MacPaw cites extensive changes to this feature, and I was curious to try it. Unfortunately, the Malware Removal module shot the previous version of CleanMyMac X in the foot, and in the latest version, it does so yet again. This is where the truth as to what’s eating your drive space comes out, as a 73GB Pictures folder inside your Users folder could stand to be slimmed down a bit. The Maintenance module handles tasks such as clearing RAM, running maintenance scripts, clearing the DNS cache, and repairing file permissions quickly, tidying up the macOS’ underpinnings as needed.ĬleanMyMac X 4.4.1’s new claim to fame is the Space Lens module, which offers a quick look at your hard drive’s most sizable folders. The Uninstaller module was able to quickly locate and pick off unnecessary applications during testing and accomplished something I’d never seen before in an application removal utility: it removed multiple applications at once, which is quite useful. The modules are the key to CleanMyMac and it’s handy to be able to quickly enable and disable macOS extensions with the Extensions module, or hunt down extraneous files with the Large & Old Files module, which lets you see which files are devouring space and erase them quickly.
IDGĬleanMyMac’s Extenstions modules provides a central location for enabling and disabling software extensions, like those for Safari or macOS. This is a nice touch and the menu can be customized as you see fit. A quick click on the icon reveals handy information such as how much space is left on each of your drive partitions, your Mac’s CPU load, how much RAM is available, your computer’s operating temperature, and other useful information.
I used a free version of Malwarebytes to locate the malware, quarantine it, delete it, reboot my MacBook Pro, and ensure that the malware was gone.MacPaw set out to make its Menu Bar utility much better and has succeeded.
Upon running CleanMyMac X’s Malware module, which claims to be able to find and clean out malware with confidence, the module missed every beat, locating none of the malware or adware and happily reporting back that my Mac was clean, devoid of malware and ready to go. These samples included MacKeeper, assorted free-and-questionable video players, and entirely questionable utilities that purport to speed up your Mac yet historically find “infections,” change your web browser and search engine preferences, activate the speaker to tell you that your Mac has been corrupted, and advise you to call an 800 number where a technician can help resurrect your computer for a fee.
Over the course of days of testing, I installed several pieces of known Mac malware and adware on a MacBook Pro running macOS 10.14.1 Mojave. Unfortunately, the Malware module is where things fall apart. The effort is appreciated, but free utilities such as Titanium Software’s Onyx have historically done this better with more modules and customization. IDGĪll this combines with a decent new Maintenance module, which offers an assortment of system-level clean up scripts (Free Up RAM, Run Maintenance Scripts, Flush DNS Cache, Speed Up Mail, Rebuild Launch Services, Reindex Spotlight, Repair Disk Permissions) to help free up resources. This pairs well with the Uninstaller module, which helps you quickly locate your application programs and erase them as well as their support files to rid them from your Mac forever. As with CleanMyMac 3, the Large & Old Files module helps you quickly see what files are devouring the most space on your hard drive and quickly erase them at will.