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Looking for the best Mac cleaner?

Searching for the best Mac cleaner? CCleaner goes through 4 things that can make your Mac run better, plus some excellent, handy optimization software...

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Looking for the best Mac cleaner?

From managing apps to checking your hard drive capacity, here are 4 things you can try out to help your Mac’s overall performance. We also go into some specific ways CCleaner’s software can help you out. 

Close unused apps

One of the best things you can do is close down any apps that you don’t need to use, at least for the time being. To do this, press the Command and Tab keys on your keyboard, normally positioned under your left hand. This launches the ‘app switcher’, giving a clear view of what apps are currently running on your system.

Press the ‘Tab’ key again to switch between these apps. Click one, and its name should become visible in the macOS menu bar. Click the name and the drop-down menu should reveal an option to quit the app you selected. You can move your mouse over an app on your Apple Dock and press ‘Control’ click or right-click on it.

This should reveal a pop-up menu that also gives you the option to quit an app. If the app crashes or starts misbehaving (we love this word), the Force Quit option could appear in the same pop-up menu we described. You can also revisit the main macOS menu bar, click the Apple icon, and ‘Force Quit’ the app from there. Crashing apps can be caused by damaged disk permissions. If you’ve been searching online for ‘the best Mac cleaner’, CCleaner for Mac can easily help you with this problem.

Use Activity Monitor

Another thing you can do is access macOS’s Activity Monitor by typing the name of it into the Spotlight search window. Once here, you can sort through and view different system processes to find specific ones that could be slowing down your computer, but don’t forget some of these might be essential to your system.

Click ‘View’ in the macOS menu bar to reveal a drop-down menu where you can select ‘Windowed Processes’. This should reveal a list of non-essential system processes that you can close if needs be, and you can sort these with the tabs at the top of the list like ‘% CPU’ to see which ones (if any) are taking up an unreasonable amount of processing power from your computer.

If you use resource-intensive software like web browsers or programs for design, music production, or video-editing (and tend to leave them open when not using them), you may discover this when you check Activity Monitor. If you suspect you’ve installed too many apps, you have two main options: disable some apps that launch automatically with your Mac’s startup or uninstall apps you don’t use anymore.

Thankfully, one of the best Mac Cleaners out there, CCleaner for Mac, can help you tackle both these tasks in one place. You can uninstall apps without having to go between different folders and easily disable startup programs.

Check hard drive capacity and files

We go into a little bit more detail for this section, so we’ve split it into two parts for your convenience.

Method 1: visit ‘Storage’ to see a summary of your hard drive

There’s an easy way to see if large files are causing a problem with your hard drive capacity. You should ideally have about 20% free space available to help macOS run at its best. Go to the Apple icon on your macOS menu bar and then click ‘About this Mac’ to reveal a window that shows what version of macOS your Mac is running and its hardware specifications.

Click ‘Storage’ to unveil a visual breakdown of the types of files stored on your Mac and how much space is being used up. You can then go to ‘Manage’ and ‘Review Files’ to view and browse all the files stored on your system to see which ones are taking up the most room. Please bear in mind that some of these are still useful to you and your Mac. 

Method 2: visit ‘Recents’ and browse files by size and type

Go to macOS’s Finder on your Dock menu to launch a new window and click on ‘Recents’. At the very top of the Window, click the grid-like icon to reveal a drop-down menu that shows options like ‘Name’, ‘Kind’, and ‘Application’. The key thing is to make sure the option ‘Size’ has a tick next to it. If it does, you should be able to see the largest files at the top of the ‘Recents’ window. If these files include things like photos or documents you don’t want to wipe from your system, you can store them in iCloud or in an easily-purchased piece of hardware like an external hard drive.

You can also sort files by ‘Date Last Opened’, allowing you to discover any files on your system you may have not looked at for years that you can easily get rid of. What you may not know is that other clutter can build up in your system without you knowing, such as temporary files. Files like these, that collect from your favorite web browser and everyday computer activity, can easily stretch into several gigabytes or more if left unchecked. This is exactly the kind of thing that CCleaner for Mac, one of the best Mac cleaners, can help you with.

Perform regular software updates

Many have become more aware of the benefits of software updates, but this might not stop you from occasionally delaying or ignoring them. In truth, software updates on your Mac (or any computer) can patch security weaknesses or bugs in your system that might otherwise cause a nuisance or worse.

So, it’s important to update your Mac’s software regularly, at least when you have the time. This is also one of the reasons why we include automatic updates in CCleaner Professional (Mac), so we can keep our best Mac cleaner free from glitches, add new things and, overall, keep your Mac running at its best. 

Download CCleaner for Mac

CCleaner for Mac makes it easy for you to manage apps on macOS, whether you want to locate and uninstall redundant apps that could slow down your Mac, delete junk, duplicated photos, and files to get back lost space on your Mac’s hard drive, or keep your browsing history to yourself and delete sensitive autofill data to tighten security. Try one of the best Mac cleaners, CCleaner for Mac, to optimize your machine and make it last longer.

FAQs

  • Do I need a Mac cleaner?

    A Mac cleaner refers to software that will help you keep your Mac free from junk files and running at its optimum. This offers you a number of benefits as it can prolong the lifespan of your Mac, speed it up, optimize performance. Some apps of this type can also do tasks in seconds that would otherwise take hours.

  • What is the best cleaner for a Mac?

    The best type of Mac cleaner will improve your Mac’s performance and security. CCleaner for Mac can do both of these things for you by clearing valuable space and keeping your online accounts and activities private to strengthen your security.

  • How do I clean up my Mac for free?

    You can use the tools that Apple recommends which come with your Mac (Store in iCloud, Optimize Storage, Empty Trash Automatically, and Reduce Clutter). You can also use our free CCleaner for Mac app for the ultimate deep clean to get your Mac working even better.