Find out which app created a file?

I keep seeing a number of text files being created in a particular folder on my mac. I've a feeling that they are being created by a widget I downloaded, however I thought I'd removed the widget months ago.

They're simple text files with a ".torrent" extension and are created in my Movies directory. It looks as though something "listening" to torrent trackers for release of Public Domain programs and automatically creating the torrent files for them ready to be picked up by a torrent app.

Is it possible to find out what application created a file? I'd like to track down which app it is so I can kill it for good - if there are other ways to find it I'd appreciate comments!

Edit:

Thanks to a reply I tried out fseventer. I deleted the files, started recording, then went about doing various things. After about 30mins the files returned without any action from me, so I stopped fseventer and reviewed the log. It had only recorded things I had done manually, nothing automated.

So, any other ideas? This is really starting to annoy me as they never go away (for long)!

Phillip B Oldham

Posted 2009-11-12T19:09:13.690

Reputation: 1 160

Related for Windows vistors: http://superuser.com/questions/348881/find-out-which-program-creates-a-file-folder-in-my-c-drive – Tamara Wijsman – 2011-10-20T22:13:19.553

1What are the files named, where are they being created and what's in them? – Hasaan Chop – 2009-11-15T18:30:28.737

1Odd, I think fseventer basically uses the same information that Time Machine uses, so it should notice any file that's created, not just those resulting from manual interaction. But I might be wrong here... – Arjan – 2009-11-15T19:28:49.173

Answers

Check out fseventer. It's basically FileMon for Mac.

sYnfo

Posted 2009-11-12T19:09:13.690

Reputation: 1 902

Thanks, but that didn't work; it seemed to only show what applications I'd opened manually during the recording process. Updated the question with details. – Phillip B Oldham – 2009-11-15T18:10:54.807

I usually use sudo opensnoop, from the command line, for this sort of thing.

jrg

Posted 2009-11-12T19:09:13.690

Reputation: 745

Lingon helped me track down that it was TVShows grabbing the torrent files. Disabling the item has stopped the torrent files from being created.

Phillip B Oldham

Posted 2009-11-12T19:09:13.690

Reputation: 1 160

You should delete the files, reboot your mac and then run fseventer for a while, overnight would be best, without you using the computer.

Albert

Posted 2009-11-12T19:09:13.690

Reputation:

Do you use Miro? Sounds like something it would do, to me.

Loïc Wolff

Posted 2009-11-12T19:09:13.690

Reputation: 1 947