Lawrence_B

Q: Is there such a thing as a safe (and effective) MacBook Air cleaner?

I keep seeing adverts for downloads - but also warnings about malware. What would users recommend?

MacBook Air, Mac OS X (10.7.5)

Posted on May 2, 2014 1:13 AM

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Q: Is there such a thing as a safe (and effective) MacBook Air cleaner?

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  • by dominic23,

    dominic23 dominic23 May 2, 2014 1:23 AM in response to Lawrence_B
    Level 8 (42,030 points)
    Mac OS X
    May 2, 2014 1:23 AM in response to Lawrence_B

    So called cleaner software do not help much.

     

    Problem may be caused by adware.

     

    Identify and remove adware/malware

     

    http://www.thesafemac.com/arg/

     

    http://www.thesafemac.com/mmg/

     

     

    EtreCheck

     

    Run EtreCheck and look for any third party app  that may be causing this problem.

     

    https://discussions.apple.com/docs/DOC-6173

  • by Csound1,

    Csound1 Csound1 May 2, 2014 3:53 AM in response to Lawrence_B
    Level 9 (51,196 points)
    Desktops
    May 2, 2014 3:53 AM in response to Lawrence_B

    Lawrence_B wrote:

     

    I keep seeing adverts for downloads - but also warnings about malware. What would users recommend?

    A soft damp cloth is all you need.

     

    Don't use any cleaning software

  • by Carolyn Samit,

    Carolyn Samit Carolyn Samit May 2, 2014 3:56 AM in response to Lawrence_B
    Level 10 (123,652 points)
    Apple Music
    May 2, 2014 3:56 AM in response to Lawrence_B

    Do not install CleanMyMac or MacKeeper or any other third party so called maintenance utility on your Mac. They can cause far more harm than good.

     

    Your Mac runs maintenance in the background for you.

     

    Useful tips here > Do not install MacKeeper: Apple Support Communities

  • by themachead,

    themachead themachead May 2, 2014 6:28 AM in response to Lawrence_B
    Level 3 (769 points)
    iPhone
    May 2, 2014 6:28 AM in response to Lawrence_B

    Welcome to Apple Discussions

     

    Yes -  you are the safest and most effective sofware cleaner for your Mac.

     

    A liitle educaton about "other" and freeing up space on your Mac will allow you to remove large files and either store them on an external hard drive, or, delete them.

     

    Mac's are not like WinDUHows machines... they seldom need defragging, and they do not loose space to obscure files.

  • by Linc Davis,

    Linc Davis Linc Davis May 2, 2014 9:23 AM in response to Lawrence_B
    Level 10 (208,037 points)
    Applications
    May 2, 2014 9:23 AM in response to Lawrence_B

    How to maintain a Mac

     

    1. Make two or more backups of all your files, keeping at least one off site at all times in case of disaster. One backup is not enough to be safe. Don’t back up your backups; all should be made directly from the original data. 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 App Store or Software Update preference pane (depending on the OS version), 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.

     

    Keeping up to date 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. Incompatibility with third-party software is by far the most common cause of trouble with system updates.

       

    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, such stuff is useless or worse than useless. Above all, avoid any software that purports to change the look and feel of the user interface.

      

    It's not much of an exaggeration to say that the whole "utility" software industry for the Mac is a fraud on consumers. The most extreme examples are the "CleanMyMac" and “MacKeeper” scams, but there are many others.

       

    As a rule, the only software you should install is that which directly enables you to do the things you use a computer for, and doesn't change the way other software works.

      

    Safari extensions, and perhaps the equivalent for other web browsers, are a partial exception to the above rule. Most are safe, and they're easy to get rid of if they don't work. Some may cause the browser to crash or otherwise malfunction.  Some are malicious. Use with caution, and install only well-known extensions from relatively trustworthy sources, such as the Safari Extensions Gallery.

      

    Never install any third-party software unless you know how to uninstall it. Otherwise you may create problems that are very hard to solve. Do not rely on "utilities" such as "AppCleaner" and the like that purport to remove software.

     

    4. Don't install bad, conflicting, or unnecessary fonts. Whenever you install new fonts, use the validation feature of the built-in Font Book application to make sure the fonts aren't defective and don't conflict with each other or with others that you already have. See the built-in help and this support article for instructions. Deactivate or remove fonts that you don't really need to speed up application launching.

     

    5. Avoid malware. Malware is malicious software that circulates on the Internet. This kind of attack on OS X was once so rare that it was hardly a concern, but malware is 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 come directly from the developer's website. No intermediary is acceptable, and don’t trust links unless you know how to parse them. Any file that is automatically downloaded from the web, without your having requested it, should go straight into the Trash. A web page that tells you that your computer has a “virus,” or that anything else is wrong with it, is a scam.

     

    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.

     

    6. Don't fill up your disk/SSD. 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 startup 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 use 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 OmniDiskSweeper to explore the volume and find out what's taking up the most space. Move seldom-used large files to secondary storage.

      

    7. 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.

      

    To use a Mac effectively, you have to free yourself from the Windows mindset that every computer needs regular downtime maintenance such as "defragging" and "registry cleaning." Those concepts do not apply to the Mac platform. A well-made computing device is not something you should have to think about much. It should be an almost transparent medium through which you communicate, work, and play. If you want a machine that needs attention, use a PC.

      

    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.

  • by AppleFan143,

    AppleFan143 AppleFan143 May 4, 2014 10:05 PM in response to Linc Davis
    Level 1 (5 points)
    May 4, 2014 10:05 PM in response to Linc Davis

    well cleanmymac isnt a scam just dont let it clean up large files... but idk

    if you want a trusted one get AVG cleaner on the app store and memory clean

  • by Csound1,

    Csound1 Csound1 May 5, 2014 12:52 AM in response to AppleFan143
    Level 9 (51,196 points)
    Desktops
    May 5, 2014 12:52 AM in response to AppleFan143

    AppleFan143 wrote:

     

    well cleanmymac isnt a scam

    CleanMyMac is a scam.

     

    AVG is even worse.