Optimize Your Mac!
Credit to Author: Michael Miley| Date: Tue, 21 Nov 2017 14:00:53 +0000
Mac laptop and mini users often struggle to optimally use their computer’s memory or to keep their disk clean, since these Macs may be a bit tight on resources to begin with. Users can run out of memory when multiple memory-hogging apps are open, or they can run out of disk space (particularly on the smaller solid-state drives) when junk files accumulate, such as application installers, duplicates, or old archives that are no longer in use.
That said, any Mac user can benefit from having the equivalent of a Swiss army knife to optimize their Mac.
Trend Micro’s Dr. Cleaner Pro can help your Mac perform at its best. Its powerful optimization tools can quickly free up memory and disk space, while its file management tools can help you maximize your disk space, clearing out junk files.
Quick Fixes
For everyday use, Dr. Cleaner Pro provides quick access to its Dashboard from the Menu Bar.
Figure 1. Dr. Cleaner Pro Dashboard
Memory Usage. The Dashboard helps you quickly free up memory with a single click of the Optimize button. A click on the Memory Usage Details icon (the three dots in the upper right corner of the panel) shows a list of Apps using significant memory. Here, you can learn just how much memory each app is using.
Figure 2. Memory Usage Details
Junk Files. A click of the Junk Files Clean button automatically removes junk files from your Mac. Junk files include application caches, logs, and temporary files that accumulate during everyday use. A click of the Junk Files Details button provides a table of the files and apps on your disk by category, how much space they take up, the amount of Free and Total disk space, and the distribution of junk files among caches, logs, and temporary files.
Figure 3. Junk and Normal Files Details
Figure 4. Junk Files Details
CPU and Network Usage. Finally, the Dashboard lets you easily monitor your CPU and Network usage—useful for analyzing your computer’s resources when conducting intensive tasks. Once again, the Details screen provides a list of Apps using a significant amount of CPU resources.
Figure 5. CPU Details
If, for example, you’re using your security app to do a scan, you’ll see high CPU Usage in this screen. Similarly, if you’re syncing a big file to your cloud storage, you’ll see a high Network Usage readout in its Details screen, split into bytes- or kilobytes-per-second (B/S or KP/S) for upload and download traffic, along with other identifying network data.
Figure 6. Network Usage Details
System Optimizer
Those are the “instant” memory and disk fixes Dr. Cleaner Pro’s Dashboard provides. With the System Optimizer, however, you get complete access to all the file management tools in your Swiss army knife—to more deeply optimize the disk space of your Mac.
Figure 7. App Manager – App and Associated Files
To use a tool, you conduct a scan from the six different options, then pick among the results of the scan (the files or apps found), to apply the fix.
1. Junk Files. This scan takes a more targeted approach to cleaning out junk files by providing more details.
2. Big Files. You can regain disk space by identifying and removing unnecessary big files.
3. Disk Map. Manage and delete files on your disk with an easy-to-use visual map.
4. Duplicate Files. Quickly identify and delete duplicate files not only by their file names but also by utilizing a preview of their contents.
5. App Manager. Dragging an app to the Trash does not completely remove it, as some of the components can be left behind. The App Manager can remove apps and their associated files, freeing up more space and reducing system clutter.
6. File Shredder. Using this tool, you can permanently “shred” sensitive files. (During a delete, it makes seven “randomizing” passes over the sectors on disk that held the files, so they’re irrecoverable.)
Together, the Dashboard and System Optimizer provide quick and easy-to-use tools to optimize your Mac. To get a Free Trial of Dr. Cleaner Pro, or to purchase it directly from Trend Micro, go here. To see a YouTube overview of Dr. Cleaner Pro, as well as some how-to videos to get you started using its tools, go here. We’ll be adding more how-to videos in the future.
Dr. Cleaner comes in Free, Pro, and Elite editions, the last providing Touch Bar support for the new MacBook Pro. All are available on the Mac App Store.