Who Is Lying To Us About Cleaner Tools For Mac

Nov 16, 2016 - OmniDiskSweeper will show detail of space usage: Select System and start cleaning. Do the following (no need to buy or download any additional tools). Apple Support helped me discover that my FireVault was turned on.

1. Who Is Lying To Us About Cleaner Tools For Machines
2. Who Is Lying To Us About Cleaner Tools For Mac

• Regardless if you are new to the Mac or an advanced user, Dr. Cleaner will be a good choice for you. Cleaner can help you free up a lot of space, please don’t forget to back up your important files, in case an unfortunate event happens like your hard disk malfunctions.
• If your Mac computer is getting sluggish, that means its time to clean out it with some Mac cleaner. You can choose one from the above mentioned tools. If you have any good ideas about best Mac cleaning software, please share with us in the comment section.

How to maintain a Mac 1. Make redundant backups, keeping at least one off site at all times. One backup is not enough. Don’t back up your backups; make them independent of each other. Don’t rely completely on any single backup method, such as Time Machine. If you get an indication that a backup has failed, don't ignore it. Keep your software up to date.

In the Software Update preference pane, you can configure automatic notifications of updates to OS X and other Mac App Store products. Some third-party applications from other sources have a similar feature, if you don’t mind letting them phone home.

Otherwise you have to check yourself on a regular basis. This is especially important for complex software that modifies the operating system, such as device drivers. Before installing any Apple update, you must check that all such modifications that you use are compatible.

Don't install crapware, such as “themes,” 'haxies,' “add-ons,” “toolbars,” “enhancers,' “optimizers,” “accelerators,” “extenders,” “cleaners,” 'doctors,' 'tune-ups,' “defragmenters,” “firewalls,” 'barriers,' “guardians,” “defenders,” “protectors,” most “plugins,” commercial 'virus scanners,” 'disk tools,' or 'utilities.' With very few exceptions, this stuff is useless, or worse than useless. The more actively promoted the product, the more likely it is to be garbage.

The most extreme example is the “MacKeeper” scam. As a rule, the only software you should install is that which directly enables you to do the things you use a computer for — such as creating, communicating, and playing — and does not modify the way other software works. Use your computer; don't fuss with it.

Never install any third-party software unless you know how to uninstall it. Otherwise you may create problems that are very hard to solve. The free anti-malware application ClamXav is not crap, and although it’s not routinely needed, it may be useful in some environments, such as a mixed Mac-Windows enterprise network. Beware of trojans. A trojan is malicious software (“malware”) that the user is duped into installing voluntarily.

Such attacks were rare on the Mac platform until sometime in 2011, but are now increasingly common, and increasingly dangerous. There is some built-in protection against downloading malware, but you can’t rely on it — the attackers are always at least one day ahead of the defense.

You can’t rely on third-party protection either. What you can rely on is common-sense awareness — not paranoia, which only makes you more vulnerable. Never install software from an untrustworthy or unknown source. If in doubt, do some research.

Any website that prompts you to install a “codec” or “plugin” that comes from the same site, or an unknown site, is untrustworthy. Software with a corporate brand, such as Adobe Flash Player, must be acquired directly from the developer. No intermediary is acceptable, and don’t trust links unless you know how to parse them. Any file that is automatically downloaded from a web page without your having requested it should go straight into the Trash. A website that claims you have a “virus,” or that anything else is wrong with your computer, is rogue.

In OS X 10.7.5 or later, downloaded applications and Installer packages that have not been digitally signed by a developer registered with Apple are blocked from loading by default. The block can be overridden, but think carefully before you do so.

Because of recurring security issues in Java, it’s best to disable it in your web browsers, if it’s installed. Few websites have Java content nowadays, so you won’t be missing much. This action is mandatory if you’re running any version of OS X older than 10.6.8 with the latest Java update. Note: Java has nothing to do with Java Script, despite the similar names. Don't install Java unless you're sure you need it. Most users don't. Don't fill up your boot volume.

A common mistake is adding more and more large files to your home folder until you start to get warnings that you're out of space, which may be followed in short order by a boot failure. This is more prone to happen on the newer Macs that come with an internal SSD instead of the traditional hard drive. The drive can be very nearly full before you become aware of the problem. While it's not true that you should or must keep any particular percentage of space free, you should monitor your storage consumption and make sure you're not in immediate danger of using it up. According to Apple documentation, you need at least 9 GB of free space on the startup volume for normal operation. If storage space is running low, use a tool such as the free application to explore your volume and find out what's taking up the most space. Move rarely-used large files to secondary storage.

Relax, don’t do it. Besides the above, no routine maintenance is necessary or beneficial for the vast majority of users; specifically not “cleaning caches,” “zapping the PRAM,” 'resetting the SMC,' “rebuilding the directory,” 'defragmenting the drive,' “running periodic scripts,” “dumping logs,” 'deleting temp files,' “scanning for viruses,” 'purging memory,' 'checking for bad blocks,' or “repairing permissions.” Such measures are either completely pointless or are useful only for solving problems, not for prevention. The very height of futility is running an expensive third-party application called “Disk Warrior” when nothing is wrong, or even when something is wrong and you have backups, which you must have. Disk Warrior is a data-salvage tool, not a maintenance tool, and you will never need it if your backups are adequate. Don’t waste money on it or anything like it. While I would agree Mackeeper and Cleanupmymac are not great, I do like Onyx for Mac and I Love diskwarrior. I have seen diskwarrior make drives a lot faster after running it, and even make drives not booting come back and at least let me extract files off them, or even run normally again.

I also have tech tool pro however I don't think it really does much other then I test RAM with it. Drive Genuis is popular and used by Apple Genuises, however I didn't care for it after it modified some files on me once. How to maintain a Mac 1. Make redundant backups, keeping at least one off site at all times.

One backup is not enough. Don’t back up your backups; make them independent of each other. Don’t rely completely on any single backup method, such as Time Machine. If you get an indication that a backup has failed, don't ignore it. Keep your software up to date. In the Software Update preference pane, you can configure automatic notifications of updates to OS X and other Mac App Store products. Some third-party applications from other sources have a similar feature, if you don’t mind letting them phone home.

Otherwise you have to check yourself on a regular basis. This is especially important for complex software that modifies the operating system, such as device drivers. Before installing any Apple update, you must check that all such modifications that you use are compatible. Don't install crapware, such as “themes,” 'haxies,' “add-ons,” “toolbars,” “enhancers,' “optimizers,” “accelerators,” “extenders,” “cleaners,” 'doctors,' 'tune-ups,' “defragmenters,” “firewalls,” 'barriers,' “guardians,” “defenders,” “protectors,” most “plugins,” commercial 'virus scanners,” 'disk tools,' or 'utilities.'

With very few exceptions, this stuff is useless, or worse than useless. The more actively promoted the product, the more likely it is to be garbage.

The most extreme example is the “MacKeeper” scam. As a rule, the only software you should install is that which directly enables you to do the things you use a computer for — such as creating, communicating, and playing — and does not modify the way other software works. Use your computer; don't fuss with it.

Never install any third-party software unless you know how to uninstall it. Otherwise you may create problems that are very hard to solve. The free anti-malware application ClamXav is not crap, and although it’s not routinely needed, it may be useful in some environments, such as a mixed Mac-Windows enterprise network. Beware of trojans.

A trojan is malicious software (“malware”) that the user is duped into installing voluntarily. Such attacks were rare on the Mac platform until sometime in 2011, but are now increasingly common, and increasingly dangerous. There is some built-in protection against downloading malware, but you can’t rely on it — the attackers are always at least one day ahead of the defense.

You can’t rely on third-party protection either. What you can rely on is common-sense awareness — not paranoia, which only makes you more vulnerable. Never install software from an untrustworthy or unknown source. If in doubt, do some research. Any website that prompts you to install a “codec” or “plugin” that comes from the same site, or an unknown site, is untrustworthy.

Software with a corporate brand, such as Adobe Flash Player, must be acquired directly from the developer. No intermediary is acceptable, and don’t trust links unless you know how to parse them. Any file that is automatically downloaded from a web page without your having requested it should go straight into the Trash. A website that claims you have a “virus,” or that anything else is wrong with your computer, is rogue. In OS X 10.7.5 or later, downloaded applications and Installer packages that have not been digitally signed by a developer registered with Apple are blocked from loading by default.

The block can be overridden, but think carefully before you do so. Because of recurring security issues in Java, it’s best to disable it in your web browsers, if it’s installed. Few websites have Java content nowadays, so you won’t be missing much. This action is mandatory if you’re running any version of OS X older than 10.6.8 with the latest Java update. Note: Java has nothing to do with Java Script, despite the similar names. Don't install Java unless you're sure you need it.

Most users don't. Don't fill up your boot volume. A common mistake is adding more and more large files to your home folder until you start to get warnings that you're out of space, which may be followed in short order by a boot failure. This is more prone to happen on the newer Macs that come with an internal SSD instead of the traditional hard drive.

The drive can be very nearly full before you become aware of the problem. While it's not true that you should or must keep any particular percentage of space free, you should monitor your storage consumption and make sure you're not in immediate danger of using it up. According to Apple documentation, you need at least 9 GB of free space on the startup volume for normal operation. If storage space is running low, use a tool such as the free application to explore your volume and find out what's taking up the most space. Move rarely-used large files to secondary storage.

Relax, don’t do it. Besides the above, no routine maintenance is necessary or beneficial for the vast majority of users; specifically not “cleaning caches,” “zapping the PRAM,” 'resetting the SMC,' “rebuilding the directory,” 'defragmenting the drive,' “running periodic scripts,” “dumping logs,” 'deleting temp files,' “scanning for viruses,” 'purging memory,' 'checking for bad blocks,' or “repairing permissions.” Such measures are either completely pointless or are useful only for solving problems, not for prevention. The very height of futility is running an expensive third-party application called “Disk Warrior” when nothing is wrong, or even when something is wrong and you have backups, which you must have.

Disk Warrior is a data-salvage tool, not a maintenance tool, and you will never need it if your backups are adequate. Don’t waste money on it or anything like it. While I would agree Mackeeper and Cleanupmymac are not great, I do like Onyx for Mac and I Love diskwarrior. I have seen diskwarrior make drives a lot faster after running it, and even make drives not booting come back and at least let me extract files off them, or even run normally again. I also have tech tool pro however I don't think it really does much other then I test RAM with it.

Drive Genuis is popular and used by Apple Genuises, however I didn't care for it after it modified some files on me once. Natedog42 wrote: I do like Onyx for Mac As do I, but I suspect 'Maintenance' from the same developer is a safer utility for new users. I also have tech tool pro however I don't think it really does much other then I test RAM with it. I use and like the eDrive capability of TTP and the S.M.A.R.T.

Testing has improved, but I still prefer Smart Utility or SoftRaid for HHD failure prediction. Drive Genuis is popular and used by Apple Genuises, however I didn't care for it after it modified some files on me once.

It did bring back one hard drive that Disk Utility, DiskWarrior and TTP gave up on a few years back, so I keep it around, just in case. Thread revival. (Note, I'm running Mavericks) I just went through a situation where my 2011 MBP after 2 major OS upgrades turned into a giant slug. There was no self cleaning, nothing going on other than what a clean install would cure. I did this through Apple Care with Apple tech support. I'm thinking that if the MacOS cleaned itself, this situation would not have developed. I would really love to have something like Clean Up Utilities (PC only) for Mac which keeps my bootcamp version of Windows7 running strong.

I have to say up front that I'm having difficulty following this and am uncertain where to start. Dave Peck wrote: I just went through a situation where my 2011 MBP after 2 major OS upgrades turned into a giant slug.

There was no self cleaning, nothing going on other than what a clean install would cure. I did this through Apple Care with Apple tech support. Were these major OS upgrades that would have involved a lot of obsolete third party apps that needed to be upgrades or simple upgrades within the same OS X family?

Describe in detail what you mean by 'Clean Install' as this terminology seems to mean different things to different people. Exactly what was it that Apple did or had you do?

I'm thinking that if the MacOS cleaned itself, this situation would not have developed. And it does, to some extent, but without knowing exactly what issues you suffered from, I don't really know what else might have been needed.

I would really love to have something like Clean Up Utilities (PC only) for Mac which keeps my bootcamp version of Windows7 running strong. You really made a 'U-Turn' on me with this one.

I thought we were talking about OS X and now you bring up bootcamp and Windows7? Nothing you run on OS X is going to be able to help you with Windows 7, it's running all by itself and not associated with OS X. If this is where your problems lie, then perhaps using Clean Up Utilities (which I'm totally unfamiar with) in your Windows partition is exactly what you need. On the other hand, if this really does have something to do with OS X and Linc's suggestions don't help, I know of several other guidelines and mostly free utilities that might help you out if I had any idea what your 'slug' problems are. Oh, and one last thing. Thread revivals rarely work out. They won't attract any new users that might be able to help, the problems you have would seem to be totally different from what the OP mentions and we need to hear some details on your exact issues.

Strongly suggest you abandon this and start a new thread. Message was edited by: MadMacs0. Yes, thread revival. I agree; most 3rd party cleaning (& other utility) apps are no good. I am also leary of Onyx apps - they are NOT for the faint of heart. You could really mess up something unaware.

I have used TinkerTool System (along with the free TinkerTool) for several years and I have never had an issue with it. It has some cleaning functions and they work well. like the internet cache cleaning and log cleaning.

It behaves very safely and won't let you delete or mess with things you shouldn't. It is also not for the faint of heart, but only has a slight learning curve which is pretty user friendly. Read all the tips and help. Like I said, I have had nothing but a good experience with it on both my Macs. But, to be on the safe side if you're not a 'super-user' etc., then following Linc's directions (he usually gives easy-to-follow, clear instructions/guidelines) is right on.

Who Is Lying To Us About Cleaner Tools For Machines

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. Pros Powerful tune-up abilities. No license restrictions.

Ability to schedule tune-up sessions. Browser clean-up and search engine selection tool. Cons Can't uninstall multiple applications at once. Can't delete multiple duplicate files at once. Software rating system requires a Web connection. Bottom Line Free, effective, and featuring innovative community-based problem solving, SlimCleaner is an excellent application for those who don't want to pony up money for a tune-up utility or deal with licenses. Traditionally, PC have performed a basic, straightforward function—improve your computer's overall system performance via a number of behind-the-scenes tweaks that ditch unused files.

You ran it and moved on—it was a solitary experience. That has changed with SlimWare Utilities SlimCleaner Free, a tune-up utility that uses aggregated data collected from its user base to recommend the optimal settings for your PC. It even rewards you with badges for contributing accurate information back to the community. In short, SlimCleaner is a mashup of social network and utility that does a fine job of cleaning gunked-up PCs.

It's our Editors' Choice for free tune-up utilities. System Requirements and Interface Compatible with Windows XP/Vista/7/8 PCs, SlimCleaner requires an Internet connection for downloading the software and for any updates that may be required during installation. Like (our Editors' Choice for paid tune-up utilities), SlimCleaner gives users permission to install the software on an unlimited number of systems. This gives it the edge over other tools with the three-license industry standard. SlimCleaner's attractive interface features a pleasant color scheme that deftly balances blacks and grays with a bright blue gradient. Clicking one of the categories located in the column located left of the main content area—Cleaner, Optimize, Software, Browsers, Disk Tools, Windows Tools, and Hijack Log—highlights the selection and displays that individual interface to the right.

SlimCleaner also displays your PC's operating system, CPU, and GPU information just south of that. A gripe: I don't like that SlimCleaner sometimes opens secondary windows when you click an option. For example, clicking Disk Tools opens another window that lets you run disk utilities—I don't dig that. I prefer a tighter interface that keeps everything in one place. Cleaner, Optimizer, Social Features The Cleaner area—the section that contains tabs for Windows, Applications, Browsers, Advanced, and Registry—is what you'll encounter upon firing up the application.

Clicking the Analyze button causes SlimCleaner to run and spit back a list of problems—my initial scan uncovered dozens upon dozens on my test computer. The Clean button removed all the problem files and Web cookies, but I preserved the log-in cookies of Facebook and other sites I frequent using the IntelliCookie Filter. That's a great touch. That's far from the only tool at your disposal. Optimize lets you alter which programs boot at launch—handy for those who may not realize that resource hogs are slowing the boot process and hindering the overall system performance. Here you can find detailed file information so you know exactly what it does before taking action, sort software (based on user feedback) using an adjustable, color-coded slider, and rate programs yourself using drop-down menu selections and mini-reviews—all very useful.

I especially like that SlimCleaner gives you a warning if you are about to remove software that's been well-received by the community; it's a nice way to safeguard yourself from removing a file that may prove vital to the computing experience. Unfortunately, because the feature is community-based, your PC has to be connected to the Web to get the crowd-sourced software ratings. Taking a cue from popular social networking sites like Facebook, SlimCleaner gives users a wall to display personal information and view badges, awards that are given for users with helpful useful reviews. In order to have badges saved to your wall, you need to create an account from scratch, or log in with your Facebook account. Personally, I could do without the badges, but I suppose they're carrots that will entice some users to contribute ratings, which improves everyone's experience.

Uninstaller, Browsers, Shredder, Hijack Log Running UnInstaller causes SlimCleaner to scan your computer and display the total number of software installs. I began scrolling through the long list of software, uninstalling unwanted applications such as BlackBerry Device Manager, Yahoo Toolbar, and a number of others. I don't like that you can't select multiple applications at once; you have to uninstall applications one at a time, which quickly became a chore. When I visited the Browsers section, SlimCleaner highlighted the Internet Explorer icon—the installed browser—but it also listed Chrome, Firefox, Opera, and Safari (although they were grayed out). Clicking the icon brought up an impressive amount of information on that particular browser including the default homepage, and the toolbars, extensions, and plug-ins that were installed. It amazed me that I had so many junk installs, and that I had become blind to them in my daily use. Once cleaned, Internet Explorer opened far swifter than it had in months.

I could also select a new search engine for the browser, which was an unexpected extra. The Shredder lets you delete files or entire folders by overwriting them with data. There are different shredding levels, each with an increasing security level—Quick (one overwrite), Safe (three overwrites), Thorough (seven overwrites), and Guttman (a whopping 35 overwrites). Once a file has been overwritten, it can't be recovered, so use this feature carefully. HighJack Log lists all of the programs and plug-ins that are vulnerable to third-party attacks that can take over the system.

Windows Tools organizes system tools (Device Manager, System Information, and more) in one easily navigated interface. Another aspect of SlimCleaner that I liked a lot—there's a Revert Optimizations button on each screen which lets you roll back the settings should you have need for it.

You can schedule tune-ups to run on a daily or weekly basis, and you can make a portable version of the software by taking a trip to Settings. SlimCleaner other features include Intelligent Defrag (lets users to run a personalized defrag based on their specific PC hardware), Software Updater (lets users check for updates to the software on their PC and install those updates directly from SlimCleaner), Solid-State Drive Optimization (lets users optimize the layout of files on their solid-state drives to speed-up loading programs and opening documents), and Duplicate Finder (gives users with a quick way to find and eliminate unnecessary duplicate files that can clutter and slow down a hard drive). Eliminating duplicate files proved a bit tedious as I couldn't do a mass elimination—I had to delete them one by one. Performance Improvements I tested SlimCleaner's ability to whip a PC back into shape by performing two tests—running the Geekbench system performance tool and measuring boot times—before and after running the software to compare the testbed's potency. Each test was run three times and averaged. Before SlimCleaner scrubbed the system, the 2-GHz Intel Core i7 920XM Style-Note notebook with 4GB of RAM, and an 80GB Intel SSD drive achieved a 5,914 Geekbench score and booted in 50.3 seconds.

After using SlimCleaner, the system saw improved performance: The GeekBench score rose to 6,338 (which was short of Iolo System Mechanic 14's 6,369 score), and the boot time decreased to 41.1 seconds (a bit behind Iolo System Mechanic's 39.7 seconds mark). Those numbers wouldn't mean much if it didn't translate into user-noticeable improvements—fortunately, it does. Windows, iTunes, and Steam opened with extra pep that wasn't present when the machine was junked up. The New Tune-up Utility Champ SlimCleaner's system-improving tools makes it PCMag.com's Editors' Choice in the free PC tune-up utility category. SlimCleaner's community-based monitoring and tune-up tools make it a utility I will return to often for swift PC clean up.

If your PC is sluggish, give SlimCleaner a try. If you want a tune-up utility with a little more power, check out Iolo System Mechanic 14; its dynamic PowerSense power-adjusting feature is quite the useful tool.

Who Is Lying To Us About Cleaner Tools For Mac

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