macOS diagnostic tools

As very good article that includes links to some very good and reliable Applications that may suit your purposes What is “Other” storage on a Mac, and how can I clean it out?

As for VPNs - they fall into the same category as Cra*ware. For the purposes of macOS - they too interfere with the Normal Operation of the OS and should only be used for Banking and or connecting to Company Business for working off-site.

If you really want to see what is causing less than top performance on the computer. EtreCheck, Witten by a Very Reliable Developer and frequent Respected and Trusted Contributor to these Forums. It is free to use or purchase for more features. It will give a look at both the Hardware and Software of the computer without revealing any personal info. To get the most of this Application - it should be run with Full Disk Access - Security and Privacy setting in System Preference and give Full Disk Access. Copy and Paste the Full Report by using " Additional Text " button at bottom of your Reply ( Third Icon from Last ).

Sorry but " Clean my Mac " may have been the source of your issue or have made them worse. Strongly suggest Removing this Car*ware only as er the Developers Instruction. Do not just Drag and Drop Application to Trash as this will leave parts of this Car&ware behind. Are there any AntiVirus, Disk Cleaner, Optimizers, Defrag, VPNs etc installed which should be removed as per Developers Instructions. They are useless, unneeded, cause havoc and interfere with the normal operation of the OS. The Built-in Security of Big Sur is all that is required.

If one believes malware was installed , use this Trusted and Reliable Application called Malwarebytes. Sometimes malware is downloaded from Third Party Site and not directly from Apple Store of Directly from Developer

Thank you too ! :- )) ok, Commercial VPNs purport to keep you data Secure and Private - but the jury is out on that aspect. As the are Commercial - do they really keep thing Private ? Understand the possible want to be elsewhere to view on-line things in another Region but at whet cost - Privacy sold under the Guise of Secure.

Ad Blockers - I use one Free on Apple Store and works pretty well. Called " Ad and Stuff Blocker ". There are others on the Apple Apps Store - all a question of preference.

Do come back to these Forums if / or when addition questions arise. There are many knowledgeable Contributors willing to assist and offer possible solutions.