Mac Maintenance
There are numerous free utilities that can provide vital statistics about your Mac. Most programs are able to run in the background all the time, however there are options for manual operation too.
So what do you want to target?
RAM - Mac OS X usage of RAM is quite efficient. Applications generally dynamically adjust the amount of memory they use, even if all your RAM is actively in use. A virtual memory system allows Mac OS X to use a portion of the hard disk to extend RAM, automatically swapping data between the disk and the physical RAM as needed. But of course there is a limit. You should keep an eye on how much RAM is being used. If the free RAM drops near zero, close windows, quit applications, or even restarting. Better yet, add more RAM where possible.
Disk usage – Hard disk capacity is always rising, so you’re not likely to run out of space. Nevertheless, running out of space can yield severe consequences. As your hard disk approaches its maximum capacity, your Mac will run more slowly as files become fragmented. Or data could be lost as your Mac has no space to save a file. And even more seriously, your computer may hang, crash, or fail to start up if it runs out of physical RAM and disk space to use for virtual memory.
To be safe, leave at least 10 to 15 percent of your hard disk space empty to provide breathing room for file storage, virtual memory, disk image creation, and other tasks. When you reach this figure, you should, delete unneeded and unnecessary files, and archive unused files to CD, DVD, or external hard drives. Your downloads folder is a good place to start!
More on Mac Maintenance soon!
Mac Spyware Cleaners
It’s fair to say that ‘generally speaking’ Mac users are well protected from spam, malware, trojens and the like, and hence ‘generally speaking’ there’s not much need for a Mac Cleaner that will protect you against such things. I use the ‘general speaking’ term very generally. Because there are exceptions. For example in June 2010, Mac antivirus software begun detecting the spyware called OSX/OpinionSpy. Typically this was inadvertently downloaded through MP3 converters and screensavers. It tracked personal data from safari and iChat. Of course there have been noted cases where Mac service representatives actually uploaded viruses and spyware onto Macs, but this is pretty extreme and hardly worth worrying about.
If you feel as though you really want a Mac Cleaner with anti virus or anti-spam capabilities, there are several on the market and are reasonably priced. Norton do a version (probably one of the better ones), however it’s not guaranteed to pick up everything. When you do start looking and eventually decide to download one, make sure it will remove blacklisted tracking cookies without removing saved usernames, passwords, and saved websites, as this is just a huge pain. Some such Mac Cleaners, will also offer to clean Internet browsers and offer complete privacy wipes by deleting caches, browsing histories etc. MacScan’s blacklisted cookie scanner allows users to quickly remove unwanted tracking cookies without disrupting saved information such as usernames, passwords, or preferences for websites.
Of course the ultimate way to prevent viruses on a Mac and often any computer, is to only use trusted websites and download only what you know is safe