Q: does ccleaner work well on a mac

You shouldn't use cleaning apps. They could work, but they can delete a system file and make OS X unusable, having to reinstall, so it's better not to use them. Also, OS X knows how to take care of itself with maintenance scripts, for example, which makes these applications less needed

Instead of using cclener you can use DETOXMYMAC for your Mac & speed it up.
You can get this for free or can buy(Pro) from http://www.detoxmymac.com/ 

Or simply, don't use any app. They could give problems, and it's better not to propose solutions which could cause a lose of data to save some megabytes in the hard disk

How to maintain a Mac

1. Make redundant backups, keeping at least one off site at all times. One backup is not enough. Don’t back up your backups; make them independent of each other. Don’t rely completely on any single backup method, such as Time Machine. If you get an indication that a backup has failed, don't ignore it.

2. Keep your software up to date. In the Software Update preference pane, you can configure automatic notifications of updates to OS X and other Mac App Store products. Some third-party applications from other sources have a similar feature, if you don’t mind letting them phone home. Otherwise you have to check yourself on a regular basis. This is especially important for complex software that modifies the operating system, such as device drivers. Before installing any Apple update, you must check that all such modifications that you use are compatible.

3. Don't install crapware, such as “themes,” "haxies," “add-ons,” “toolbars,” “enhancers," “optimizers,” “accelerators,” "boosters," “extenders,” “cleaners,” "doctors," "tune-ups," “defragmenters,” “firewalls,” "barriers," “guardians,” “defenders,” “protectors,” most “plugins,” commercial "virus scanners,” "disk tools," or "utilities." With very few exceptions, this stuff is useless, or worse than useless.

The more actively promoted the product, the more likely it is to be garbage. The most extreme example is the “MacKeeper” scam.

As a rule, the only software you should install is that which directly enables you to do the things you use a computer for — such as creating, communicating, and playing — and does not modify the way other software works. Use your computer; don't fuss with it.

Never install any third-party software unless you know how to uninstall it. Otherwise you may create problems that are very hard to solve.

The free anti-malware application ClamXav is not crap, and although it’s not routinely needed, it may be useful in some environments, such as a mixed Mac-Windows enterprise network.

4. Beware of trojans. A trojan is malicious software (“malware”) that the user is duped into installing voluntarily. Such attacks were rare on the Mac platform until sometime in 2011, but are now increasingly common, and increasingly dangerous.

There is some built-in protection against downloading malware, but you can’t rely on it — the attackers are always at least one day ahead of the defense. You can’t rely on third-party protection either. What you can rely on is common-sense awareness — not paranoia, which only makes you more vulnerable.

Never install software from an untrustworthy or unknown source. If in doubt, do some research. Any website that prompts you to install a “codec” or “plugin” that comes from the same site, or an unknown site, is untrustworthy. Software with a corporate brand, such as Adobe Flash Player, must be acquired directly from the developer. No intermediary is acceptable, and don’t trust links unless you know how to parse them. Any file that is automatically downloaded from a web page without your having requested it should go straight into the Trash. A website that claims you have a “virus,” or that anything else is wrong with your computer, is rogue.

In OS X 10.7.5 or later, downloaded applications and Installer packages that have not been digitally signed by a developer registered with Apple are blocked from loading by default. The block can be overridden, but think carefully before you do so.

Because of recurring security issues in Java, it’s best to disable it in your web browsers, if it’s installed. Few websites have Java content nowadays, so you won’t be missing much. This action is mandatory if you’re running any version of OS X older than 10.6.8 with the latest Java update. Note: Java has nothing to do with JavaScript, despite the similar names. Don't install Java unless you're sure you need it. Most people don't.

5. Don't fill up your boot volume. A common mistake is adding more and more large files to your home folder until you start to get warnings that you're out of space, which may be followed in short order by a boot failure. This is more prone to happen on the newer Macs that come with an internal SSD instead of the traditional hard drive. The drive can be very nearly full before you become aware of the problem. While it's not true that you should or must keep any particular percentage of space free, you should monitor your storage consumption and make sure you're not in immediate danger of using it up. According to Apple documentation, you need at least 9 GB of free space on the startup volume for normal operation.

If storage space is running low, use a tool such as the free application OmniDiskSweeper to explore your volume and find out what's taking up the most space. Move rarely-used large files to secondary storage.

6. Relax, don’t do it. Besides the above, no routine maintenance is necessary or beneficial for the vast majority of users; specifically not “cleaning caches,” “zapping the PRAM,” "resetting the SMC," “rebuilding the directory,” "defragmenting the drive," “running periodic scripts,” “dumping logs,” "deleting temp files," “scanning for viruses,” "purging memory," "checking for bad blocks," "testing the hardware," or “repairing permissions.” Such measures are either completely pointless or are useful only for solving problems, not for prevention.

The very height of futility is running an expensive third-party application called “Disk Warrior” when nothing is wrong, or even when something is wrong and you have backups, which you must have. Disk Warrior is a data-salvage tool, not a maintenance tool, and you will never need it if your backups are adequate. Don’t waste money on it or anything like it.

Read this post for an example of what 3rd party cleaning apps can do.

CleanMyMac has deleted the Italian language. What should I do?

Rob54Whit wrote:

 

does ccleaner work well on a mac or should I use it--- or use another method of removing junk files and empty chace

Your OS does an excellent job of cleaning up after itself, so unless you are the one contributing junk then it would almost certainly be a waste of time and money, at best, and could damage your system or applications. The same is generally true of all such cleaner apps, as others have already told you.

If, after following the advice of Linc and possibly other contributors here you are having specific issues, start a new thread to describe them and somebody will almost certainly be able to help.

Linc Davis, I am very careful about what I install on my Mac and have only worried about a couple of things.  Below are questions that I've wondered.

Removing software/apps - I did install AppCleaner to remove any software or app that I have installed and/or am not using.  Is AppCleaner good for accomplishing this or is it risky.  If not, what is the best way to remove ALL of the files related to an app?  An example is Airmail.  I was looking for a different mail app, tried this one, and don't like it..  Will AppCleaner do the job in removing ALL of the files related to Airmail?

App Store and Safari Extensions -  Can we safely assume that the apps in these two sources have been examined and are safe for Macs?

Thanks for your help.  Your post on maintaing a mac is very helpful!!!

Gat0r wrote:

 

Linc Davis, I am very careful about what I install on my Mac and have only worried about a couple of things.

Linc doesn't always monitor older entries, but hopefully he'll be back later today. In the meanwhile I'll try and give you a few of my opinions/tips.

Removing software/apps...

Always go back to the developer first for instructions on how to remove their software. They will often have an uninstaller script either built into the app itself or available for download to take care of that. At other times they will simply list the items you need to track down and trash.

If you downloaded the app from the AppStore, then Open LaunchPad, find the app and hold the option key down. If an "X" in a circle shows up to the upper left of the icon, clicking that should be all you need to do.  If there is no "X" then go back to the Finder and drag the app to the trash. There shouldn't be any files left over (e.g. preference files), but if there are they will be insignificant and not worth the bother to track down.

None of the remover apps is perfect, although some are better than others.  Personally, I don't rely on any of them. Most use a simple search for any file containing the name of the app, something I can do just as well with EasyFind or Find Any File if I need to.  One or two will watch to see what files an installer or the application install and keep a list to use to uninstall. Those are better than the first type, but do have to be active in the background when you do the install to work and will slow your computer to some extent.

App Store and Safari Extensions -  Can we safely assume that the apps in these two sources have been examined and are safe for Macs?

AppStore apps have been screened by Apple to make certain that they comply with the rules, but there have been a couple of instances where they were found after the fact to be using information inappropriately. That is to say they asked the user for access to the contacts list and then exported information from them for uses that were not expected. I believe those were pulled shortly thereafter.

I'm not aware of any screening by Apple of Safari Extensions and that is currently the primary source of Adware these days. See this new Adware Removal Guide for additional details. Google Chrome just implemented a new policy Protecting Windows users from malicious extensions which I hope gets extended to Mac users and other browser.

MadMacsO,  Thanks for your prompt and very thorough repsonse.  It helps me a lot!!!!

Gat0r wrote:

 

 

Removing software/apps - I did install AppCleaner to remove any software or app that I have installed and/or am not using.  Is AppCleaner good for accomplishing this or is it risky.  If not, what is the best way to remove ALL of the files related to an app?  An example is Airmail.  I was looking for a different mail app, tried this one, and don't like it..  Will AppCleaner do the job in removing ALL of the files related to Airmail?

 

 

I use AppCleaner and it's probably one of the most inocuous and harmless apps of this type that you can use. However you don't really even need this as the others said. I like it because it does find most of the associated files of the particular app and delete them as well. Saves me a good bit of time if I want to get rid of something. Plus it's got very good default safeguards that won't let you accidentily delete any critical items. It won't always find every associated file but it does get most. My habit these days since the appearance of the App Store is to only install items from there. If something I want isn't available there I figure I don't really need it. And deleting those, if no longer needed, is quite simple.

The only other things I have installed is Flash and Java because unfortunately there are still some sites that give you no other option. But I have them disabled unless I'm specifically going to a site I'm familiar with that need these to function.

Thanks for your reply Pappasbike.  I am heading in the same direction you already are, just using App store.  Even the above comment about extensions makes me nervous.  Surprisning Apple would link entensions within their application (Safari) without checking them out, but I guess it is what it is!!  Thanks again....