What is the best Mac cleaner software?

Download and run Etrecheck. Copy and paste the results into your reply.

Etrecheck is a diagnostic tool that was developed by one of the most respected users here in the ASC and recommended by Apple Support to provide a snapshot of the system and help identify the more obvious culprits that can adversely affect a Mac's performance.

The best Mac Cleaner for your Mac is your Mac.

Here is what you can do

1. Quit out of any actively open Mac apps
2. Go to the Finder in Mac OS
3. Hold down the SHIFT key (in Sierra) or OPTION / ALT key (Earlier) and pull down the “Go” menu in the Finder
4. Choose “Library” from the Go menu options
5. Once inside the Library folder, find and open the “Caches” folder
6. Choose which caches and temporary files to clear, you can selectively choose specific app caches and temporary files to clean*, or select them all, then place those cache items into the Trash

2- reboot the Mac

1. Save whatever you are working on
2. Pull down the Apple menu and choose “Restart”
3. Reboot the Mac, the temporary system folder items and caches will be cleared automatically on boot

Also, if you're sure that you don't want to do this manually, you can try such cleaners as Macfly Pro or Onyx. They are safe and quick.

Your brain. It should tell you to never install so-called Mac cleaning software, as far too many posts here over the years indicate that such software whacks proper functionality of installed applications, and the operating system itself.

When I go to the App store, Dr Cleaner is not free. I think it said $14.99. My mac mini has been crashing by itself, apps won't open says they quit unexpectedly, sometimes the mac won't restart unless I hold down the button for a while. My net gear WIFI say it quit and I wasn't even using it. All kinds of problems. I upgraded High Sierra from 10.13 to 10.13.1 and it's a little better. But when things happen I have to reboot the mac every time. Do you think the Dr Cleaner will help clean up my hard drive, I'm not that computer savvy. Thanks

I wouldn't use any cleaning program on my computer. They often delete required item and can ruin your computer's normal operation.

Try running this program in your normal account, then copy and paste the output in a reply. The program was created by etresoft, a frequent contributor. Please use copy and paste as screen shots can be hard to read. On the screen with Options, please open Options and check the bottom 2 boxes before running. Click “Share Report” button in the toolbar, select “Copy Report” and then paste into a reply. This will show what is running on your computer. No personal information is shown.

Etrecheck – System Information

I use Chrome for my web browser. I have banner ads popping up all over most web pages I open - the ads are from "mycouponize". These ads cover web page script and they cannot be removed. I have spent hours online trying to find a solution to eliminate these ads (malware???). Please offer some insight and guidance as to how I can remove this problem from my Mac.

I have a MacBook Pro (mid 2010) w/ 8GB memory, running MacOS High Sierra Version 10.13.1. I greatly appreciate everyone's knowledge and efforts to assist me. Gaetano

I strongly recommend against the installation of this app.

The apps in this review are some of the worst and most dangerous that can be installed on Mac. Whenever I am called in to help with a Mac that is having problems, if I find any of them installed my first step is to uninstall them. Most of the time that fixes the problem.

There's a huge clue that would tell you why this should immediately pop out as a scam. I fully not everyone understands the nonsense written in this email text, so I'll explain what it is so you have an idea what to watch for in the future.

The giveaway is the ridiculous path names. Let's say your Mac's startup drive is named Bozo. The email starts with a slash as path folder separator, which means the root of the drive would have to come before it. So it would be:

Bozo/mac/apps/…

That means you should be able to double click the icon of your startup drive, Bozo, and see a folder named mac next to Applications, System, Library, Users, and any other folder you may have created at the root of the drive. You of course won't normally find such a folder there.

Let's say the idiot who created this email thinks mac is the name of the startup drive. Then you should find a folder named apps next to Applications, System, etc.

No matter which, you could find these so-called infections yourself by following the path names. Nothing is hidden, despite said idiot having hidden as part of the path name since it would have to start with a period, or intentionally have the hidden flag set.

Lastly, it says all three are .dmg files. These are disk images, which can't do anything until you double click the disk image to view whatever is inside, and then choose to run any app within. By themselves, they're nothing.

In your first steps (1-6), there is almost never a good reason to manually clear cache data. It's a waste of time since cache data is used to speed up commonly accessed processes. Clearing caches only means the OS and your apps have to recreate them.

The next steps (1-3) are completely wrong. A simple reboot does not remove any cache files.

Many users have already mentioned third party cleaning apps should not be used. And even you stated, "The best Mac Cleaner for your Mac is your Mac." And yet, you then recommend a cleaning app (Macfly Pro). Another piece of complete junk no one should allow anywhere near their Mac.

I do use Onyx on occasion. But it's a tool a person needs to take the time to understand how it works before using it. Everything Onyx does is run the same Unix commands you could in Terminal, if you knew them all, but behind a pretty GUI. It should be used with caution, and not before having a backup of your system.

Kurt Lang wrote:

In your first steps (1-6), there is almost never a good reason to manually clear cache data. It's a waste of time since cache data is used to speed up commonly accessed processes. Clearing caches only means the OS and your apps have to recreate them.

Which will of course cause a slowdown while and until they are rebuilt. Exactly the opposite of what is wanted.

Hi - I just got this notification (supposedly from Apple) - is it OK?

Please let Mac take care of it without the help of any additional application.

These Cleaner applications may clean too much and create problems.

Best.

Software like this is not required.

What junk ?

There is no such thing. There is only which cleaning program will destroy my Mac in the least destructive way.

Stay away from cleaning programs.

Any software, no matter where it comes from, that purports to automatically "clean up" or "speed up" a Mac is a scam.

It's best to describe the functional problem, if you have one, in as much relevant detail as possible, rather than to say what you think is causing it or how you think it should be solved.