlight) in my Chrome derivative browser (Viasat, though we don't use Viasat as an ISP; we have fiber). This morning I noticed by MBA being pretty warm (the warmest I've felt it since purchasing it two months ago). I checked Activity Monitor and discovered four processes labeled 'VB Helper (Renderer)" that were all using over 100 % CPU (not sure what more than 100% means, but ok). I googled it and found nothing. My battery usage was showing that Microsoft Outlook was using significant energy. The only thing is that Outlook was not running. I do not use Outlook, and though it is installed as a part of Office 365, I do not recall it ever being opened on this system.

However, and here's the point (sorry for the context, if it is too much context), when I click to quit one of the processes, immediately one of the four tabs I have pulled up crashes. What exactly is going on with the Logos website that is causing this problem. It has drained my battery and is using way too much % CPU.

Obviously, I can close the tabs and the problem with fix itself. However, I do not think it is a good thing for a website to cause these kinds of issues.

Thanks.

John

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JT (alabama24)

(sorry for the context, if it is too much context)

Actually, more context might be helpful.

when I click to quit one of the processes, immediately one of the four tabs I have pulled up crashes.

You said "one" of the tabs. Which specific one?

discovered four processes labeled 'VB Helper (Renderer)"

I believe that this is related to Visual Basic... Knowing which tab closes (if it is always the same) may provide some insight.

all using over 100 % CPU (not sure what more than 100% means, but ok).

Your computer has multiple cores. A sum greater than 100% means that it is using more than 100% across multiple cores (i.e. 30+35+50=115%)

John R. Gentry

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/1158162#Comment_1158162

JT, thanks, brother.

I have closed the tabs now, though I could probably replicate it. For some reason, my screenshots didn't post. (Can someone who has the post bookmarked explaining how to post screenshots paste the link here, please?)

I was able to replicate the issue while I had the tabs pulled up, though. I would quit one of the VB Helper (Renderer) processes and it would immediately cause the tab that particular process was connected with to stop functioning and show the "Aw, Snap! Something went wrong while displaying this website ..." error message instead of the Logos product page that had been displayed while the process was still running.

Then as soon as I refreshed that page to display the Logos product page again, the VB Helper (Renderer) process would return and immediately would be using 98 to 99 % CPU and within a few seconds using over 100%.

I could do this with the other processes; each was connected to one of the specific Logos product pages I had opened in different tabs.

I've done some work in marketing and can appreciate the need for various things running in the background on a website. However, such power-hungry background processes seem invasive to me.

John

John R. Gentry

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/1158251#Comment_1158251

BTW, like you, one of my first thoughts was that the "VB" part of the process name pointed to Visual Basic. I've done some VB programming within Microsoft Office apps. This is why I included the context that, while this was going on, my battery usage info was saying that Microsoft Outlook was using significant energy.

However, the four processes were clearly connected to the four tabs I had open with Logos product pages. Could there be some plug-in or script in the Logos product pages that is somehow attempting communication with Microsoft Outlook???

Or, is it possible, that like us, my Mac thought "VB" was somehow connected with Microsoft Outlook and incorrectly attributed the significant energy usage from these four product pages to Microsoft Outlook?

Also, I find it strange that, at least as of this morning, when googling the specific phrase "VB Helper (Renderer)" (with and without parentheses) resulted in zero results. If this is a process on my Mac, I would have thought someone out there in the Interwebs would have talked about it. :-)

John

John R. Gentry

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/1158254#Comment_1158254

Two things.

First, here are the links to the specific product pages I had up. (JT had asked for which specific products I was looking at.)

https://www.logos.com/product/42531/those-who-can-teach-teaching-as-christian-vocation

https://www.logos.com/product/167682/pauls-use-of-the-old-testament

https://www.logos.com/product/162475/mark

https://www.logos.com/product/55979/mark-a-new-covenant-commentary

Second, in my activity monitor there are more processes labeled 'VB Helper (Renderer)' (possibly connected to other tabs, but there are processes with this name than open tabs). However, only the four tabs connected to the four product pages linked to above are using between 97 and 100 % CPU. All the other (7 processes) are using from 0.0 to 4.4 % CPU.

John

JT (alabama24)

in my Chrome derivative browser (Viasat,

Using Safari, I do not see a process named "VB Helper" when opening those four tabs.

JT (alabama24)

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/1158276#Comment_1158276

I just tried again using Chrome proper, and could not replicate.