Make my Mac more efficient
[Re-Titled by Moderator]
Windows, Windows 6
There is no reason to ever install or run any 3rd party "cleaning", "optimizing", "speed-up", anti-virus, VPN or security apps on your Mac. This documents describe what you need to know and do in order to protect your Mac: Effective defenses against malware and other threats - Apple Community and Recognize and avoid phishing messages, phony support calls, and other scams - Apple Support.
There are no known viruses, i.e. self propagating, for Macs. There are, however, adware and malware which require the user to install although unwittingly most of the time thru sneaky links, etc.
Anti Virus developers try to group all types as viruses into their ad campaigns of fear. They do a poor job of the detecting and isolating the adware and malware. Since there are no viruses these apps use up a lot of system resources searching for what is non-existent and adversely affect system and app performance.
There is one app, Malwarebytes, which was developed by a long time contributor to these forums and a highly respected member of the computer security community, that is designed solely to seek out adware and known malware and remove it. The free version is more than adequate for most users.
There are a bunch of scams out there designed to hack up your Mac and claim to give it a little speed boost. There are no 3rd party apps that can directly improve performance. It's simply not possible.
I have to agree with "a brody" on this. With that said, you can check the Application Support folder for leftover files from apps that you no longer use. Of course a backup is always recommended when deleting files from the System folder. I would only recommend deleting the files/folder that are clearly identified by any previous unused app. Some apps may store a large amount of data there and may not get uninstalled when deleting the app or using the uninstaller. Paste this location (including the tilde) at Finder > Go > Go to Folder:
~/Library/Application Support
I don't put much stock in "cleaner" apps that claim they're going to automatically find and remove stuff for you.
There are tools that you can use to find which of your own files are taking large amounts of space. E.g., while I don't use it, I have heard of "Daisy Disk" (which seems to be available through the developer's site and the App Store).
Do NOT use 3rd party cleaning apps. They will do nothing but bork your machine.
Carolineoies wrote:
However, you can opt for a 3rd-party Mac cleaning app if you don't want to play with commands. This types of apps will do the cleaning staff automatically, which saves time and effort.
Just because they are available does not mean you should use one. All you need to do is use the Search option on the top of this page and enter any Mac cleaning app into the search field. You will get the truth about these apps and saving time and effort has not been the case for the users who have installed them.
Believe it or not...
EtreCheck is a FREE simple little diagnostic tool to display the important details of your system configuration and allow you to copy that information to the Clipboard. It is meant to be used with Apple Support Communities to help people help you with your Mac. It will not display any personal info.
Thanks for Old Toad’s etrecheck instructions…
Slow iMac 2017 - Apple Community
Use the Note tool on the bottom of this editor's toolbar, as shown in the image, to copy and paste the output from EtreCheck. In a Reply before you click post, look for this to add longer texts...
But I do like Mac Cleaner Pro...
Besides MrHoffmans great advice...
Delete this file & restart...
~/Library/LaunchAgents/com.canva.availablility-check-agent.plist
~ tilde indicates your home folder
Apple hid the Users' Library folders...
Method 1:
1 From the Finder, select the Go menu at top of the screen, and choose Go to Folder.
2 In the window that opens, enter ~/Library, and click Go.
Note that deleting files will not result in any performance improvement whatsoever. All it will do is slow you down while because you have to restore from backup after your system is irreparably corrupted. Hopefully you have a backup after following random instructions posted on GitHub.
But at least as a side benefit, if you use "rm" to remove a bunch of files, you will likely notice that you have less free space than you did before.
Snake Oil !
A little Onyx once in awhile won't hurt...
https://www.titanium-software.fr/en/onyx.html
I also use...
In fact, you can free up tons of storage space in Terminal with 'rf' command without installing any software, such as system caches, log files, tmp files, iOS backup files and email attachments. Here is a simple tutorial you can follow:
https://gist.github.com/Orismann/7d9ba47020d08525577ee0755c2816d3
However, you can opt for a 3rd-party Mac cleaning app if you don't want to play with commands. This types of apps will do the cleaning staff automatically, which saves time and effort.
Carolineoies wrote:
However, you can opt for a 3rd-party Mac cleaning app if you don't want to play with commands. This types of apps will do the cleaning staff automatically, which saves time and effort.
And, if you don't know what you're doing, may well delete things you need or are important to the correct functioning of the operating system. The amount of time and effort "saved" will be used in fixing and recovery.
ChromeChaser wrote:
This sounds silly but my mac has System Preferences and no Login Items under General. How do I get to System Settings?
Apple renamed "System Preferences" to "System Settings" as of Ventura – and moved around many settings at the same time.
https://www.macworld.com/article/803390/macos-ventura-system-preferences-settings.html
If you see instructions to modify something in "System Settings", just translate that to "System Preferences" and keep in mind that the particular setting might not be in the same, exact place.
ttreen1950,
Simple because many of the VPN apps out there can modify Mac OS which can make Mac OS:
Not to mention they don't do anything that Mac OS does not already do. In short they are a waste of system resources, time and $$. Your computer though, you can do to it what you want so if you don't mind having a slow, unstable, buggy computer go for it.
What's wrong with subscribing to a (reputable) VPN for security when using public Wi-Fi on a laptop when not at home, and to change your apparent location for streaming services?
The first assumes you are actually getting more security. Despite their claims, there aren’t millions of crooks intercepting your data transmissions. Part b of that assumes those companies aren’t doing with your data what they claim to be protecting you from. You have nothing but their “good” word.
Apple’s software already anonymizes your internet connection.
The second implies violating a license agreement you have made with the streaming service.
Is there a Mac Cleaner to make it go faster?
