Should I reinstall my OS after using CMM to uninstall Adobe apps on a late-2014 5k iMac?

xmjm924x wrote:

Uninstall AppCleaner as well?

Yes, yes, yes. Yes.

Aren't there quite a few folks here who recommend that program? How can it be a "damaging" program if I only use it to completely erase programs that I no longer want?

"Folks here" have their own reasons for recommending what they recommend. The salient point however is that you should not have it (or anything like it) running all the time... as that EtreCheck report reveals.

And just to reiterate what I originally wrote, I never actually used ANY of the other "cleaning" features on CMM. I exclusively used the "uninstall apps" portion of the program...that is to say, I only used it to uninstall apps that were deemed "unsupported" (indicated by the grayed-out "no" symbol over the app's logo).

Mmmkay. So, there was no better way to do that...?

And so that being said, are you telling me I still could have done enough damage that I might require a complete wiping of my drive?

Yes.

Or just a reinstall of my OS?

That is usually an ineffective remedy. But you can try it.

If I'm being honest, I'm starting to wonder if posting this here was the best idea. I fully welcome "the truth", whatever it may be, but to be told that I may have initiated some kind of serious damage that wont become apparent until years down the road like some kind of ticking time bomb, is concerning.

As it should be.

Long-time participants on this site offer a depth and breadth of experienced unmatched by anyone at Apple itself. You would do well to heed their advice.

Just tell me this, based off the info I've given so far, what is my best option? Should I reinstall BigSur? Would that repair whatever damage I may have caused to the OS (if any)? And if so, do I need to do a clean install or can I just "re-install" the OS?

The correct way to go about inheriting or otherwise acquiring a previously used Mac is to comply with What to do before you sell, give away, trade in, or recycle your Mac - Apple Support. That is an absolute requirement for which there are no exceptions. That Mac has not been so prepared.

Ticking time bomb? No, of course not. Your Mac is not going to blow up, but it is an appropriate analogy and I tend to agree with it.

Maybe I'll get the paid version of EtreCheck.

Approved at this level.

You were right in suspecting CMM's junk removal. It's considered to be akin to malware by many of the experienced contributors to these forums.

Uninstall it according to the developer's instructions. You can then check to see if you've removed all of the supporting files by downloading and running the shareware app Find Any File to search for any files with the application's or the developer's name in the file name.  For CMM software you'd do the following search(es): 

1 - Name contains cleanmymac

2 - Name contains macaw

Any files that are found can be dragged from the search results window to the Desktop or Trash bin in the Dock for deletion.

FAF can search areas that Spotlight can't like invisible folders, system folders and packages.  

If you get warnings that the file can't be deleted because it is in use or used by another app boot into Safe Mode according to How to use safe mode on your Mac and delete from there.

Note:  if you have a wireless keyboard with rechargeable batteries connect it with its charging cable before booting into Safe Mode.  This makes it act as a wired keyboard as will assure a successful boot into Safe Mode.

Also uninstall any other"cleaning", "optimizing", "speed-up", anti-virus or VPN apps on your Mac. They are not needed and can only cause problems.

Be sure to uninstall "AppCleaner" for the reasons you already cited. The report you posted indicated it remains installed.

You are very fortunate that "CleanMyMac" did not seem to damage the system to the point it needed to be completely erased. That is — usually — required, depending on just what it "cleaned", and something I recommend since most people really don't know what they did with it. Those effects can be latent and not become apparent for months or even years after it was uninstalled.

Do ya'll think it's worth it for someone like me (a rather tech illiterate person) to upgrade to the paid version of EtreCheck?

Personally speaking I think so. It's a good utility to have around to use once in a while to make sure you didn't overlook anything — like AppCleaner's "Smart Delete" feature.

Now whether or not some of these apps were "bootlegged"...I cannot say for sure. It's possible he had some hacking knowledge and had some way of deactivating the Creative Cloud licensing aspect of things or something, I do not know for sure (four of the apps were CC 2018 while the rest were CS 5.5).

Along that line of thought:

Configuration Files:

/etc/hosts - Count: 73

That is a strong indication of the "hacking" you alluded to. I recommend reading Fixing a hacked /etc/hosts file - Apple Community and will reserve further comment for reasons that will become apparent upon reading it.

xmjm924x wrote:

Now whether or not some of these apps were "bootlegged"...I cannot say for sure. It's possible he had some hacking knowledge and had some way of deactivating the Creative Cloud licensing aspect of things or something, I do not know for sure (four of the apps were CC 2018 while the rest were CS 5.5).

The original person who purchased/licensed the apps does/did not have the legal right to transfer the license to you or anyone else.

If you don't want to call that 'bootlegged', that's fine by me, but it won't alter the facts.

The machine could not possibly have been properly prepared for sale with 3rd party apps installed. If you want to risk what may happen by wiping and reinstalling, that's up to you.

The machine was sold to me with El Capitan and I've already upgraded to BigSur with zero issues. No "activation locked boat anchor" thankfully.

Good luck.

xmjm924x wrote:

I guess I didn’t realize this was the “official” Apple discussion forum. That being the case, I guess it makes sense why I’ve received such hostile “by the book” answers. I approached this forum as if it was any other Mac forum, but now I realize that most of you probably work for (or have worked for) Apple at some point, and thus your answers are going to reflect very stringent, “by the book” Apple policies.

I’ll backup my files, erase my drive, re-install BigSur, and then transfer my personal data back over to my fresh, new OS…just in case any important files got corrupted or deleted during the uninstallation processes of CMM.

And I'll make sure to destroy every remnant of those Adobe apps that were illegally transferred to me and that I don't rightfully own.

Thank you for your input.

We're just users. Many here are used to helping absolute novices and err on the side of caution when discussing apps that have potential for causing problems. My two penn'orth is that App Cleaner and CMM are both fine as long as their capabilities and limitations are understood and they are used sensibly. The same caution goes for proprietary Apple apps. You can cause problems with your Mac just using Finder if you delve around and delete files without understanding what they do and Terminal, with the right commands and switches, can take you back to the stone age.

My advice would be to not sweat the remnants of apps that get left behind after you drag the main app to the waste bin unless they are obviously causing problems. I installed a Google app many years ago and Google carried on contacting the mother ship and nagging me for stuff after I'd deleted the main app. It took a lot of hunting to get rid of it completely and the lesson I learned was never to go near a Google app again.

Both app cleaner and CMM are garbage and will do more harm than good.

At this point, I would be concerned that whoever sold you the machine not only installed bootlegged software, but did not properly prepare the machine for a new owner, meaning that if you were to try and re-install macOS, you may find yourself with an activation locked boat anchor.

I use AppCleaner but one must be very careful using it. See the warning below:

WARNING: If you use AppCleaner on an app that you have other apps from the same developer, like Adobe, you must be extremely careful checking all checkboxes and deleting.  Some for those files may support other apps from the same developer and deleting them can mess them up.  Adobe apps is a primary example. I know from experience.  For singular apps from a developer it's safe. But it may not delete all of the supporting files. That's why Find Any File is so valuable.

xmjm924x wrote:

You've never gone 50 in a 45? People break common laws every day. The seller didn't feel compelled to throw away the apps and he thought they might be useful to someone else who's trying to learn them (me). None of them were used for conducting any kind of business or making any kind of money. They were only used as a means of LEARNING how to operate them, such as one would do with a "tryout" version of a program.

As you wrote... none of that matters. Discussions regarding circumvention of digital rights is specifically prohibited by this site's TOU and is certain to get your post nuked.

Your stated rationalization for theft is indefensible and a classic example.

"Tell it to the judge."