Is Clean My Mac 2 helpful for speeding up at Macbook Pro?

I"m sure Mike5020 has already made up his mind after almost eight months now.

brian4 wrote:

You could use CCleaner, best app

Reportedly the best available for a Windows PC, but the Mac version is nothing like it.

The free version has gone missing from the AppStore, but it's more of a privacy app, cleaning cookies, caches, histories, recents, etc. Haven't seen any reports on how the uninstaller works but all the other Tools can be easily done manually or using Disk Utility. Language removers can be dangerous when used with certain Third party apps that expect to find them and refuse to update or even launch without them. Minor savings on todays much larger hard drives.

MadMacs0 wrote:

I"m sure Mike5020 has already made up his mind after almost eight months now.

Indeed!

Reportedly the best available for a Windows PC, but the Mac version is nothing like it.

You've actually used both heavily?

jake9999 wrote:

You've actually used both heavily?

It's been a very long time since I had to use the PC version, which I did need to use at work periodically for a several years.

I have the Mac version, but have never found a need for it, so have never done so. Like Linc, I have an aversion to all "Cleaner" apps since being burned by one back in the Mac OS Classic days.

So you don't know exactly how the latest versions of both compare...

I thought you were suggesting that you do, thanks for clarifying that you don't.

Same here on never having a need for these kind of apps, but I'm not 100% closed-off to the idea, for certain uses.

jake9999 wrote:

So you don't really know how they compare, I thought you were suggesting that you do, thanks for clarifying that you don't.

From a utilization standpoint, I must rely on what several others have said in this forum who claim to have extensive experience with both. I can easily see how they compare based on my experience with the PC version and noting the features present with the free version, which certainly qualifies me to make a feature comparison.

I have not taken a look at the pay version, which could well have additional features that I'm unaware of.

As to your comment about heavy use, I can't really image any Mac user putting this utility or any other to heavy use. OS X should never require that and if it does I would have to say that such a user has some other type of extreme issue. Or are you referring to it's use in a computer service center?

I'm wanting a detailed comparative analysis of both versions (preferably paid) based on your experience with them, if you can't offer it that's cool.

The commercial Windows CCleaner 1 step above "Pro" has some cool "distributed" abilities, wondering if there's a OSX version as capable as that (or soon).

The issue I have with a lot of these paid for apps is that 1. They are aggressively marketed; 2 they are largely not required and 3 they prey on people's insecurities Oh and also there are apps that do just as good if not a better job for free. I have had an iMac and MBP for several years and more recently a Mac Pro. I have never found them to slow down over time. This is a windows thing. I never (or very rarely) turn off my desktop macs and if my macbook pro seems a little sluggish on reboot or wake up, removing a few apps that have snuck into the login items and the occasioinal permissions check/repair usually does the trick.

It is true that deleting Apps often leaves residual caches and such behind but I tend to use AppCleaner (a free app) to remove Apps and this will delete all the associated cache/pref files etc (you could do it manually but this is an excellent App that does it all for you). Finally if you really do need to clean up redundant files to free up storage there is always Onyx. Another good free App.

There are plenty of free anti virus/malware apps out there such as sophos, avast, avira but I only tend to run them once every few months or so and then remove them as they hog up system resources and occaionally cause system instability and also have never yet detected anything untoward - despite my penchant of roaming the high seas on occasion 😉

There are plenty of free anti virus/malware apps out there such as sophos, avast, avira ...

That garbage isn't going to help, scallywag.

david125 wrote:

It is true that deleting Apps often leaves residual caches and such behind but I tend to use AppCleaner (a free app) to remove Apps and this will delete all the associated cache/pref files etc (you could do it manually but this is an excellent App that does it all for you).

I would just add that when deleting any non-AppStore apps, one should always check the developers site first for instructions. Test have shown that AppCleaner and all similar apps will fail occasionally (usually because neither the app nor developer name is included in the file name), so best to ask those who actually know. Not all developers will provide un-installers or instructions, but most of the better ones do. Of course there is the Genieo un-installer that not only doesn't remove everything, it installs additional files.

John Galt wrote:

That garbage isn't going to help, scallywag.

Huh?

MadMacs0 wrote:

david125 wrote:

It is true that deleting Apps often leaves residual caches and such behind but I tend to use AppCleaner (a free app) to remove Apps and this will delete all the associated cache/pref files etc (you could do it manually but this is an excellent App that does it all for you).

I would just add that when deleting any non-AppStore apps, one should always check the developers site first for instructions. Test have shown that AppCleaner and all similar apps will fail occasionally (usually because neither the app nor developer name is included in the file name), so best to ask those who actually know. Not all developers will provide un-installers or instructions, but most of the better ones do. Of course there is the Genieo un-installer that not only doesn't remove everything, it installs additional files.

Yes, your proviso's are correct of course. I am just a little bit lazy and often can't be bothered to look for an apps uninstall app - far easier to just drag and drop the app in AppCleaner, or the trash. Your logic that AppCleaner leaves the odd file behind does make sense, althtough it does seem to list most of the plist files and such that one would expect to be associated with the App that's about to be removes, but in any case we are talking about files in the Kb size range. It certainly was never an issue on my 2009 iMac with 1TB storage and is even less of an issue on my MP with a 4TB RAID setup - but you are correct and it may be important if using a 250Gb Macbook Air.

John Galt wrote:

There are plenty of free anti virus/malware apps out there such as sophos, avast, avira ...

That garbage isn't going to help, scallywag.

You're right about me being a scallywag . Not quite sure what your point is about those free apps being garbage though. They are no worse and oft a lot better than the paid for ones. I have personally used McAfee (that was provided free by my ISP) and the much maligned MacKeeper (yes, I too was a gullible fool when first venturing into the Mac world from the 7th ring of ((Dante's inferno)) **; aka windows). From my experience McAfee caused all sorts of issues and whilst MacKeeper wasn't too bad, I just found that I rarely used it, it's antivirus add-on caused chaos (much like McAfee) and that over time it became more and more redundant as I could do everything it offered with other free apps that also give more user control. MacKeeper's aggressive marketing also annoys the ** out of me.. but that's probably just me 😐

**Apparently the word h*ll is banned. Although icoms representing the devil (👿) aren't. Weird 😕

Not quite sure what your point is about those free apps being garbage though.

The point is that they're all garbage, "free" or not, and cannot possibly prevent you from suffering the consequences of intentionally reckless computing habits.

The greater threat is that products such as you describe are likely to instill a false sense of security. If you choose to download software from untrustworthy sites, you can do that with impunity. Believing that any one or more of those junk products will protect you from the risks inherent in doing so is a hazardous attitude that can only encourage behaviour that is likely to put your Mac and everything you do with it at risk to those who wish to bring harm upon you.

So forget that junk. It's your Mac, do with it as you please, but if you truly believe there is some magic shield that will protect you and your Mac from all threats foreign and domestic, you're a fool... and a scallywag.

😉

John Galt wrote:

Not quite sure what your point is about those free apps being garbage though.

The point is that they're all garbage, "free" or not, and cannot possibly prevent you from suffering the consequences of intentionally reckless computing habits.

The greater threat is that products such as you describe are likely to instill a false sense of security. If you choose to download software from untrustworthy sites, you can do that with impunity.

Ah, I see your point. You are of course correct, however my original answer was in the context of the OP and trying to give comparative apps/helpful suggestions that do not charge you for giving you a false sense of security. I am not advising or preaching in any respect with regard to the activities that any individual choses to indulge in, neither of any method by which they may remain safe in carryint out those particular activities; I was simply asserting my opinion regarding the issues that paid for apps, the likes of Mackeeper et al have and offering alternative free "solutions" that are as good as (or indeed as bad as) the paid for apps mentioned in the OP. 🙂

Ok, I ran the nifty little programme and would welcome any suggestions...I have also just noticed that it goes into system overload when working in Logic Pro even when there's not that much going on...

Problem description:

Running slow, beach ball appears more and more often especially when running safari...

EtreCheck version: 2.0.4 (89)

Report generated 17 October 2014 17:22:38 GMT+01:00

Hardware Information: ℹ️

MacBook Pro (13-inch, Early 2011) (Verified)

MacBook Pro - model: MacBookPro8,1

1 2.7 GHz Intel Core i7 CPU: 2-core

4 GB RAM Not upgradeable

BANK 0/DIMM0

2 GB DDR3 1333 MHz ok

BANK 1/DIMM0

2 GB DDR3 1333 MHz ok

Bluetooth: Old - Handoff/Airdrop2 not supported

Wireless: en1: 802.11 a/b/g/n

Video Information: ℹ️

Intel HD Graphics 3000 - VRAM: 384 MB

Color LCD 1280 x 800

System Software: ℹ️

Mac OS X 10.6.8 (10K549) - Uptime: one day 21:43:54

Disk Information: ℹ️

Hitachi HTS545050B9A302 disk0 : (465.76 GB)

S.M.A.R.T. Status: Verified

- (disk0s1) <not mounted> : 210 MB

Mac HD (disk0s2) / [Startup]: 499.76 GB (199.20 GB free)

OPTIARC DVD RW AD-5970H

USB Information: ℹ️

Apple Inc. FaceTime HD Camera (Built-in)

Apple Inc. Apple Internal Keyboard / Trackpad

Apple Inc. BRCM2070 Hub

Apple Inc. Bluetooth USB Host Controller

Apple Computer, Inc. IR Receiver

Thunderbolt Information: ℹ️

Apple, Inc. MacBook Pro

Kernel Extensions: ℹ️

/Applications/Toast 8 Titanium/Toast Titanium.app

[not loaded] com.roxio.BluRaySupport (1.1.3) Support

[not loaded] com.roxio.TDIXController (1.7) Support

/Library/Application Support/Hotspot Shield

[not loaded] com.anchorfree.tun (1.0.1) Support

/System/Library/Extensions

[not loaded] com.Cycling74.driver.Soundflower (1.4.2) Support

[loaded] com.rogueamoeba.HermesAudio (4.2.0 - SDK 10.6) Support

[loaded] com.rogueamoeba.InstantOn (5.0.2 - SDK 10.6) Support

Startup Items: ℹ️

EmagicA26A62mFirmwareLoader: Path: /Library/StartupItems/EmagicA26A62mFirmwareLoader

RetroRun: Path: /Library/StartupItems/RetroRun

Startup items are obsolete and will not work in future versions of OS X

Problem System Launch Daemons: ℹ️

[not loaded] org.samba.winbindd.plist Support

Launch Agents: ℹ️

[running] com.kodak.BonjourAgent.plist Support

[running] syncmateStarter.plist Support

Launch Daemons: ℹ️

[loaded] com.adobe.fpsaud.plist Support

[running] com.anchorfree.ajaxserver.plist Support

[loaded] com.bombich.ccc.plist Support

[running] com.bombich.ccc.scheduledtask.208D6372-DF44-4A7B-BB07-ED32E24DC6F2.plist Support

User Launch Agents: ℹ️

[loaded] com.adobe.ARM.[...].plist Support

[loaded] com.google.keystone.agent.plist Support

User Login Items: ℹ️

iTunesHelper UNKNOWN (missing value)

Android File Transfer Agent Application (/Users/[redacted]/Library/Application Support/Google/Android File Transfer/Android File Transfer Agent.app)

Internet Plug-ins: ℹ️

NPDjVu: Version: 6.1.1 Support

OVSHelper: Version: 1.1 Support

PrintDialogExt: Version: 6.1.1 Support

Flip4Mac WMV Plugin: Version: 2.4.4.2 Support

Google Earth Web Plug-in: Version: 7.1 Support

RealPlayer Plugin: Version: (null) Support

Silverlight: Version: 4.0.51204.0 Support

FlashPlayer-10.6: Version: 15.0.0.152 - SDK 10.6 Support

DivXBrowserPlugin: Version: 2.2 Support

Flash Player: Version: 15.0.0.152 - SDK 10.6 Mismatch! Adobe recommends 15.0.0.189

QuickTime Plugin: Version: 7.6.6

iPhotoPhotocast: Version: 7.0 - SDK 10.7

JavaAppletPlugin: Version: 13.9.8 - SDK 10.6 Check version

Safari Extensions: ℹ️

AdBlock

Audio Plug-ins: ℹ️

iSightAudio: Version: 7.6.6

3rd Party Preference Panes: ℹ️

A 6|2m Support

DivX Support

Flash Player Support

Flip4Mac WMV Support

MacFUSE (Tuxera) Support

Time Machine: ℹ️

Time Machine information requires OS X 10.7 "Lion" or later.

Top Processes by CPU: ℹ️

5% WindowServer

4% PluginProcess

1% fontd

0% Skype

0% RetroRun

Top Processes by Memory: ℹ️

404 MB Safari

344 MB PluginProcess

99 MB Skype

60 MB WindowServer

47 MB Finder

Virtual Memory Information: ℹ️

145 MB Free RAM

2.17 GB Active RAM

989 MB Inactive RAM

993 MB Wired RAM

1.45 GB Page-ins

1.08 GB Page-outs