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I use heavier software like Max/MSP 8.6.1 and Topaz Video AI 5.0 with the Adobe Suite. My last Mac was Intel, and I'm working to set this one up for maximum efficiency and speed. I'd be grateful for an thoughts on how well I'm doing and what might be better. Thanks, Bob
MacBook Pro 16″, macOS 14.4
macOS includes built-in anti-malware and built-in malware removal tools, as well as various other defenses.
The add-on tools don’t do any better against what is around, and some unfortunately do much worse.
When performance is an issue, anti-malware is a common initial suspect.
And as threats evolve, too many add-on anti-malware packages tie in like malware, and some have been caught (and in one case with a well-known anti-malware app for macOS, fined) for activities all too reminiscent of malware. Put differently, too much of the malware around is arguably actually the stuff being marketed as add-on security apps, and some of that has actively collected and re-sold personally-identified metadata.
One of the behaviors of the built-in anti-malware is to keep various add-on anti-malware from corrupting macOS, as various add-ons have tried (and failed) to do. Ironic as that might seem.
The hosting software referenced are OneDrive and Google drive, as well as Sync, Keka, and whatever Adobe is doing with that.
I’d also be inclined to remove Grammarly as a test, as that ties into many places.
My initial suspect for performance is the add-on anti-malware.
This Mac appears associated with a business or organization given what’s installed.
If so, check with IT.
There’s a lot installed here too, and you’ll want to pare that to what you need.
Remove all the add-on anti-malware for instance, and test again.
The file-hosting tools can sometimes cause performance issues, as well.
Thanks for responding. It's my Mac and software. I've built it up over the years as a designer, musician, photographer, etc. It does have a lot of software, which I bought over time and kept up to date - as I'm sure you know when you're working professionally, you need all the good equipment you can get. It's not a corporate machine, so there's no IT.
So far as I know, the only anti-malware I have is Intego. -I can run a full scan with Virus Barrier just once a week. And I can definitely disable its real-time scanning when I'm using the heavier software. That's a great idea.
One reason I got this particular machine is that I do research into a multimodal language (words, sounds, images and gesture) - and the old InteI machine couldn't hold up anymore. That's why I need this Mac to run at its best - so it can run all this software at different times (not at the same time).
I could pare down some of the software to only the things I need. And I can definitely move the photos and audio to separate SSDs - to spread the load.
For file-hosting tools, I used Dropbox, but they drove me crazy with marketing and the cost. So, I keep three copies - 2 on disks and 1 on Backblaze - simple spinning hard disks, not SSDs (except for speed). The disadvantage of having done this stuff for decades is all the stuff you want to keep. I have a few things on YouTube and Vimeo, and I host them there for the image quality and link them to my website. What specific file-sharing software were you referring to?
I've definitely made every mistake there is. But now, at 76, I can't afford not to stay smart :) Thanks for all your input MrHoffman - it's much appreciated.
Best wishes,
Please check the report on my new M3 MAX Mac setup for efficiency and speed.
