Mac Optimization Software FAQ

The short answer is no.

The long answer is that Macs don’t have a registry since macOS is based on FreeBSD, an operating system that is very different from Windows OSs. Hence why most Mac cleaners focus on deleting cache files, unused programs, hoarded junk data, logs and many more.

However, there are plenty of other features that can be found in both PC and Mac optimization software, such as file shredder, deep (and scheduled) scans, a program uninstaller, add-on manager and a startup optimizer that turns off as many programs as you want to speed up the startup process. Some solutions are also capable of optimizing your computer’s memory and grant safer web browsing by wiping your internet history and cookies clean, and even provide antivirus and antimalware features.

More advanced software will take care of the automatic updates of other programs, restore files that were once deemed deleted, create backups for you, and can even monitor your computer for junk files in real-time so you are able to take countermeasures when necessary. Sometimes there is even the option to use a remote desktop function, whereby a trained technician takes control of your device (under your supervision, of course) to deal with the cleanup for you – which is a huge asset for less tech-savvy users.

Unfortunately, there are very few companies that actually develop the same (or at least similar) optimization products for PCs and Macs. In fact, Mac products are usually inferior compared to PC registry cleaners due to the fact that they include fewer features. Not to mention the fact that the overall better reliability of Macs and a greater versatility of built-in junk removal options means there is less demand for software to deal with this problem. While the Mac userbase is growing and Apple is eating away market share from Windows, the number of Mac users is still far below that of the PC, which makes it more tempting for software developers to create software for the Windows ecosystem.

Out of the many Mac optimizers we have tested there is one case where the Mac version is better than its PC counterpart: MacPaw’s CleanMyMac. While the PC version CleanMyPC is almost equally good, the Mac software is the most complete solution MacPaw has in store. Piriform on the other hand first came out with the PC version of their CCleaner software, and later on Mac users got to enjoy the software for their operating system of choice as well. While CCleaner is a well-rounded solution, it’s not on par with the PC version just yet.

The ease of installing and uninstalling apps from macOS (formerly OS X) is among one of the first features we usually mention when comparing Apple’s desktop operating system to others. Forget about an “Uninstall Programs” control panel like the one in Windows; you can delete applications from your Mac in three easy steps.

1. Open a new Finder window and click Applications.
2. Select and drag the application into the trash, or press CMD+Delete to move the item to Trash.
3. Now just empty your Trash (right-click and “Empty Trash”).

Still, in some cases, removing an application may leave some data behind, such as preference and cache files. Although some say leaving these generally does no harm, there are two things you should keep in mind: such files add up over time and will occupy precious space on your Mac’s hard or flash drive. That means if your storage hits a critical level, those files will ultimately affect your Mac’s performance.

So users with smaller flash drives will be tempted to pay more attention to the cache and support files that some apps generate, especially if they play a lot of games. Be sure to keep an eye on your cache files.

Secondly, if you have installed an app from an unidentified developer you might not know if it contains malicious code or not, so it is in the interests of your safety and security to completely remove all of the files associated with the application you have chosen to uninstall.

Uninstalling apps

Some apps come with an uninstall option built-in, for example Adobe or Microsoft applications, which usually install other complementary apps along with the main application.

But if you aren’t confident that all of the associated files and folders have been removed, there is a third option that makes uninstalling apps as simple and dragging and dropping. For that there are apps such as CleanMyMac, MacBooster, AppCleaner and the like.

Still, the question remains: how can you make sure you have removed all data, cache files and other files associated to the removed app from your system? Well, there are three ways to do that:

1. Locate the files via Finder.
2. Use various Terminal commands to remove files.
3. Use a third-party app that safely removes all the files.

In this article we will show how can you locate and erase the remnant app components using Finder, and which Terminal commands you can use to remove them for good.

Locating remnant app components with Finder

In macOS every app has Application Support files, which include saved preferences, cached temporary files and much more. You can locate those folders by opening a Finder window, hitting CMD+SHIFT+G key to open the “Go to Folder” dialog box and enter the following:

1. For Application Support: ~/Library/Application Support/(App Name)
2. Preferences: ~/Library/Preferences/(App Name)
3. Caches: ~/Library/Caches/(App Name)

After locating the folders, you can select them and either drag them to Trash or use the CMD+Delete shortkey to achieve the same, and then right-click on Trash and choose to empty it.

Completely remove apps and remnant app components using terminal commands (advanced users only)

Just a quick note before you launch Terminal and enter the following commands: these guides are for advanced users only, and if you are not 100% confident of what you are doing it is best to back up your Mac using Time Machine, since it allows you to restore the files if the task goes awry.

There are two powerful tools in macOS that will let you delete files: the rm (removal) and srm (safe removal) commands.

If you have administrator privileges, run the ‘rm’ command with a ‘sudo‘ prefix to remove files from selected locations. To use this command, you’ll need to know the exact location of the file. In other words, to delete a file you only need to launch Terminal and enter “sudo rm -rif” followed by the path to that file.

Here is an example: sudo rm -rif ~/Downloads/file.name

The srm command goes one step further since it is the higher level of the incredibly powerful removal tool. Secure removal is not for novice users and we must remind you that, if used, it will be impossible to recover the data you have deleted using this powerful command unless you have a backup on your Time Machine drive.

So here is an example of the srm command using Terminal:

srm -r /path/to/directory/

Again, use the srm command only if you are confident of what you are doing. If not, Time Machine is there to help, as always.

As unbelievable as it may seem, even Macs can suffer from slow startup times, which kills the main reason why many people prefer Apple products over PCs with Microsoft Windows. There are plenty of reasons why your Mac boots slow, but thankfully all of these problems can be easily resolved, regardless of whether you do so manually or with the aid of cleanup software.

Believe it or not, sometimes a simple hardware upgrade is enough. In that regard, getting more memory and replacing your hard disk with a 7,200 rpm drive or, better yet, an SSD drive will improve your startup speed. In fact, a solid state drive not only occupies less space within the device itself, but it significantly speeds up your computer regardless of what you do. However, even the fastest disk available won’t be enough if you don’t pay attention to the system settings.

The most important and probably easiest thing to do is to check out which programs start automatically when you push the power button, and disable those you don’t need. In this regard, check which programs take up more CPU resources in the Activity Monitor and decide whether those CPU intensive programs should run in the background or be disabled entirely. You can remove system wide startup applications and daemons from system folders by pressing Shift + Command + G – and therefore opening Go to Folder – and typing in /Library/StartupItems/. Consider doing the same to unused fonts, too, in order to reduce the startup time.

Having a login screen can be helpful (especially preventing unwanted users from accessing your most precious files and data), but it can also slow the booting process down, so consider enabling the automatic login option for a speedier boot-up. Don’t forget to uncheck the “Reopen windows when logging back in” option when you shut down your computer as well, since this way the Mac won’t have to process the reopening of apps, windows and browser tabs you left running when you turned the device off.

Speaking of shutting down: if you use your Mac often, it might be better to just activate the sleep mode on your computer instead of shutting the device down every time. This way your system will be ready for action almost instantaneously upon waking up your computer again. Still, even in this case you benefit from stopping any apps and processes that aren’t necessary for what you’re currently using your system for. Not just to eliminate unnecessary system memory usage and keeping your Mac up to speed, but also to keep power consumption low during sleep mode.

There is also a radical option to boost your Mac’s boot-up speed, but it should only be used as a last resort. Reinstalling the entire OS will refresh your system completely, creating an almost-brand new system to work with. Think of this as dropping the A-bomb on an already underperforming Mac and having the opportunity to start anew without any major issues. The term “A-bomb” was not used by accident, however: this task wipes literally everything from your Mac, meaning that if you choose this option you should always create a backup of files, folders and programs to be spared before hitting the red button.

Last but not least, you should remove everything invisible that might slow your device down, such as junk files, duplicates and the various caches. Unfortunately this is easier said than done, especially if you are not a Mac expert and you have no idea how to delete these types of data from your computer. Luckily, this is where you can turn to Mac optimizers, which were developed for this very reason. They let you run deep scans on your computer and highlight the files that can be terminated without causing major malfunction. In fact, Mac optimizers can detect other hidden files that were once deleted from Trash and completely remove them alongside any unwanted programs, browser cookies and history, and many other junk files that you might never have thought of.

A faster, albeit pricier solution to boosting your Mac’s performance is to replace your hard drive with an SSD; however, doing so might result in more damage, so it’s better to do some salvaging with the existing hardware before opting for radical solutions or investing in an SSD drive.

Sweeping your hard drive

An obvious choice for reducing slowdowns and the hoarding of junk files is to remove unused apps from the Applications and Downloads folders. You can also check out which apps take up more CPU resources by opening the Activity Monitor and deleting any unwanted software that takes up a lot of processing power. Once you’ve decided which apps to keep, you should repair certain permissions in Disk Utility and determine which programs should launch at the system startup in Users & Groups (Preferences).

Removing all trash

Don’t forget to do more trivial things, too, like emptying the Trash. And we don’t mean just the common Trash, either, but that of other programs such as iPhoto, Mail and so on. Speaking of which, your desktop can easily become littered with unwanted files as well, so make sure you don’t use it to store valuable files, especially if it’s a large file. Consider getting rid of those large files as well, especially if they are not used anymore. To do so simply hit Command + F, click on “Kind”, select “Other”, then select the search attribute “File Size”, change KB to MB and then search for a size of file you’d like to eradicate. From then on it’s up to you to decide what goes and what stays.

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Pay attention to duplicate files too, since they take up a significant amount of space on your hard drive. They can be easily removed, especially when certain programs (like Contacts) can deal with duplicates with just a few clicks.

Unused widgets

Don’t forget to delete unused widgets as well by simply going into Dashboard, clicking the + sign and unchecking everything you don’t need.

Browser Cache & Add-ons

Speaking of widgets and add-ons, remember that these may cause serious problems for your browser as well. To make your web surfing faster and to boost your Mac’s performance even more, use only the most necessary add-ons while ensuring that each time you exit the browser you also clear its history (in Safari this can be found under, well, History) and empty the cache (with Command-Option-E).

You can speed up your Finder too: by default it shows all your files, but after selecting a new Finder window in Preferences, you will significantly reduce loading time.

macOS updates

And last but not least, it’s important to remember those Mac updates: make sure you allow Mac to update itself, or manually check for patches and upgrades yourself in the Apple Menu under “Software Update”. However, if you think that all is lost, there is also the option for a clean slate by reinstalling macOS and starting from scratch. Keep in mind, though, that this option should only be used in extreme cases and if you decide to take this route then make sure you backup your files and folders, otherwise, they will be terminated for good.

Cleaning with a Mac optimizer

Although all of these tasks can be performed without the use of optimization software, it is not recommended for various reasons. The biggest reason of all is that using these tools will save time and money.

Thankfully many developers behind these tools either offer free versions with feature limitations or they allow you to use the program for free via a money back guarantee, meaning these tools can be trialed at your leisure without any risk.

As for saving time, an optimizer allows you to complete various tasks all at the same time: this means performing deep scans on your computer to find out what could be deleted, then running the cleaning process to say goodbye to all those junk logs, unwanted languages, useless temporary files and more. Mac optimizers go a step further; for instance, they can strengthen privacy protection for your computer to ensure safer, junk-free internet browsing.

You don’t need to manually remove duplicate files either, while having access to an uninstaller and a file shredder means it’s possible to safely and permanently remove files and programs that your Mac was unable to properly delete. Some Mac optimizers even have a remote desktop option, with which you can give permission to a technician to handle the ‘dirty work’ for you.

Mac users probably know that macOS — like other operating systems — uses lots of cached files. A cached file contains temporary data created by a variety of apps that you use, such as primarily browsers.

What is cache?

Your Mac stores different types of temporary files, for example the cache files of the system, the web browser, messaging apps, and user data as well as those generated and stored by apps or files and partially completed downloads. Sometimes these files get corrupted because of software updates, causing problems at launch.

These temporary files aim to help your Mac run faster. For example, if you visit a web page, macOS creates a storage area on your hard drive to hold the most recently downloaded con-tent for that site. By default, web browsers cache all content such as text, images and other content encountered on the internet. To enable quicker access the next time you visit the same page, your web browser uses your computer’s memory to store the data of recently visited web pages.

Caching those web pages allows you to quickly jump from one web page to another without the need to download that page again. When you have finished browsing, the cached pages are stored on your disk drive. Some web browsers, such as Mozilla Firefox, let you set the amount of space to use for the cache, – which is essentially a separated folder – and the length of time to hold the pages. However, the majority of web browsers don’t allow this feature.

Helpful but sometimes painful

Part of your Mac’s performance depends on empty hard drive or flash drive space. In order to work at its best, your Mac needs around 10% of your storage space available. So, while helpful, the problem with these temporary files is that they won’t disappear after we use them. They remain on your Mac and, over time, the number of temporary files builds up and could consume several gigabytes of storage if not cleared. A cache can be compared to trash: it’s good to take it out on a regular basis, otherwise you won’t be able to move because you’ll be surrounded by it.

While some apps can handle cache management on their own, more advanced users can maintain their Mac’s storage space by manually clearing their own cache and temporary files. Generally, this isn’t a task you’d do regularly unless you notice that the cache is taking up too much space or a particular app is not functioning properly or serving up data from an old cache.

Despite what Mac cleaning apps claim, emptying the cache won’t magically speed up your computer’s performance. It will reclaim storage space, that’s for sure, but don’t expect a phenomenal performance boost. It will help certain apps perform better. And if you clear the cache manually, you should first back up your Mac first using Time Machine, because this gives you the option of restoring your data if something goes wrong.

How do i manually clear cache files on my Mac?

There are three main types of cache data you can clean on your Mac: the user cache, the system cache – which includes the app and DNS caches – and the browser cache.

User cache

To clear your user cache, you first need to quit any active Mac apps, and then:

1. Open a Finder window.
2. Hold down the Alt/Option key, and click on the “Go” menu in the Finder.
3. Select “Library” from the drop-down menu items.
4. Look for the “Caches” folder inside the “Library” folder.
5. Select the caches and temporary files you want to clear, or select all if that’s your prefer-ence, and then move those items into the Trash.
6. Empty the Trash in macOS as usual, and you’re done.

A faster way to access the cache folder is to open a Finder window, click on the “Go” menu and select “Go to Folder”, then type in ~/Library/Caches in the dialog box.

After emptying the Trash following steps 5 and 6, you can also repeat the “Go to Folder” command but this time enter just /Library/Caches and repeat steps 5 and 6.

Another way to access that last Cache folder is to open a Finder window, use the Cmd+Shift+C short key, then click on “Macintosh HD” and select “Library” then “Cache”.

The safe way to clear temporary items and /private/var/folders/ is very simple: just reboot your Mac. That will trigger Apple’s operating system’s built-in cache clearing functions, and the temporary items in these folders will be deleted automatically.

It is recommended that you reboot your Mac after clearing the cache manually.

System, DNS cache

Another system cache that has a tendency to build up is the DNS cache, which contains old entries that translate domain names to IP addresses. Flushing the DNS cache could help websites load properly.

To clear the DNS cache using Terminal, do the following:

1. Launch Terminal (tip: type “terminal” into Spotlight).
2. If you are running macOS Sierra, type in the following command:sudo killall -HUP mDNSResponder;say DNS cache has been flushed

The command includes instructions for a verbal audio alert to signal that the DNS cache has been flushed when the action is complete.

Older versions of macOS usually have different sudo commands for resetting the DNS cache.

Browser cache

The only web browser of the most popular browsers (think Google Chrome, Safari, Firefox, Opera) that allows users to set the cache size is Firefox. But all browsers include an option to clear the cache. For Apple’s built-in Safari you’ll need to activate the “Develop” menu under Preferences, so it requires an extra step first.

Clearing the cache simply using third-party apps

If you don’t want to go through all the steps listed above, you can always rely on a third party app such as CleanMyMac, MacKeeper, OnyX or others, which will make the process easier. These third party apps don’t require advanced macOS knowledge from the user, and they usually come with a nice, clean user interface.

For example the popular third party Mac optimization software CleanMyMac enables users to find and remove all the cache files simply by hitting one button. With CleanMyMac, for example, you launch the app, select “System Junk” from the left menu items, hit “Scan” and then “Clean”, and the software does the rest.

When you first open iTunes, it’s a lightweight app for handling your growing audio files and music. But the more you diversify your musical taste, the bigger the iTunes music library gets and, with time, the problems begin to arise. Your playlists become clogged with duplicate files and, finally, you’ll end up (like most of us) migrating the 100GB+ music library onto an external drive to avoid the annoying “startup disk almost full” message.

Apple Music, the company’s music streaming service, can be a lifesaver here, since it eliminates the need for huge music libraries. Apple Music gives access to more than 30 million songs for those who sign up for a subscription plan.

But as iTunes evolved from a simple music player into a complex media and device management program, its need for storage resources has expanded. For example, the iTunes Store is used to display movies, apps, and music, and all of these sections add to the cache occupying space on your startup disk as you use them.

The more you listen to Apple Music, the more your disk space shrinks, even if you don’t save albums for offline listening. The reason for that is simple: iTunes stores what you listen to in the cache so you don’t have to download it again.

Also, if you own an iPhone, iPad, or iPod, iTunes will manage the data on it, which also adds to the junk in your limited storage space. You don’t have to look too far: just consider the .IPSW (firmware) file you download with every major iOS version release, which is typically more than 1GB in size. Add to this any iOS device backup and only a multiple-terabytes storage disk will be able to meet your needs. For Mac users with SSDs, this is mission impossible.

Fortunately, all these unnecessary files, junk data, and caches can be cleared regularly to free up space on your limited storage.

Clearing the iTunes cache the advanced Mac user way

Apple stores the iTunes cache files in the cache folder, which also includes caches of other apps too. To locate and delete it:

1. First, quit iTunes, then launch Finder. Press the Command + Shift + G shortcut, and paste the following path into the Go to Folder prompt:~/Library/Caches/com.apple.itunes
2. Select all the files and move them into Trash, or delete the folder containing the cache.
3. Relaunch iTunes, and the app will create any necessary files again, but the SubscriptionPlayCache will be a much lighter folder than it was. If you notice that your storage space is shrinking again, come back and delete the files once again.

How to clear the iTunes cache the easy way

There is an easier way to do all this, though: launch a Mac optimization app such as CleanMyMac or CCleaner, and hit scan. CleanMyMac, for example, will scour your system for cache and junk files, as well as identifying unnecessary files that can be safely removed. In just a few seconds the exact information on how much space that can be recovered with the click of a button will be displayed. Then, to eliminate the iTunes cache, just click “Clean” and once the process has finished your Mac will be refreshed and any files you no longer need will have been eliminated.

RAM is perhaps the biggest asset when it comes to your computer’s functioning speed. Even the most popular web browsers like Firefox and Chrome can quickly hoard a considerable amount of system memory on the latest Macs. The problem can even get bigger if your Mac has less than 4GB of RAM that, if the system needs a significant amount of said RAM to just boot, can lead to your memory filling up even faster.

Believe it or not, the solution to reducing memory usage is extremely simple and most of the time doesn’t even require the help of a cleanup solution or memory optimizer. Like we discussed in another article, the best way to help your application memory run faster is to remove as much as possible that might slow it down. This can be achieved by reducing the number of apps that run at startup (which you can manage in Users & Groups) or by completely deleting those programs that aren’t used anymore. In this regard, try to remove those programs that hog the biggest memory space by launching the Activity Monitor and catching those ‘hogs’ in the act.

Don’t forget to remove unused widgets, too, and use only the most necessary add-ons in your browser in order to make it – and your RAM – run quicker. Although it doesn’t fully relate to freeing up memory space, you can also empty the cache in the folder directory ~/Library/Caches.

Let us purge…

Not too many Apple users know that there is a built-in memory optimization feature in macOS under the very appropriate name of “purge”. However, it is not a simple program and therefore needs a little trick to launch this savior of your RAM. First launch Terminal (the easiest way is to find it through Spotlight), then simply type in “purge” or “sudo purge” (the latter is only applicable if you are not the administrator) and wait a few seconds/minutes until the purge is done. If you are still skeptical about this method, you can always launch the Activity Monitor and recheck the memory usage to see whether the purge was successful or not.

Using apps to do the job

Although the purge is an effective method, it is relatively unknown because of how hidden it is. This is why most (alleged) Mac experts on YouTube recommend the use of a dedicated app, with which you cannot go wrong. One of the most used apps for RAM cleaning is the appropriately named Memory Cleaner, which is not only super simple and brutally straightforward but is also completely free of charge. However, like its name suggests, it is only good for memory optimizing, which is enough for a while but less than useful if you need to perform more complex tasks.

This is where Mac optimization tools enter the picture, hitting two birds with one stone: not only are they capable of optimizing the application memory in a jiffy (and most importantly without applying complicated tricks), but they also come with other features as well. Best of all, these features have the same attribute as the memory optimization software: they are simple, to the point and can be done with just a few clicks (if not just one). Whether it’s CleanMyMac where this feature can be found under the Dashboard, or the often misunderstood MacKeeper where memory optimizing has its own separate tab, you just have to hit the button to free up some much needed memory space.

Although it is colorful enough, we all despise that macOS spinning beach ball – especially when it regularly appears while browsing the web with Firefox.

Imagine that awkward moment when you have people watching your screen during a presentation and Firefox suddenly hangs and stops responding to your clicks.

The usual workaround is to force quit Firefox and likely launch the same webpage again using another browser like Safari or Google Chrome. Sound familiar?

Possible causes

The cause of Firefox running slow depends on the version of macOS that your Mac is running, the version of Firefox you are using and your typical browsing habits.

Some of the most common causes:

• Your browser is outdated.
• Firefox is using too many hardware resources, which causes your Mac to heat up.
• Firefox has created a lot of cache files and has a large browsing history, etc.
• Too many add-ons are being used.
• Other, resource-hogging applications are running, leaving Firefox with only a little memory space to process your requests.
• There are too many tabs open.
• Your Mac is slow in general, but you think Firefox is to blame.

How to make your mac faster again

If the spinning wheel runs for too long and Firefox becomes unresponsive, the first step is to force quit the application. It is then recommended to restart your Mac so the operating system can perform its ‘self-healing’ actions, such as emptying the cache and clearing any temporary files. If your Mac becomes unresponsive, hard reset the machine by pressing and holding the power button for a few seconds and then pressing again to restart the computer.

After the restart, it’s good to first start by checking the version of Firefox you are using. Achieve this with these following steps:

1. In the menu bar, click on “Firefox”.
2. Select “About Firefox”.
3. A pop-up window will inform you whether the browser it up to date or not. If the software is out-of-date, hit the update button.

Mac getting hot

While macOS does a good job of optimally using the computer’s hardware resources, it is recommended that you use a monitoring tool such as Activity Monitor. It’s extremely useful if you are encountering app performance issues, such as Firefox running slow or even if your Mac is becoming hot while running.

If you notice some slowdown in Firefox’s performance followed by a crash, that’s likely because Firefox is using more memory than it should. The best way to start the fix is by analyzing the extensions, themes and plugins, and activating the Firefox hardware acceleration feature.

Firefox extensions and themes

Extensions and themes can consume memory, and you can determine if these are causing the issue by starting Firefox in Safe Mode:

1. Click on the menu button.
2. Select “Help” and then “Restart with Add-ons Disabled”.
3. Firefox will launch with the Firefox Safe Mode dialog box.

If the problem doesn’t occur in Safe Mode, it is likely caused by an extension or one of your themes so you will want to disable or uninstall extensions.

If the problem persists in Safe Mode, start by clearing cookies and the cache, and restart in Safe Mode again. If this still doesn’t fix the problem, try reinstalling Firefox or inspecting your plugins.

Firefox plugins

Some web pages contain content that uses system memory to properly display, although you don’t really need them. There are extensions and plugins that allow you to block such content: Flashblock, for example, selectively enables and disables Flash content on websites; additionally, No-Script Suite achieves the same but for scripts.

If you don’t update those plugins regularly, you’ll end up with a slow web browser since they can consume large amounts of memory. To check whether they are up to date, visit Firefox’s dedicated Plugin Check page.

Of course, you can always spot whether a faulty plugin is causing the performance slowdown by selectively disabling some of them. You can do so in the Add-ons Manager tab.

1. Click the menu button.
2. Choose “Add-ons”.
3. In the Add-ons Manager tab simply select the Plugins panel.

Hardware acceleration

Hardware acceleration – although helpful – can sometimes cause issues, due to the wide range of possible driver, video card and operating system combinations. So if you are hoping for improved Firefox (and Mac) performance you might want to turn off hardware acceleration. You can do that by:

1. Pressing the Cmd +, keys to open the Preferences window.
2. Selecting the Advanced panel.
3. Selecting the General tab.
4. Unchecking the “Use hardware acceleration when available” option.

Sometimes a good cleaning of macOS helps it regain its strength, too. This can be done manually by using our guide or with third-party Mac cleaning software such as CleanMyMac, MacBooster or OnyX.

You may want to “improve” your web browsing habits as well. For instance, only opening one window and closing any tabs you don’t need will reduce the memory used by Firefox. Having tons of tabs open will slow down your Mac since it forces the operating system to allocate more resources (such as CPU or RAM) to the browser.

If Firefox is still causing issues, try switching to a different browser such as Safari or Google Chrome. Sometimes Firefox doesn’t work well under certain versions of macOS. You can always report problems to Firefox by sending crash reports and hope that the developers of the non-profit organization will react rapidly and push out an update to patch the issue.

If your Mac is slower than usual despite running the latest system version, macOS Sierra, then there are a number of potential causes that can be checked to speed it up again, such as disk space, apps and background tasks.

Too many apps open

Sometimes we forget to read the system requirements of apps we download and there are cases when an app requires a different processor or graphics card than the ones your Mac has. But the most common cause of Mac slowdown is when there are simply too many apps open. You can solve this by closing apps you don’t use.

Fresh macOS install

Things are different if you have recently updated to macOS Sierra. After the first restart you’ll likely hear your Mac’s fans are whirring loudly and the machine is not performing as usual. The explanation is pretty simple: Spotlight is hard at work re-indexing the hard drive for use, as is the Photos app, which will scour your Mac to index and scan all photos for available info and faces.

Reduce transparency

macOS includes design features that are easy on the eye, such as transparent windows. The problem with this feature, however, is that in the long term it could lead to performance issues as each new window requires more and more system resources, first to draw and then to maintain. The same goes for motion-type effects.

Turning these features off is especially useful for improving the performance of your Mac if you are constantly using lots of apps or have a lot of open windows. Here’s how:

1. Launch System Preferences and hit Accessibility.
2. Select “Display” from the left set of menu items.
3. Check the boxes “Reduce motion” and “Reduce transparency”.

Declutter your desktop

Of course, it’s also recommended to have a clean desktop because a cluttered desktop with hundreds of files of different sizes will slow down your Mac.

Use a monitoring app

But whenever you feel that your Mac is running slow, just launch Activity Monitor (pro tip: type “activity monitor” in Spotlight), and under the CPU tab check which apps are using a high level of CPU resources. You should force macOS to quit any processes that are using too many processors resources:

1. Click on the X button located in the top-left, along with the “Information” and “Settings” buttons.
2. When you click on the quit process, a pop-up will ask you whether you want to “Force Quit” or “Quit” the process.
3. Select “Force Quit”.

Use Disk Utility

If you have noticed that multiple apps have quit unexpectedly, files have become corrupt or an external drive doesn’t operate properly, it’s possible you have problems with your hard or flash drive, which is why macOS is running slow.

If some of the above apply or your computer doesn’t start up, begin fixing your disk by using the built-in Disk Utility. This native macOS application can fix various problems such as the ones listed above. This is how to use the tool:

1. Restart your Mac.
2. After your Mac restarts, press and hold the Cmd+R keys until you see the Apple logo. You can then release the keys.
3. Select “Disk Utility” in the “macOS Utilities” screen, then click “Continue”.
4. You’ll see the available disk listed in the sidebar. Select the one you want to repair.
5. Click the “First Aid” button, and then “Run”.

If Disk Utility says the disk appears to be OK or has been repaired, you are good to go. If Disk Utility reports “The underlying task reported failure”, try to repair the disk or partition again. In case this trick doesn’t work, back up as much data as possible, reformat the disk and reinstall macOS.

Clean the cache

Among the most common causes of a slow computer running macOS Sierra is low storage space, so you’d better keep an eye on the startup disk so as not to run out of free disk space. For optimal performance your Mac needs around 10% of your storage available, so check the available space and clear it up, if needed, by moving files to another disk and deleting them from the startup disk.

In some cases – and this mostly applies to Mac users with limited flash storage – you won’t even notice how fast your disk is filling up. That can be due to various reasons – lots of photos, videos, applications, etc. – but you should keep in mind the system and apps will create cache and temporary files over time. These files occupy space in your limited storage.

To run at the best performance your Mac needs regular maintenance, including manually removing cache files. There are two reasons why you would want to perform this cleaning task from time to time: first, to regain precious disk space and, secondly, to optimize your Mac’s performance.

You can clear the cache files manually by locating the Cache folder in the Library folder or you can use third party Mac optimization apps such as CleanMyMac, Advanced Mac Cleaner, MacKeeper, OnyX and the like.

Performing regular maintenance using these recommended third party apps is a piece of cake: just select the task you want to perform, such as “Smart Cleanup” with CleanMyMac, hit the “Scan” button and then “Fix”. The result will be a much cleaner Mac that will positively affect its performance.

If you notice that a Spotlight search doesn’t return the items you expect, such as entering ‘Pages’ and the tool refusing to bring up the Pages app but, instead, another file containing the word, then rebuilding the Spotlight index can solve the problem.

Reindex Spotlight via System Preferences

There are two ways to start the process, so here is the easier of the two: via System Preferences.

1. Launch the System Preferences app.
2. Select Spotlight.
3. There will be two tabs, select “Privacy”.
4. Add a folder or disk to the Privacy tab (either by drag and drop, or by clicking on the “+” sign).
5. Remove the items you just added by selecting them, and then click the Remove (-) button.
6. Quit System Preferences.

Reindex Spotlight via a terminal command

If you like to control your Mac more directly using Terminal, then here is a command you can use to rebuild the Spotlight index:

sudo mdutil -i on /

Rebuild time

Having instructed macOS to rebuild the Spotlight index, the computer will start working on it. Depending on your Mac’s built-in storage type (HDD or SSD) and the amount of data being indexed, the process can take from several minutes to a couple hours, during which time your Mac will be sluggish and might get hot. Reindexing Spotlight consumes a lot of CPU power and causes a lot of disk activity.

If rebuilding the Spotlight index function is active, you can always check the status of the process by pulling down the Spotlight menu.

Force quit Spotlight

At some point (but not while rebuilding the index) you might need to force-quit Finder, usually because of an unresponsive command. Since you will find neither a “Quit Finder” nor “Force Quit” command in the Finder menu, you have two options: 1) click on the Apple menu, select “Force Quit” (or press Alt-Command-Power button), and select Finder from the list of applications; or 2) use a Terminal command to relaunch Finder.

The Terminal command looks like this:

killall Finder

Rebuilding the Spotlight index can save your nerves, so if you notice that Spotlight isn’t functioning how it used to, this process should be the next step after following this checklist:

• Check if the text you entered in the search field is correct.
• Check that you are indeed using Spotlight and not a Finder window while searching the text.
• Make sure the folders and disks you are targeting are not listed under the Privacy tab in Spotlight preferences.

There are various reasons for backing up an iPhone, iPad or iPod Touch, such as having a copy of all your data stored on the iOS device so it can be transferred to a new iOS device if needed, for example. The problems begin if you have an iOS device with a high-capacity storage that you want backed up onto your Mac with limited disk space. Every backup occupies precious storage space on your machine, which all adds up in time until you wake up with a “Your startup disk is almost full” notification.

That’s something every Mac user would like to avoid seeing.

That, however, doesn’t mean it is only the most recent iOS device backups that are hogging all the storage. The older versions of these backups are dispensable, so if you are in need of disk space then removing these is a good start towards cleaning your Mac. In this article we will show you where you can locate your backups and how you can delete them or move them to an external hard drive.

Locate iOS backups on Mac

It doesn’t matter which version of macOS you are using, you’ll find the backup files in the following location:

~/Library/Application Support/MobileSync/Backup/

The (~) symbol stands for the user’s home directory. But don’t expect to see the MobileSync and Backup folders if you haven’t backed up your iPhone to that Mac.

What you’ll notice is that the file names in this folder are typically hexadecimal and random. Don’t edit these files, because it would create an improper, unreliable backup and cause other problems with your iPhone.

Another way to locate your iOS device backups is by launching iTunes and then selecting “Preferences” and then “Devices”. There you’ll find which devices were backed up and when.

To locate it on your computer, Control-click on the backup you want to check, then choose “Show in Finder”.

Delete iOS backups from your Mac

After locating the backup files, you can simply duplicate or remove them. If you need copies, you can copy the entire folder (not parts of it) to a network storage location or external hard drive. Time Machine automatically creates a copy of the Backup folder, unless you specifically instruct it not to do so.

To remove any of the backups, select the folder, and hit Command-Delete to move it to trash followed by the Empty Trash command (right-click on the Trash icon and click “Empty Trash”).

If you are locating the backup through iTunes, there is an option to choose “Delete Backup” right from the iTunes > Devices tab: then just select the backup you want to remove. If you have several devices or backups, just hover the mouse pointer over the backup and additional details such as iOS device model name, software version, etc. will appear.

iCloud backups

But those using iCloud Backup won’t find any of the aforementioned folders on iCloud.com, so here is how to locate these backups on your iOS device or Mac.

On any iOS device running iOS 10.3 or later, go to Settings > [your name] > iCloud > iCloud Storage > Manage Storage.

Those with iOS 10.2 or earlier will need to go to Settings > iCloud > Storage > Manage Storage.

With iCloud, you have the option to set which iOS apps to back up, since many apps are automatically backed up after you install them. To control this and reduce backup volume, do the following:

iOS 10.3 or later

1. Go to Settings > [Your Name] > iCloud > iCloud Storage > Manage Storage.
2. Select the name of the iOS device linked to your account.
3. Under “Choose Data to Back Up”, turn off the apps you don’t want to back up.
4. Select “Turn Off & Delete”.

iOS 10.2 or earlier

1. Go to Settings > iCloud > Storage > Manage Storage.
2. Select the name of the iOS device.
3. You’ll find the apps under “Backup Options”.
4. Select the apps you don’t want to back up and hit “Turn Off & Delete”.

You can also delete backups and turn off iCloud Backup for your iOS device: follow steps (1) and (2), then select “Delete Backup” then “Turn Off & Delete” under iOS 10.3 or later.

Deleting iCloud backups on a Mac is also simple, but a bit hidden:

1. Launch System Preferences and select “iCloud”.
2. Click “Manage” and select “Backups”.
3. Select one of the device backups, and hit “Delete”. To remove all backups and turn off future iCloud backups for that specific device, choose “Delete“ when a prompt appears to confirm the action.
4. When you delete a backup, it also turns off the backup function of your iOS device.

Removing old iOS backups… the easy way

If you don’t want to go through all the above, perhaps because of a lack of time or you just aren’t confident in what you might be doing, then there are third-party apps such as CleanMyMac that make the job easier. It is a paid app, but it is well worth the price considering that it offers the convenience of stress-free cleaning. The iTunes Junk option cleans your unused iOS data from your Mac, such as old software updates and device backups, while detecting and removing broken downloads.

If you have been reading about Mac improvement, the obvious question is this: how can you tell how big a difference there is between before and after the Mac optimization took place?

Of course, there are various ways of boosting your Mac’s performance, such as switching from an HDD to an ultra-fast SSD, adding more RAM, tweaking your system or using third party optimization software. But no matter which you choose, the question remains the same: is there any way to get hard data on whether these changes have made your Mac faster or slower?

The short answer is yes.

With the help of free benchmarking tools you can get exact measurements of various Mac components and your system as a whole. In that vein, we’ve tracked down the best free tools that let you test your Mac’s performance.

Geekbench

One of the best ways to get real data on how your Mac is performing is to run the Geekbench software. The Ontario, Canada-based Primate Labs has four versions of this software and, depending on the CPU architecture of your computer, you might need to run Geekbench 3 (32-bit) or Geekbench 4 (64-bit). Geekbench is partially free: when it is launched, a prompt will inform you that it is in tryout mode that comes with limitations, but you’ll still get a complete picture of the overall performance of your machine.

Geekbench results are often cited when new Macs appear, and one of the best things about this software is that it keeps a database of previous benchmarks on a public website that can be accessed to compare your Mac model’s results with others. The key figures are the two displayed at the top: Single-Core Score and Multi-Core Score.

Blackmagic Disk Speed Test

Getting information about the speed of your hard (or flash) drive is easiest with Blackmagic Disk Speed Test. Available for free in the Mac App Store, the app will test and display the read and write speeds that your Mac’s built-in disk is capable of with a nicely designed user interface. Just hit the “Start” button and watch the numbers, and after the results try changing the level of stress for the disk speed test.

Novabench

As a free benchmarking app available in the Mac App Store, Novabench will test your Mac CPU’s integer arithmetic speed, perform a general CPU test, check GPU performance, RAM read and write speeds as well as the disk write speed. The results can be uploaded to the app’s website, where you can browse a list of top Macs, for example. The top list is compiled based on the average score obtained after running the Novabench tests.

Mac optimization apps

All these apps can measure and confirm your suspicion that your Mac is sluggish. But you know what? None of them offer a solution. This is the job of Mac optimization software, which not only scours your computer to determine what the cause of the slowdown is, but also provides a solution to address the matter.

We have tested the majority of available Mac optimization software to help you determine which offers the best value for the money. Is it CCleaner, Machanic or MacBooster? Or was it MacKeeper or CleanMyMac? Of course, free variants such as OnyX are always appealing too, but even those just mentioned offer free services too.

Whether you like it or not, only those Macs that are working at the desired (read: superfast) speed are either fresh from Cupertino or have had their OSs completely reinstalled. But unfortunately from the moment you start using your iMac, Mac Pro or MacBook, it starts hoarding junk data, filling up its cache files, clogging up the RAM, taking up valuable space on your hard drives and other irritating problems. And together not only do they result in the loss of your hair (try to stay calm!), but other frustrating side effects too.

These include longer boot times, repeatedly encountering that annoying spinning beachball cursor (which indicates that the task is still processing), increased use of CPU or memory, overuse of valuable battery power, and even a disturbing noise from the computer’s fan that is often accompanied by the entire device overheating.

System memory and hard drives

There are various reasons why your Mac is slower than a butchered Windows XP system. Sometimes the problem comes from the hardware itself. Although simple hard drives are more reliable (and can store more data), they are still inferior when compared to the speed of solid state drives, which are often used to increase the pace of booting up and loading things. However, not even the market’s best SSD is safe from slowdown unless you have a large amount of RAM.

While Macs come with increasingly more system memory, the continuous advancements and expansion of macOS requires the operating system itself to take up more and more of these resources. The general rule for system memory is ‘the more, the better’. Another thing that can significantly slow a Mac down is a crowded disk drive; thankfully the solution is as simple as (Apple) pie: delete what you don’t need and voila, you’ll have plenty of disk space back and a swift computer once again.

Update to accelerate

Yet one thing that users constantly forget is that it’s not only apps that need to be updated from time to time, but the OS itself as well. Unlike Windows operating systems before the introduction of Win 10, whenever you update macOS everything will stay in (more or less) its original place. Additionally there is always the option to just drop the equivalent of an A-bomb onto your Macs: a complete reinstall of the entire OS with which you’ll have a second chance at using your computer more wisely.

Small tweaks

Even when you use your Mac for the most basic tasks using very little apps it will inevitably become slower over time. Even the smallest, seemingly insignificant things can cause your Mac’s speed harm: programs that launch at startup, apps that take up all of your RAM, using too many browser extensions, filling your desktop with files and folders will all affect your Mac’s performance. But even trivial things like not emptying the Trash will be a detriment to your Mac’s health.

Thankfully, all of the above can easily be solved; in fact, there are a number of tips to keep in mind to prevent your Mac from slowing down. Just to quickly recap, you will need to: reduce the number of programs running at startup; delete apps that consume too much memory; and wipe everything unnecessary from your hard drive, browser, desktop, and media libraries. The list really could go on. You should also delete your Mac’s and your browser’s cache – though admittedly this is only easy in the case of the latter.

Big broom sweep

Speaking of easiness, most of the above tasks can be performed without a Mac optimizer, but for jobs that require you to be extra careful or are not as self-explanatory as, for instance, emptying the Trash, such a program can be extremely handy. In fact, if you want to spend as little time with maintenance as possible then getting an optimization tool is a must: it performs deep system scans for you and all you need to do is pick what should stay and what should lie beneath the guillotine. Mac optimizers are often capable of ensuring better internet privacy, too, without tampering with your browser’s settings (and sometimes even equipping Macs with antivirus solutions), as well as optimizing your memory with just a click and completely removing files, folders or apps without a single trace of them left behind.

Dragging files onto the Trash icon in the Dock doesn’t remove deleted files from the system. Just like with a regular trash can, you need to ‘empty’ it for the contents to get removed, so right-click on the Trash icon and select “Empty Trash”. While this process should be seamless, there are situations where clearing the trash becomes very slow or even becomes stuck, and in some cases macOS will display an error message to explain the reason.

Emptying Trash slow

The first thing you might want to check if the trash is slow to empty is whether the “Secure Empty Trash” feature is active. This is a built-in macOS feature that overwrites the data that was stored so the files cannot be recovered once deleted. While it is secure and specially designed for hard disk technology, it is a much slower process compared to a regular file removal. It’s worth noting that this is something most users won’t need unless it is highly sensitive information.

To check if this option is active, go to Finder > Preferences > Advanced and untick “Empty Trash Securely”. Remember, this will only appear for Mac users running macOS 10.10 or earlier, since Apple removed this feature starting with macOS 10.11 El Capitan.

Emptying Trash becomes stuck

We have all encountered the situation where emptying the trash simply doesn’t work or gets stuck. This happens because a file could still be in use or locked. To address that, start by quitting all the apps that are using the file you want to erase, and only then hit “Empty Trash”.

If that doesn’t work, there might be one or more background processes using the file. In this case it is recommended to restart your Mac and then empty the trash.

If that doesn’t solve the issue, you might have a startup or login item using the file. You can temporarily prevent such processes from opening it automatically by rebooting your Mac in safe mode by holding down the Shift key during startup. Then you can empty the trash and restart your computer normally.

Emptying Trash using terminal commands

If you aren’t afraid of controlling your Mac using Terminal commands, it is possible to empty the trash using the following command:

rm -rf ~/.Trash/*

Emptying the trash with Terminal seems faster than using macOS’s graphical user interface. If you get an error message, you will need to use the sudo command, which will prompt you for your administrator password:

sudo rm -rf ~/.Trash/*

Emptying Trash using mac optimization software

The fact is using Terminal commands is not everyone’s favorite method of cleansing your Trash, and in these cases third party Mac optimization apps can help. OnyX (free), for example, has such a feature included in the cleaning section under the “Trash” tab. Simply selecting “Delete” will empty all items from Trash.

The process is even easier with CleanMyMac using its trash bins feature, too: this will remove the contents of not only the desktop trash, but also other trash bins.

Do you get the feeling that your Mac is really slow to wake up from sleep mode? Do you see a black screen for a few seconds instead of the login screen after opening your MacBook’s lid and you don’t know why? Well, you’ve come to the right place, since we’ll explain why your Mac is slow to wake up and how this relates to Apple’s energy saving features built into macOS.

What happens when you leave Macs idle for a longer period of time?

You may already be familiar with the ‘short term’ energy-saver settings in macOS: which switches off the display and puts the hard disk(s) to sleep after a short period of inactivity. Things change when you leave a Mac idle for a long time. Some computers enter special sleep modes called standby and safe sleep, helping them conserve even more energy.

Standby mode

Standby saves the user’s current session – open applications, files and windows – on their hard drive. macOS will also turn off some of its hardware systems to save power.

Standby mode is limited to Macs that start up from an internal flash drive. These Macs enter standby after being in sleep mode for three hours, while earlier models enter standby after just an hour of sleep. During this deep sleep mode, the state of the user’s session is copied to the SSD and macOS turns off some hardware systems, such as RAM and USB buses. Standby mode extends how long a laptop can stay in deep sleep on battery power, which could be as long as 30 days.

Safe sleep

Safe sleep ensures that data stored in the main memory of your Mac isn’t lost when the computer shuts down due to its battery being completely drained.

Dumping data from RAM to disk

Mac standby and sleep work by dumping everything in active RAM into a file called ‘sleepimage’. This file is generally the same size as the amount of physical RAM your machine has under the hood.

This file is located on the hard drive. When your Mac exits standby, the system is restored to its pre-standby state when that sleepimage file is copied back from the hard drive to RAM.

Check this first if wake time is too slow

If your computer doesn’t return to full operation within a few seconds, you should check the following: first (and obviously) make sure your Mac is actually powered on, as the battery could have been drained; have a look at screen brightness and adjust it; check that the external display (if applicable) is turned on. And finally, make sure the computer is plugged into a power outlet.

Another option to consider is that it might be in safe sleep, in which case you’ll need to press the power button to wake it up.

How to speed up wake time

If you have a Mac with a HDD, the hard disk and CD-ROM drive may sleep if the Mac has been idle for quite some time. As a result, it might take a bit longer for them to wake when accessed by the system.

There are workarounds, however, such as setting the hard disk sleep to “Never” under Energy Saver in System Preferences, or removing a disk you don’t use from the CD-ROM.

You can also change the standby mode settings using Terminal commands. But first, you’ll need to check the default delay for standby mode by pasting the following command into the Terminal window:

pmset -g |grep standbydelay

The result should look something like this, but the number might be different:

standbydelay 10800

That’s the time in seconds. When divided by 60, you get 180 minutes, which means it will be three hours before this Mac goes into standby mode.

That can be changed to a time that better suits your needs. You can, for example, set this time to two hours (7200 seconds) or 12 hours (43200 seconds); enter the power management setting command to change this setting, which will look like this (the number changing to your preference):

sudo pmset -a standbydelay 7200

It’s important to test this setting and how it affects your Mac’s battery life (if applicable). You can always revert to the original setting using the above command, just change the number back to 10800 (or the original number you had).