Anyone using MacPaws Software?

[eytonxav]

I had CleanMyMac X software installed on my iMac, but recently decided to uninstall till I see how the Russia/Ukrainian situation resolves. MacPaws is a Ukrainian based company and despite their assurances, I am concerned they could become compromised by Russia. Maybe a bit overly cautious on my part, but better safe than sorry. I can always reinstall at a later date via their license management system.

 

[mpeirce]

What is that app accomplishing for you that you want to replace?

 

[eytonxav]

What is that app accomplishing for you that you want to replace?

It's a convenient maintenance tool to remove junk, malicious content, optimize speed, as well as other functions. I usually run the tool weekly.

 

[mpeirce]

The only function I see in CleanMyMac X that seems genuinely useful is removing unused files.

remove junk

If you need a utility to point out what’s filling up your disk space I’d recommend Grand Perspective. It’s been around forever and is still being updated. It’s free (or $2.99 from the Mac App Store to cover distribution costs).

https://sourceforge.net/projects/grandperspectiv/files/latest/download
https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/grandperspective/id1111570163?mt=12

malicious content

Apple handles this as part of macOS. See the details at:

https://support.apple.com/guide/security/protecting-against-malware-sec469d47bd8/web

optimize speed

Frankly, I’m not aware of anything a third party app could do to accomplish this...


My take on this type of utility is that they *may* have been useful a long time ago, but really aren’t useful today. They also might have been useful on (older?) Windows computers and are used by people who moved to the Mac from Windows and think they are still useful.

 

[Whisper66]

When I went from PC to Mac in 2008, I thought I'd need to add third party malware / virus protection programs since my PC had been so dependent on them. I found that not to be the case. Seemed like such protections were built into the Mac system already. I finally replaced my 2008 Mac in 2020. In all that time, no issues with malware or viruses. For fun, I picked up MacClean for a few months last year and put it on my new Mac to see if it picked up anything...it did not. So I removed it. For more info on Mac protection, there are resources on Youtube such as ....

 

[eytonxav]

The only function I see in CleanMyMac X that seems genuinely useful is removing unused files.



If you need a utility to point out what’s filling up your disk space I’d recommend Grand Perspective. It’s been around forever and is still being updated. It’s free (or $2.99 from the Mac App Store to cover distribution costs).

https://sourceforge.net/projects/grandperspectiv/files/latest/download
https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/grandperspective/id1111570163?mt=12



Apple handles this as part of macOS. See the details at:

https://support.apple.com/guide/security/protecting-against-malware-sec469d47bd8/web



Frankly, I’m not aware of anything a third party app could do to accomplish this...


My take on this type of utility is that they *may* have been useful a long time ago, but really aren’t useful today. They also might have been useful on (older?) Windows computers and are used by people who moved to the Mac from Windows and think they are still useful.

Thanks for that info. I did move from a PC to an iMac back in 2013. Guess I do not need to worry about reactivating at a later date. What is your perspective on MalwareBytes? I have the free version of that one and think it was developed by a US company.

 

[mpeirce]

What is your perspective on MalwareBytes? I have the free version of that one and think it was developed by a US company.

After looking at their website for a minute it looks kinda useless.

They list as main features:

"Cleans an infected Mac” - macOS does this using built in MRT (Malware Removal Tool)
"Prevents Mac virus, spyware, and malware infections” - built in XProtect does this
"Proactively blocks adware and unwanted programs” - again, built in Gatekeeper does this
"Updates to the latest Malwarebytes protection automatically” - macOS security features update themselves faster than a third party app can

I don’t think any of these types of Mac programs are worth paying for.