Oct 23, 2020 Learn how to clean your Mac notebook computer. MacBook, MacBook Pro, and MacBook Air. When cleaning the outside of your MacBook, MacBook Pro, or MacBook Air, first shut down your computer and unplug the power adapter. Then use a damp, soft, lint-free cloth to clean the computer's exterior. Avoid getting moisture in any openings. Keeping your Mac clean can be a difficult task for you as overtime much different digital debris comes in your system. If you are using a Mac for a long time, then you must have lots of files and folders. Maybe this is stressful for you. Fortunately, for your help, here are many applications to Cleaning and Optimization your Mac.
If you are reading this article, the chances are that youhave a problem: your Mac is running slow.
And chances are you read about CleanMyMac (read my review here) and how it can make your Mac run faster.
And finally, you also read multiple “expert” userreviews suggesting that CleanMyMac is a scam or a malware.
I decided to find out if the rumors are true or not on myown. Because I don’t like spreading rumors, I prefer hard facts. If I claimthat something is not working, it means I tested it myself, and it didn’t work.Conversely, if I claim that something works, I tested, and it worked.
So, let’s do some research and see what we can find.
Note: this article is not about whether you should or shouldn’t purchase CleanMyMac. I will post a detailed review later and provide a link for those who interested. This post is intended to answer the question in the title.
By the way, in case if you don’t want to read the entire article and simply want to know the answer, then check out “Is CleanMyMac Safe?” section at the end of the post.
Is MacPaw a Legit Company
CleanMyMac X is a product of MacPaw, a company with offices in Kyiv, Ukraine, and Santa Barbara, CA. It was founded in 2008 by Oleksandr Kosovan, a Ukranian developer.
Since then, MacPaw added several other applications, most notably a subscription-based service Setapp. By the way, Setapp was named World’s most innovative company in Europe 2019 according to FastCompany.
The company was also featured in Forbes, 9to5mac, TechCrunch and VentureBeat.
So, yes, MacPaw is a legit company and recognized by manyreputable organizations.
By the way, the funniest claim I read on forums is the assertion that MacPaw works for Russian intelligence.
I don’t want to go too deep in politics, but let me remind you that Ukraine is in the middle of a conflict with Russia, and it’s hard to imagine that Russians can influence a company in the capital of Ukraine.
Moreover, reportedly the founder of the company risked his life by supporting civic protests in 2014 against the corrupt government. So, no, I don’t believe MacPaw is associated with any government.
Is CleanMyMac Malware
There is a very known myth that Apple computers cannot get viruses, but more experienced users know that this is not true.
Macs do get viruses and other types of malware. If you ever had to fight with annoying pop-ups after installing a new app or an extension in Chrome, you know what I mean.
Whenever I download any software over the internet I alwaysgo thru following steps to make sure that I am not getting a malware:
- Upload an installer package, usually DMG to VirusTotal. VirusTotal is a free online tool that checks for malware by over 70 antivirus scanners.
- Run Norton 360 Standard or Deluxe. It’s the best antimalware product for Macs currently.
Both VirusTotal and Norton assured that CleanMyMac is not a malware, or adware, or spyware of any sort.
Why is CleanMyMac not in App Store
Smart users know that it is best to install apps from theMac App Store.
When a developer submits an app to the Mac App Store, Apple performs tests and validates the app to make sure that it does not contain any malicious code.
So, by submitting their app to the App Store, the developers get a stamp of approval from Apple itself. And any user knows, that any app downloaded from the App Store is secure, it is not a scam or spyware, it is OK to download and use.
But how does Apple guarantee that all apps in their storeare safe? By limiting their access to many parts of the macOS. It is called asandbox. Each app is placed in a restricted area where they cannot cause anyproblems to the system and other programs running on the computer.
And this is a problem for applications such as CleanMyMac.
Since CleanMyMac X needs access to the core, it cannot run in a sandbox in order to be effective. If you are still not convinced, try to find any antivirus program in the Mac App Store.
If you want to install antimalware solutions from McAfee, Bitdefender, or Norton, you have to download them from their sites. It’s because any application that needs to have access to the system files cannot run in a sandbox.
There are two other reasons for developers to encouragedownloading from their sites:
- Apple takes 30% cut from any purchase in its store, so the developers either have to increase their prices by 30% or eat the cost of hosting.
- Bypassing App store allows developers to have creative licensing solutions. For instance, they can offer a trial version and then unlock the full version after you obtain the license.
In short, I am not surprised by the fact that CleanMyMac isnot available for download from the App Store because it is a common practicefor programs that work on the system level.
However, MacPaw is not totally bypassing Apple checks with its products. CleanMyMac X is Apple notarized. What does it mean?
Unlike submitting the program to the App Store, where itundergoes a full review (and nobody really knows what happens behind thedoors), notarization is an automatic service.
When building and assembling the final version of the product, developers can send it to the Apple notary service. The service will check for any malicious code, and if nothing wrong was found, it would issue a ticket. This ticket is verified when the app gets installed on Mac.
When a user downloads and tries to install an app notarized by Apple, she will see the message that looks like a warning. The main message is the same as with any app downloaded from the internet: ‘”Blah blah app” is an app downloaded from the internet. Are you sure you want to open it?’
The difference is in a fine print below the main message: “Apple checked it for malware software, and none was found.”
As you can see Apple admitted that CleanMyMac X was checked for malware software and none was found.
Note: this screenshot is from a Mac running on macOS Mojave. In Catalina, the message is different, possibly because starting with Catalina, Apple promised not to allow to run un-notarized apps.
Why Are There So Many Negative Reviews on Forums
But, how about a great number of negative reviews on the internet?
Why every time someone asks whether to install CleanMyMac or not, there is always an expert who’s working with Mac for twenty years, and they claim that your Mac will melt as soon as you install the program?
Or, there is always an “Apple tech,” who suggests to immediately restore your Time machine backup from before you installed the application.
I believe there are several explanations:
1. CleanMyMac often gets confused with MacDefender and MacKeeper
I didn’t review MacKeeper yet, so I can’t tell if it’s a good program or not. Once I install and use it, I will provide a link for my review.
At this point, all I know about the company that sells MacKeeper is that there was a class-action lawsuit claiming that the company deceived users into paying for unneeded fixes.
Another well-known app MacDefender, is a type of malware. It gets your credit card information for fraud purposes, and Apple even provided instructions on how to remove it. The other names of the malware are MacGuard, MacDefender, MacProtector, and MacSecurity.
After having issues with these apps, users became veryuneasy about any cleaning tools, including CleanMyMac.
2. There were cases when CleanMyMac deleted the wrong files
When reading user reviews, I found several cases when user-provided screenshots of damage caused by earlier versions of CleanMyMac.
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I am a software engineer myself, and I know that all programs have bugs.
For instance, my favorite Windows version of all time is Windows XP. When it was first released, it was a total disaster – people were not able to run most of the applications after the upgrade for months. And this is the main product of Microsoft, a 100 bln dollar company.
Apparently, MacPaw learned from their mistakes, and now they have the Safety Database – list of files that should not be deleted. And after 12 years on the market, any software becomes stable.
If you are asking if there is a risk that a wrong file can be deleted by CleanMyMac, my answer is: there is always a risk that ANY cleaning software can do that.
However, I believe the probability of this happening is extremely for software that has 12-year history compared to a new program without such long experience.
3. Experts believe that everything done by CleanMyMac can be done manually
I agree with this point. In fact, I wrote a post on how to clean the disk on Mac without any software.
As always, there are two caveats.
First, I am a very technical person.
I understand how the software works because I’ve beendeveloping commercial software for twenty years. I know which files are safe todelete and which are not. I know how to use various system tools, and I know alot about Macs. Otherwise, I would not be running this site.
For someone less technical than me, doing everything that Ido may not be too easy. So, having an app that does the same, but withoutrequiring in-depth knowledge is worth paying for the app.
Second, the manual cleaning process is quite tedious.
To understand how much work it is, let me explain in the next example. I have two grills: charcoal and gas. For the last two years, I use the gas grill in 90% cases.
While the charcoal grill is superior in the end result, it takes a lot of time and effort to light the coals and even more time to clean. I use the charcoal grill on certain occasions, but prefer the gas grill for the convenience it provides. I hope you understand what I mean.
Now, when I laid out all the facts I was able to find during my research, I am finally ready to make a conclusion.
Is CleanMyMac X Safe?
CleanMyMac is safe to download, install, and use. It’s a product built by a well known Ukranian company MacPaw, which has other products as well. CleanMyMac X is not a virus or spyware. It is Apple notarized, which means Apple scanned its code and found no malicious components.
Additionally, CleanMyMac maintains the Safety Database – a database of files that cannot be deleted, which reduces the chances of removing data required for macOS and other program operations.
To avoid getting malware, download any app directly from the company sites. Avoid downloading anything from sites such as cnet dot com, macupdate dot com and others.
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Always check the DMG files on VirusTotal or with a good antivirus (Norton, McAfee, Bitdefender, etc.)
Want to know more? Read my in-depth review of CleanMyMac X.
Also, check out:
Previous article: CleanMyMac vs. AppCleaner: Which Uninstaller is the Best
Moving to a new Mac? Before taking these steps, you can use Migration Assistant to move your files from the old Mac to your new Mac.
Create a backup
Make sure that you have a current backup of your important files. Learn how to back up your Mac.
Sign out of iTunes in macOS Mojave or earlier
If you're using macOS Mojave or earlier, open iTunes. From the menu bar at the top of the screen or iTunes window, choose Account > Authorizations > Deauthorize This Computer. Then enter your Apple ID and password and click Deauthorize.
Learn more about deauthorizing computers used with your iTunes account.
Sign out of iCloud
If you're using macOS Catalina or later, choose Apple menu > System Preferences, then click Apple ID. Select Overview in the sidebar, then click Sign Out.
If you're using macOS Mojave or earlier, choose Apple menu > System Preferences, click iCloud, then click Sign Out.
You will be asked whether to keep a copy of your iCloud data on this Mac. You can click Keep a Copy, because you're erasing your Mac later. Your iCloud data remains in iCloud and on any other devices that are signed in to iCloud with your Apple ID.
Sign out of iMessage
If you're using OS X Mountain Lion or later, open the Messages app, then choose Messages > Preferences from the menu bar. Click iMessage, then click Sign Out.
Reset NVRAM
Shut down your Mac, then turn it on and immediately press and hold these four keys together: Option, Command, P, and R. Release the keys after about 20 seconds. This clears user settings from memory and restores certain security features that might have been altered.
Learn more about resetting NVRAM or PRAM.
Optional: Unpair Bluetooth devices that you’re keeping
If your Mac is paired with a Bluetooth keyboard, mouse, trackpad, or other Bluetooth device that you plan to keep, you can unpair it. This optional step prevents accidental input when the Mac and device have separate owners but remain in Bluetooth range of each other.
If you're unpairing Bluetooth input devices from a desktop computer such as an iMac, Mac mini, or Mac Pro, you must plug in a USB keyboard and mouse to complete the remaining steps in this article.
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To unpair a Bluetooth device, choose Apple menu > System Preferences, then click Bluetooth. Move your pointer over the device that you want to unpair, then click the remove (x) button next to the device name.
Erase your hard drive and reinstall macOS
The best way to restore your Mac to factory settings is to erase your hard drive and reinstall macOS.
After macOS installation is complete, the Mac restarts to a setup assistant that asks you to choose a country or region. To leave the Mac in an out-of-box state, don't continue setup. Instead, press Command-Q to shut down the Mac. When the new owner turns on the Mac, the setup assistant guides them through the setup process.
No matter the model or condition, we can turn your device into something good for you and good for the planet: Learn how to trade in or recycle your Mac with Apple Trade In.