I call ALOD clever because it does its thing by using features built in to OS X: AppleScript and Folder Actions. The utility itself is a simple AppleScript that displays the aforementioned dialog and takes you to the appropriate folder. The ALOD installer confirms that OS X's Folder Actions feature is enabled, installs the AppleScript (called add - new item alert without timeout.scpt) in your personal Folder Action Scripts folder (in ~/Library/Scripts), and then attaches the script to the seven folders listed above. When the contents of one of those folders changes, OS X's Folder Actions feature passes information about that change to the ALOD script, which then presents you with the alert.
Of course, seeing a new launchd configuration file doesn't actually tell you what it's doing, but the names of these files usually offer solid hints as to their purposes--or at least their sources. For example, on my Mac, the file us.pandamonia.Bark-Helper.plist was added when I installed the utility, and com.bombich.ccc.plist was installed by Carbon Copy Cloner, which just so happens to have the website URL . You can also do a web search on the file's name to find more information. If it turns out you don't want a particular launchd configuration file, it's usually safe to delete it.
One other drawback to ALOD, which is a consequence of it using Folder Actions, is that it works only for the current user account. If another user installs or uses software that adds a launchd configuration file, you won't be notified. (That user can install ALOD in his or her own account, though, to get notifications.)
As should be obvious from the screenshots here, Automatic Launch Object Detection isn't a Gem because of a beautiful interface, or because it offers scads of features, but rather because it's a clever use of OS X's own technologies to let you better manage what's going on with your Mac.
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