Anders Ruohio wrote:
That tinfoil hat is on tight. Good luck thinking that macs can’t get viruses. This nonsense is literally on a site dedicated to Mac myths that I’m not allowed to link because it debunks your bunk.
It's not what you think. I don't know what site you were trying to post. But if it's a site, then it must be on the internet. That makes it false. The internet is a curious place. Anyone can say or do anything on the internet - literally anything. It's all OK as long as it's not true. The only things that are ever removed from the internet are things that are true.
This new user interface in Ventura is simply a Hot Mess. No one should ever make any changes in the new "Login Items" page in Ventura. Maybe in 3-4 years, when more developers have started to notice that Apple released Ventura and made this change, it might be safe to use it. But until then, stay out. Make no changes. If you don't like what you see, delete the app using either 1) an uninstaller or uninstallation instructions provided directly by the vendor, or 2) a method that works. Sadly, in some cases, those sets are disjoint.
Multiple Utilities folders in Applications is going to be more difficult. Apple has done some behind-the-scenes fudgery with the Applications folder. It doesn't really exist as it is shown. It is a combination of a few different folders. That's why it is possible for two identical subfolders to exist. And with the absolutely mind-numbing over-complexity of the operating system, that isn't even the only possible explanation. How to fix it? God only knows. It would be a 5 minute job with an expert at the Terminal. Impossible to do over the internet. I recommend taking the machine into an Apple store and have them fix it. Of course, even 5 minutes is too much work. They'll just wipe the drive and reinstall the OS. Oh well, that, too, is a good fix.
I'm certainly no fan of "clean up" tools. However, I do not share the consensus here on the forums regarding Clean MyMac. I don't think it is particularly useful. But I also have no evidence to show that it is harmful or dangerous. It is extremely popular. It is a good example of how successful a company can be when they have enough money to literally paint the internet with ads. But that's really all it is - successful advertising. Pound for pound, there are many other apps, and most "internet fixes" in general, that cause far more damage than CleanMyMac ever will.
Regarding viruses, I'm not going to open that can-o-worms. Yes there is malware. Yes, it is quite popular. Almost 20% of Mac in my EtreCheck data show malware infections. 3rd party antivirus tools are effective in cutting this infection rate by half. Less than 10% of Macs with 3rd party antivirus have malware infections. That rate is slightly better than Macs that have no 3rd party antivirus protection. Yet some 3rd party antivirus products (not CleanMyMac) actually result in significantly higher rates of malware infection. How does that work? But the bottom line is that malware on the Mac requires the user to install it on purpose. Maybe the way to watch a free video. Maybe they want to use expensive software for free. Whatever the reason, the end user must, with purpose, bypass multiple levels of Apple protection. In the end, Apple defers to the customer and will let people install most malware. They'll silently disable the malware once it gets popular enough.
