What about Clean My Mac 3?

I see a lot of people on these forums like to rubbish this software—people who in most cases have never actually used it. I came up against one such user in another thread. He kept lumping it in with 'other bogus "maintenance" programs' and kept using words like 'scam', 'garbage', 'fraudulent crapware', etc—again, without having ever actually used the program himself. Not exactly an objective or scientific way of reviewing software. I think this kind of uneducated bias tends to come from Apple fans who can't bring themselves to believe that the Mac could possibly want for anything that Apple, in its infinite wisdom, doesn't produce itself. I'm not saying there aren't crappy utilities out there (there are and I've had the misfortune of trying a few of them), but I don't think this one deserves some of the nasty comments made by others on this forum.

Now as someone who has used this software over a number of years, I can only report good things. It has never to my knowledge caused any problem or deleted anything I didn't want it to. And it has been very useful. I originally bought it because my internal SSD was filling up to the point that I was getting warnings about the disk being full. I just needed something to help locate unnecessary cache files, etc, and clear some space. It did that and kept me going until I bit the bullet and upgraded to a much larger SSD.

I don't really need to clear space now, but when I trash an app, it gives me the option of uninstalling it properly—that is getting rid of all the associated files that apps tend to leave sprinkled everywhere. Maybe not everyone cares if their Mac's drive starts to resemble a wasteland of unused cache and preference files, but I like to keep mine clean and lean. It's why I'll very occasionally do a clean install of a new OS (I'll probably end up doing it with High Sierra), and setup my Mac from scratch again. It takes a lot of work, but the Mac comes out lean and mean at the end of it. It's much easier to run CleanMyMac and get it to uninstall unused apps.

That's just my experience. By all means, search the web for other reviews and user-experience.

A warning though… This tool helps you delete stuff on your Mac, and deleting stuff can be painful if you delete the wrong thing. Like any tool of this nature, you need to take the time to understand what it's doing and how to use it. It gives you a lot of information and control if you choose to drill down. Having said that, I think you're probably far less likely to delete something you wanted by using this app, than if you start messing about by yourself in the Finder. Final word: backup!! No matter how you choose to delete files and clean up your Mac, you need to backup regularly to save yourself the pain of accidental deletion.

Csound1 wrote:

I hope that other users are not fooled by your post.

I feel entirely as Terence does and wonder what your motives actually are.

Your comment is offensive and adds nothing to the discussion. Clearly there's something about the Apple Support Communities Use Agreement I don't understand, when these kind of defamatory remarks are tolerated. I wouldn't mind so much if one of my comments hadn't been rejected for having a slightly 'aggressive' tone. There's something very one-sided about this—I've entered the lion's den to be sure.

Sigh. At least you've been direct about it.

Okay, I'll try and group the concerns/comments and reply to each in turn…

This software is just like other junk of its kind

Terence Devlin wrote:

[this junk ware] is designed for a sole purpose: separate the unwary from their money.

If you want to pay for junk, feel free.

The horn effect (opposite of the halo effect) is a form of cognitive bias whereby one negative trait influences your evaluation of other traits. (Think first impressions.) The same could be said of software. If you have come to categorise CleanMyMac in a class of software that typically promotes itself via deceptive fear-based Internet marketing (you know the culprits—those nasty flashing pop-ups which tell you that some critical issues have been discovered on your computer and the software must be purchased to avoid catastrophic disaster), then of course you're going to want to warn people away from it. We've had an elderly member of our family unwittingly install such software onto a PC, and believe me, I know the pain—it's hard to clean up the mess once it's on there.

So I think I understand your concerns. All I can say is, I don't think CleanMyMac deserves this status. If you can show me where the company has resorted to that kind of unethical marketing, by all means prove me wrong. And from my experience of the software itself, I believe it to be absolutely genuine. Under the 'Uninstaller' tab, it even lists itself. You can click on 'CleanMyMac' (just like every other app) and see where all its files are: application support files, caches, logs, saved state, preferences and login items.

I don't particularly like the nag screen that comes up every time I launch the app, promoting the upgrade to CleanMyMac 3 (I'm still using CleanMyMac 2, which works just fine), but in all other respects this app behaves like a good Mac citizen. Preferences allow you to turn off all its background activity, like the Uninstaller monitor which detects when you try to delete an app just by dragging it to the trash. You can turn this feature off, but I find the reminder useful so I tend to leave it on.

You risk deleting critical files

seventy one wrote:

You are replying to a three year old post. Since then Clean my Mac has probably mangled innumerable computers.

babowa wrote:

some of these actually work so well that they remove needed system files as well which will not have desired results

Terence Devlin wrote:

You've been lucky. Hope your luck holds.

Belaris wrote:

Unfortunately your Mac has since had a catastrophic OS failure and you cant get online to cancel it.

Perhaps some others have been unlucky. If someone has had a bad experience with the software, they are absolutely entitled to share it here. I'm sure we have no disagreement there. Likewise, those with positive experiences should be entitled to post too. For some reason though, others seem to take issue with me doing just that.

Most users probably have more chance of damaging something through manual tinkering in the Finder, or by copying and pasting Terminal commands they found on the web. CleanMyMac attempts to safeguard critical files and only show the files that can safely be deleted. You can hit the 'Scan' button, and let the software decide what is non-essential, or you can go into individual tabs and search for specific things. It allows you drill right down to individual folders and files, and if you want to deal with those files manually in the Finder, rather than delete them through the app, you can—the app lets you click on an individual item to select it in the Finder. It's a really cool way to locate those hard-to-find files. I like to drill down to see what is actually happening before erasing anything, but it's up to each user. The point is, you're in control as much or as little as you want to be.

Confession: I once bricked my Mac by manually removing something I shouldn't have—meaning I could not restart. I'm far from a novice user, and this was part of a troubleshooting procedure I obviously hadn't researched enough, and yes, I felt really stupid afterwards. So it's possible (if we're all really honest) for even experienced users to have bad days.

The Mac doesn't need to be 'cleaned'

Terence Devlin wrote:

This notion that your Mac "gets dirty" is the fallacy…

the whole "clean install" claptrap … pretty much says it all [referring to Kalsta]

[It's like] dismantling and reassembling [your] car engines … Not necessary

Your Mac doesn't get dirty. It doesn't need cleaning.

babowa wrote:

you should know how your computer and its OS function and/or whether it needs "cleaning" before subjecting it to such unnecessary c**p

You do not need such help.

Terence, you used the analogy before of 'guys [who] like to spend the weekend dismantling and reassembling their car engines'. Presumably when they've finished this task, they don't have any parts left over, right? That would be bad. When you do a clean install on the Mac, you do end up with less on your drive than when you started. That's just a fact. If you're anything like me and you tend to install and trial a lot of software (I have a lot of pretty diverse interests and I probably spend far too many hours on my Mac!), you do end up with a lot of cruft. It's not a fallacy, it's a fact.

Now, this may not bother you. 'Need' is a subjective term here. Perhaps it doesn't need to be cleaned. While-ever there's enough space left on your drive, your Mac will probably chug along okay for some years. If rubbish collects on the floor of your car, and dirt collects on the outside, you don't need to clean it. Your car will probably keep running just fine.

I like to keep my Desktop clean and tidy. And I like the remnants of old, unused apps cleaned away too, even if it doesn't really matter. It's just me. (Maybe it's my OCD!)

Sometimes it does matter though. Like when an app installs an unwanted log-in item. Did you know that not all log-in items appear listed under System Preferences > Users & Groups > Login Items?

Hands up who has never had to trash a preference file to fix something broken on their Mac? Hands up who doesn't find themselves digging around in that hidden Library folder from time to time? If your hand isn't up, I'm guessing you either don't use your Mac all that much, or you have someone else to troubleshoot problems for you.

The truth is, Macs don't 'just work' without issue and without requiring any maintenance. Apple is about as good as it gets when it comes to reliability, but the kind of reliability we get from computers is still less I would say than we expect from our car (or probably most things). Computers (from any manufacturer) are complex beasts, and they do require troubleshooting and maintenance from time to time.

So the question is, how do you go searching for those corrupt preferences and other troublesome files? How would you disable unwanted items that are launching and running in the background every time you restart your Mac? I assume you'd research where the files are hidden and start digging through your Library files. That's fine for an experienced user, but most users probably have more chance of damaging something through manual tinkering than by using CleanMyMac.

Positive reviews are written or paid for by the developer

Terence Devlin wrote:

Can you explain to me how … only the inexperienced ones pop along every now and then to boost it again? It's fascinating. Can you explain it?

babowa wrote:

I don't waste my time reading reviews which, quite often, are paid for by the company wanting a good review of their product. Just search the web and you can have a job as well. You don't even need the product. I believe the going rate is/was $5 per review.

Yes, the web is full of fakes, fraudsters and phoneys—you'll find them on review sites, dating sites and while reading your email. I don't think fakes are that hard to spot in most cases—the good writers (the ones who could fake it well!) mustn't be that hard up as to sell their integrity for $5 a review. ;-) I find review sites useful, but I'm always on the lookout for reviews that don't ring true.

Do I need to defend my own integrity here, because I dared to swim against the current on this one? You'll have to make up your own mind. (Terrence, the implication of your comment wasn't lost on me as you can see, but unfortunately a more direct reply was deleted by the forum admin for being too 'aggresive'. I'm happy to leave it there.)

As I said before, just as someone with a bad experience is welcome to share their experience here, so too those with positive experiences should be welcome.

What I personally take issue with is when people post reviews of an application (or anything—we could be talking about movies, or books) without ever having used it. I can imagine that as a developer trying to make an honest living, this must be incredibly frustrating.

I can assure you I don't receive any benefit from all the time I've spent writing this—not $5, not a single cent. I don't think I've ever even communicated with the developer—I haven't needed to because the software has just worked for me. So why do I bother? For two reasons I think:

1. I empathise with the developer. I think the overwhelmingly negative response from non-users is unfair.
2. I want to benefit other Mac users, and share something that I have benefited from. Balanced and truthful reviews are part of what makes the Internet great, while untruthful content is part of what makes the Internet suck. (Think fear-based social media.) I'll only ever share what I believe to be a fair and true account on this and other forums. Promise!

Alright, I think we're well into point scoring territory now. I do think Babowa is right about one thing… this is turning into a colossal waste of time. No one ever 'wins' these arguments. So let me finish up by summarising my position as succinctly as I can:

1. I take your point that some other users have had a truly bad experience with CleanMyMac. For any software to cause data loss is a terrible thing, and I don't mean to downplay that. The reports of this warrant serious attention for anyone considering using the 'Automatic Cleanup' feature of this software. (Something to keep in mind though—the reality of support forums is that you see a disproportionate ratio of negative to positive reports, because people tend to come to a support forum when they're having a problem, not when things are going well. For every one person who complains, there are very likely multitudes more without issue. Of course the numbers are speculative without knowing the installed user base.) (As a second side-note, I've seen iTunes, Safari, Mail and Photos all cause some measure of data loss too—probably other Apple apps that I've forgotten.)
2. My own personal experience of CleanMyMac has been overwhelmingly positive. I find it useful for:
   • locating large, non-critical files if and when space is running low on a disk
   • uninstalling software properly (including all associated Library files)
   • deleting or disabling login items (this is incredibly easy and useful for troubleshooting, and lists far more items than are visible in System Preferences. It's also a far more user-friendly interface.)
3. While the software has an 'Automatic Cleanup' feature, I choose to use it in a more hands-on way, and I would recommend others do the same. If you do use the automatic scan, nothing is actually deleted until you press 'Clean'. (Admittedly, 'clean' sounds like a harmless term, and the UI clearly encourages you to trust what it's doing. I would agree that, given any potential for unwanted deletion, the seriousness of the command ought to be emphasised.)

Form your opinion on the software without trying it if you like, but please don't tell me that my own experience is invalid, or that the software has no useful purpose when I keep telling you that I find it useful.

Terence Devlin wrote:

I keep asking this question: how come there is such a disparity on the forum, where only new posters are the ones boosting this app? It's a heck of a coincidence, no?

C'mon mate, enough. You say you're not questioning my integrity, yet you keep pressing this button. I've been nothing but honest about my motivation and experience.

FYI, I'm not an inexperienced Mac user, nor am I a 'new poster'. I've been a computer user (and hobbyist programmer) for over 30 years, a Mac user for over 20. I have been a member of various Mac-related forums for many years, and a member of the Apple Support Communities (at least the current iteration) since 2004 as it says right there on my profile.

All the best.

Curious, I have several computers at work. Mine has a mail app that is 20gb and likely all the other macs here in the office do as well. All have loads of duplicate files, huge mail attachments, etc on the HD. Seems like a program to find and delete all these things would be helpful. From these forums apparently CMM isn't the one, IS there something that can do this?

I see people suggesting all this can be done manually, not sure how? My mail is crashing my mac and giving me application memory warnings on the daily.

CMM seemed like a good solution but now I guess not?

Hoping you might have some insight into what to do?

Running 10.12.2 on iMac (retina 5k)

Processor - 3.5 GHz Intel Core i5

Memory - 32 GB 1600 MHz DDR3

This is the other iMac.

EtreCheck version: 3.1.5 (343)

Report generated 2017-01-11 13:56:35

Download EtreCheck from https://etrecheck.com

Runtime 1:50

Performance: Excellent

Click the [Support] links for help with non-Apple products.

Click the [Details] links for more information about that line.

Problem: Beachballing

Description:

Mail taking time to load and running out of system memory

Hardware Information: ⓘ

iMac (Retina 5K, 27-inch, Late 2014)

[Technical Specifications] - [User Guide] - [Warranty & Service]

iMac - model: iMac15,1

1 3.5 GHz Intel Core i5 (i5-4690) CPU: 4-core

32 GB RAM Upgradeable - [Instructions]

BANK 0/DIMM0

8 GB DDR3 1600 MHz ok

BANK 1/DIMM0

8 GB DDR3 1600 MHz ok

BANK 0/DIMM1

8 GB DDR3 1600 MHz ok

BANK 1/DIMM1

8 GB DDR3 1600 MHz ok

Bluetooth: Good - Handoff/Airdrop2 supported

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

Video Information: ⓘ

AMD Radeon R9 M290X - VRAM: 2048 MB

iMac 5120 x 2880

System Software: ⓘ

macOS Sierra 10.12.2 (16C67) - Time since boot: about 2 days

Disk Information: ⓘ

APPLE SSD SD0128F disk0 : (121.33 GB) (Solid State - TRIM: Yes)

[Show SMART report]

EFI (disk0s1) <not mounted> : 210 MB

Boot OS X (disk0s3) <not mounted> : 134 MB

Macintosh HD (disk2) / [Startup]: 3.11 TB (1.75 TB free)

Core Storage: disk0s2 120.99 GB Online

Core Storage: disk1s2 3.00 TB Online

APPLE HDD ST3000DM001 disk1 : (3 TB) (Rotational)

[Show SMART report]

EFI (disk1s1) <not mounted> : 210 MB

Recovery HD (disk1s3) <not mounted> [Recovery]: 650 MB

Macintosh HD (disk2) / [Startup]: 3.11 TB (1.75 TB free)

Core Storage: disk0s2 120.99 GB Online

Core Storage: disk1s2 3.00 TB Online

USB Information: ⓘ

Seagate Backup+ Desk

Apple Inc. BRCM20702 Hub

Apple Inc. Bluetooth USB Host Controller

Apple Inc. FaceTime HD Camera (Built-in)

Apple, Inc. Keyboard Hub

Apple, Inc Apple Keyboard

Brother HL-L2340D series

Thunderbolt Information: ⓘ

Apple Inc. thunderbolt_bus

Gatekeeper: ⓘ

Mac App Store and identified developers

Kernel Extensions: ⓘ

/Applications/Capture One.app

[not loaded] com.Leaf.driver.LeafFwXDriverMatcher (1.2.0d1 - 2015-09-01) [Support]

/Applications/Transmit.app

[not loaded] com.panic.TransmitDisk.transmitdiskfs (4.0.0 - SDK 10.6 - 2015-01-03) [Support]

/Library/Extensions

[not loaded] com.wacom.kext.ftdi (1.0 - SDK 10.10 - 2016-12-22) [Support]

/System/Library/Extensions

[not loaded] com.wacom.kext.wacomtablet (Wacom Tablet 6.3.11-3 - SDK 10.10 - 2016-12-22) [Support]

System Launch Agents: ⓘ

[not loaded] 7 Apple tasks

[loaded] 168 Apple tasks

[running] 99 Apple tasks

[killed] 6 Apple tasks

6 processes killed due to insufficient RAM

System Launch Daemons: ⓘ

[not loaded] 38 Apple tasks

[loaded] 161 Apple tasks

[running] 106 Apple tasks

[killed] 6 Apple tasks

6 processes killed due to insufficient RAM

Launch Agents: ⓘ

[not loaded] com.adobe.AAM.Updater-1.0.plist (2015-08-31) [Support]

[loaded] com.adobe.AdobeCreativeCloud.plist (2015-01-20) [Support]

[loaded] com.google.keystone.agent.plist (2016-08-24) [Support]

[not loaded] com.teamviewer.teamviewer.plist (2015-04-24) [Support]

[not loaded] com.teamviewer.teamviewer_desktop.plist (2015-04-24) [Support]

[running] com.wacom.wacomtablet.plist (2014-12-22) [Support]

Launch Daemons: ⓘ

[loaded] com.adobe.SwitchBoard.plist (2015-02-02) [Support]

[running] com.adobe.agsservice.plist (2016-12-16) [Support]

[loaded] com.adobe.fpsaud.plist (2016-12-16) [Support]

[loaded] com.google.keystone.daemon.plist (2016-09-02) [Support]

[loaded] com.microsoft.office.licensing.helper.plist (2014-02-26) [Support]

[loaded] com.teamviewer.Helper.plist (2015-02-23) [Support]

[not loaded] com.teamviewer.teamviewer_service.plist (2015-04-24) [Support]

User Launch Agents: ⓘ

[loaded] com.adobe.AAM.Updater-1.0.plist (2015-08-31) [Support]

[failed] com.lastpass.LastPassHelper.plist (2015-03-11) [Support] - ~/Library/Application Support/LastPass/LastPassHelper.app/Contents/MacOS/LastPassHelper: Executable not found!

[loaded] com.macpaw.CleanMyMac3.Scheduler.plist (2017-01-11)

[running] com.spotify.webhelper.plist (2017-01-09) [Support]

User Login Items: ⓘ

TransmitMenu Application (2015-01-03)

(/Applications/Transmit.app/Contents/MacOS/TransmitMenu.app)

Spotify Application

(/Applications/Spotify.app)

Google Chrome Application

(/Applications/Google Chrome.app)

Stand Application

(/Applications/Stand.app)

MiniPlayer Application

(/Applications/MiniPlayer.app)

SpyderUtility Application

(/Applications/Datacolor/Spyder4Elite/Support/SpyderUtility.app)

Google Drive Application

(/Applications/Google Drive.app)

Dropbox Application

(/Applications/Dropbox.app)

CleanMyMac 3 Menu Application (2016-12-29)

(/Applications/CleanMyMac 3.app/Contents/MacOS/CleanMyMac 3 Menu.app)

Internet Plug-ins: ⓘ

AdobeExManDetect: AdobeExManDetect 1.1.0.0 - SDK 10.7 (2015-08-31) [Support]

FlashPlayer-10.6: 24.0.0.194 - SDK 10.9 (2017-01-10) [Support]

QuickTime Plugin: 7.7.3 (2016-12-22)

Flash Player: 24.0.0.194 - SDK 10.9 (2017-01-10) [Support]

AdobeAAMDetect: AdobeAAMDetect 2.0.0.0 - SDK 10.7 (2015-01-20) [Support]

o1dbrowserplugin: 5.41.3.0 - SDK 10.8 (2015-12-16) [Support]

SharePointBrowserPlugin: 14.7.1 - SDK 10.6 (2016-12-20) [Support]

nplastpass: 3.1.89 - SDK 10.10 (2015-03-11) [Support]

googletalkbrowserplugin: 5.41.3.0 - SDK 10.8 (2015-12-11) [Support]

PepperFlashPlayer: 24.0.0.194 - SDK 10.9 (2017-01-10) [Support]

WacomTabletPlugin: WacomTabletPlugin 2.1.0.6 - SDK 10.9 (2014-12-22) [Support]

User internet Plug-ins: ⓘ

CitrixOnlineWebDeploymentPlugin: 1.0.105 (2013-04-25) [Support]

Safari Extensions: ⓘ

AdBlock - Michael Gundlach - http://safariadblock.com (2015-06-10)

LastPass - LastPass - https://lastpass.com (2015-09-03)

uBlock - Chris Aljoudi - https://chrismatic.io/ (2015-08-20)

3rd Party Preference Panes: ⓘ

Flash Player (2016-12-16) [Support]

Paragon NTFS for Mac ® OS X (2016-08-16) [Support]

WacomTablet (2014-12-22) [Support]

Time Machine: ⓘ

Auto backup: YES

Volumes being backed up:

Macintosh HD: Disk size: 3.11 TB Disk used: 1.36 TB

Destinations:

Time Machine [Local]

Total size: 4.00 TB

Total number of backups: 73

Oldest backup: 6/20/16, 10:38 AM

Last backup: 1/11/17, 1:38 PM

Size of backup disk: Too small

Backup size 4.00 TB < (Disk used 1.36 TB X 3)

Top Processes by CPU: ⓘ

72% MiniPlayer

29% Spotify

9% WindowServer

9% Mail

2% kernel_task

Top Processes by Memory: ⓘ

4.61 GB Google Chrome Helper(24)

1.95 GB kernel_task

1.76 GB com.apple.WebKit.WebContent(2)

1.63 GB Adobe Photoshop CS6

1.50 GB Finder

Virtual Memory Information: ⓘ

10.99 GB Available RAM

553 MB Free RAM

21.01 GB Used RAM

10.45 GB Cached files

742 MB Swap Used

Diagnostics Information: ⓘ

Jan 11, 2017, 12:53:45 PM /Library/Logs/DiagnosticReports/CleanMyMac 3_2017-01-11-125345_[redacted].cpu_resource.diag [Details]

/Applications/CleanMyMac 3.app/Contents/MacOS/CleanMyMac 3

Jan 11, 2017, 09:46:56 AM /Library/Logs/DiagnosticReports/Dropbox_2017-01-11-094656_[redacted].cpu_resour ce.diag [Details]

/Applications/Dropbox.app/Contents/MacOS/Dropbox

Jan 11, 2017, 08:41:33 AM /Library/Logs/DiagnosticReports/MiniPlayer_2017-01-11-084133_[redacted].cpu_res ource.diag [Details]

/Applications/MiniPlayer.app/Contents/MacOS/MiniPlayer

Jan 9, 2017, 02:49:47 PM ~/Library/Logs/DiagnosticReports/Mail_2017-01-09-144947_[redacted].crash

com.apple.mail - /Applications/Mail.app/Contents/MacOS/Mail

Jan 9, 2017, 12:48:51 PM /Library/Logs/DiagnosticReports/Mail_2017-01-09-124851_[redacted].cpu_resource. diag [Details]

Jan 9, 2017, 09:30:22 AM Self test - passed

Files deleted by EtreCheck: ⓘ

Jan 9, 2017, 02:05:53 PM - ~/Library/LaunchAgents/com.hopster.couponprinter.plist

Okay. I totally agree about Clean My Mac 3. I bought it and it immediately used all my RAM so the system froze and I could do nothing. I finally had to force a shutdown. I uninstalled it. After a few days I thought that maybe I had a bad download and installed it again with the same effect. So I uninstalled it again. Now I have been waiting two weeks to hear back from support in a comprehensive way so we can work this out.

As far as Disk Warrior goes, it sure saved my system a month ago when it started to crash for some reason (this was before the CleanMyMac fiasco). I ran Disk Utility which told me I had errors. I called Apple Tech. I had a SuperDuper backup but Apple Tech won't work with anything but Time Machine. So they partially reformatted the hard drive I had SuperDuper on and barely saved the one backup i had so I could backup to Time Machine on the other part of the drive. Turns out there was not enough room on that drive to back up to Time Machine. Meanwhile my internal drive was getting funkier. I heard about Disk Warrior, bought it as I was desperate. I installed it and backed up my internal drive with SuperDuper again, booted from the external drive, ran Disk Warrior and whatever was wrong got fixed. Believe me that was $100 well spent.

Anyway I now have more than one bootable backup and redundant 2 Tb external hard drives.

Wondering what the difference is between our machines. The first time I installed CleanMyMac 3 and used it my system almost crashed. Fortunately I was able to restore it. But, I thought I had a bad download so reinstalled the program. It ate all of my RAM. I had the beach ball and could click on nothing. Had to force the machine off for the second time.

Now CleanMyMac 3 is gone forever from my system.

You have actually provided the answer to your question by stating: "all the EXPERIENCED users on this site recommend against this app and its ilk". Many of us are NOT experienced users that like you seem to be able to determine that ALL add-ons are crap. That, to some, is, in itself, subject to a person thinking, oh really!

Fred Suza wrote:

You have actually provided the answer to your question by stating: "all the EXPERIENCED users on this site recommend against this app and its ilk". Many of us are NOT experienced users that like you seem to be able to determine that ALL add-ons are crap. That, to some, is, in itself, subject to a person thinking, oh really!

?

Because you are an experienced mac user and know and take for granted all that you do know. For us mere mortals that knowledge of yours is not easily available and we don't understand either what we are doing or what folks like you are trying to tell us to do. We start and then get stuck because essential bits of information you have taken for granted is known isn't known to us and we don't know how to move on from that point. So, for the everyday less advanced mac user, tools that take the guess work and insider knowledge out of it and help us shift stuff we no longer need are very very welcome to us.

So, take the advice of experienced Mac users like me. You don't need this meretricious junk. How plain can I make this? It's designed to extract money from the inexperienced and risks making whatever problem they have (or think you may have) much worse. There you go. Clear enough?

A couple of things:

1) You are responding to a post that Terence made over 2 years ago, so not sure what the context of your post is at this point

2) The post you are questioning is one where Terence specifically asked the poster that he was responding to a question in order to help clarify what the previous poster was stating

We are just users like you. And if you, as users, do not specifically state what your issue is, we do not have any magical powers by which to intuit what they might be. I haven't see what your question is, for example.

If you are simply objecting to the part where it was stated that most "experienced" users wouldn't touch Clean My Mac, or any other AV or cleaning product for a Mac with a ten-foot pole, then you're right, we are using the word "experienced" here to assure you that we have been around the block a few times, and having been, we recommend that you avoid that kind of crap like the plague.

So, not understanding what your point, or your issue is?

GB

You wrote ...

Because you are an experienced mac user and know and take for granted all that you do know.

But surely, isn't that why you wrote to the forums? You were looking for the answer to what was in your mind and you expected to find it from the experienced other users. To then criticise them seems bizarre to me.

This notion that your Mac "gets dirty" is the fallacy that this junk ware is based one. It is designed for a sole purpose: separate the unwary from their money. But then, you see your HD as "a wasteland of unused cache and preference files", and this idea of keeping your HD "clean and lean" pretty much says it all. No, actually the whole "clean install" claptrap does that. Some guys like to spend the weekend dismantling and reassembling their car engines. Good for them. Not necessary, but if it makes them happy. That's the country you're in with "clean installs".

Your Mac doesn't get dirty. It doesn't need cleaning. If you want to pay for junk, feel free. You've been lucky. Hope your luck holds.

Can you explain to me how all the experienced posters on this board recommend against this app and only the inexperienced ones pop along every now and then to boost it again? It's fascinating. Can you explain it?