Download and install the best free apps for Maintenance & Optimization on Windows, Mac, iOS, and Android from CNET Download.com, your trusted source for the top software picks. Maintenance for Mac. Maintenance for Mac. Free Jesse Hogue Mac OS X 10.5 Intel/PPC Version 3.8 Full Specs. Average User Rating: 4 User Votes 4.5. Backup your data regularly. Even Macs can crash, run into hard drive problems, or contend with.

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Macs are sleek and slick computers that can run well for years after you take them out of the box. Like all other computers, though, your Mac is not immune to slowdowns, bugs, and other problems, and it’s up to you to keep your machine happy, healthy, and safe. Use the eight tips listed below to keep your Mac running like a well-oiled machine for years after first use.

Backup your data regularly

Even Macs can crash, run into hard drive problems, or contend with other issues that could put your data at risk. Making it a habit to backup your data every week or two can save you the heartbreak of having something go wrong and losing a slew of files that you can’t salvage from anywhere else. A full Time Machine backup is one option, and is probably the easiest way to clone your entire hard drive for easy restoring later on. You can also just drag and drop files and folders over to an external hard drive—a good idea for those who are also backing up files that no longer fit on their Mac—or use an online cloud-based service.

Cut down on utilities and services that run in the background

How many utilities or tasks do you have running in the background on your Mac right now? Printers, Bluetooth, home file sharing networks, cloud-based services, other applications that send data to the internet: all of these items will run in the background of your machine, more or less at all times, and can monopolize RAM and slow down your computer. To know which tasks are running in the background, look to the upper right corner of your screen and see how many icons are lined up in the top navigation bar alongside your battery and Wi-Fi icons. The more you have, the more likely that those utilities are the culprit behind your computer’s sluggishness.

Install anti-malware software

Every Mac user has heard the myth about Macs not being vulnerable to viruses and other types of malware. But it’s just that: a myth. The amount of malware that targets the OS X operating system is growing as Mac computers become more and more popular. Downloading some good anti-virus or anti-malware software—to scan your computer for infection and block future threats—can help you avoid becoming a victim of this growing scourge of malicious software.

Clean out your old files

This one is more or less just common sense, especially if you are using a smaller or slimmer Mac laptop without much hard drive space. Regularly cleaning out old files—photos, videos, mp3 files, word documents, etc.—can help to preserve hard drive space and keep your computer running smoothly. You should have a minimum of 10% of your disk space free at all times, and probably more if you can spare it. So, if you have a 500 gigabyte hard drive, you should leave 50GB free for best performance. For those with very full drives, a regular cleaning—and perhaps a backup of old files to an external hard drive—is essential. For everyone else, it’s just a good idea to keep your machine from becoming too cluttered.

Run Disk Utility

All Macs come with the Disk Utility program included. You can find it in your Utilities folder, which is itself stowed away in the Applications folder. Opening up the utility and running it four or five times a year is a good way to make sure that your hard disk is healthy and fully functional. The Disk Utility includes two basic functions. The first, used for repairing disk permissions, can be run right there in the app, once you open it from the Utilities folder. The second function, used for repairing the disk itself, can only be run in recovery mode, which you can access by holding down the Command and R keys as you boot up your computer. In recovery mode, you can boot into a recovery partition of your disk, from which you can run Disk Utility on your normal boot disk. This method is used to handle a corrupt hard disk or other errors, and is a must if you think there is an issue with your hard drive.

Keep your desktop clean

Some Mac users love keeping all of their most frequently used apps, folders, or documents on their desktop, but believe it or not, this habit can actually make your Mac slow and sluggish. The Mac needs to contribute RAM to display each icon on your desktop, so the more cluttered your desktop is, the less computing resources your machine has to use on other tasks. So keep your apps in your Applications folder, and file your other stuff away into folders. It’s okay to have a few folders on the desktop, but as a general rule, clutter should be avoided for the best performance.

Update software (but maybe not right away)

Apple, as well as the third-party developers behind your apps, updates software fairly frequently, and usually you will be alerted when there is an app or OS X update waiting to be installed on your machine. In order to keep your Mac best equipped to handle vulnerabilities and avoid bugs, updating your software frequently is a must. With that said, from time to time, Apple and other developers will release software updates that have huge unforeseen bugs or usability issues of their own, so you might want to wait a few days (and perhaps even read some articles or blog posts online) to learn whether or not the latest update to OS X or your favorite app is going to cause more headaches than it resolves. Luckily, most developers—Apple included—will usually rush to fix any issues with their latest software updates, so waiting a few days might help you avoid any issue altogether.

Shut down your apps when you aren’t using them

The dock is one of the coolest things about having a Mac, allowing you to see the programs you have open in an attractive and easily accessible way. Unfortunately, closing programs using the red X button will often not actually shut the program off. As a result, you might be running programs such as iTunes, Microsoft Word, or even your web browser when you aren’t using them—which can use up RAM and CPU, heat up your machine, and cause slowdowns elsewhere. To see which apps you have open, click the Apple menu at the top left corner of the screen and select “Force Quit.” From there, you can shut down apps you aren’t using and preserve the resources they’re hogging.As you can see, there are many different ways to take care of your Mac and keep it running well as time goes on. The eight tips presented above are simply among the most universal fixes and maintenance techniques that can take a slow, sluggish, and thoroughly bogged down machine and restore it to the zippy computer you once knew. Filed under Computer Security News, Advisories, Blog and Reviews for Everything Apple & Mac Security OS X, Mac OS X, Mac Tips

Hello and welcome to my User Tip

Although you might have heard that 'Mac's don't need maintenance' they actually do in sense to keep things more or less in line or the machine can become a mess through a users inaction to keep things tidy and updated.

So I'm going to share what you can do to keep your Mac running fine.

Do weekly:

1: Apple Menu > Software Update (repeat until clear) - fixes issues and security problems in Apple provided software.

2: Third Party Software

Open each and search for a update button or visit the developers website and verify the version or uninstall if issues develop according to the developers directions (do no use AppDelete type programs).

A warning flag should go off if your auto-updating program (like Chrome or Firefox) is not the current compatible OS X version. You have a further issue to fix. ..Step by Step to fix your Mac

Check for browser add-ons that if there are any updates for those.

Anti-malware software, update the definitions to make sure it's current.

Note: AppStore software is usually behind about 4-8 weeks. Some developers are not carrying on AppStore anymore so their software might not be current there. Install software directly from the developers website if it's there instead, it will have it's own updater and be faster that way, especially for any software that contacts the Internet routinely, like Opera or other browsers or mail programs.

3: Third Party System Preferences files and Finder menu items - don't forget updating those.

4: Third Party Web Browser Plug-ins - This checker can assist enormously: https://www.mozilla.org/en-US/plugincheck/

5: Reset Safari and all web browsers caches files located in each browser's preferences.

6: Reset Flash and other web browser plugin caches find out where they are located per browser plugin

7: For Privacy. Run the free CCleaner for the Mac: https://www.piriform.com/mac/ccleaner

8: If running another operating system in BootCamp or virtual machine software, revert to a earlier secure snapshot and do all the updates and cleaning.

9: Update your more immediate backup system, either TimeMachine and/or bootable clones if they are disconnected.

10: Do not update your longer term-

-disconnected bootable clone backup until another few weeks have passed to make sure all your software is working as intended, you might have to revert to this earlier machine state to bypass new issues. Most commonly used backup methods

Maintenance App Macos

11: Optional scrubbing:

If you have a boot hard drive you can opt to scrub the deleted files off the drive and cure future bad sector issues at the same time by using Disk Utilities > Erase Free Space > Zero option on the Macintosh HD. It will take some time to complete and isnt' necessary, but can assist reduce the possibility of future problems.

Never move a computer or a hard drive while it's running. It's a big cause of many issues on these forums.

SSD's can't be securely erased or scrubbed. How do I securely delete data from the machine?

12: Check for recent security issues:Security Issues Warning List

If your running OS X 10.8 Mountain Lion,

Right click or control click on software that won't run or install that you trust the source of, this will bypass Apple's Gatekeeper and shouldn't be required to do so ever again.

Do monthly:

1: Run the #12/#13 OnyX cache cleaning /repair routine (do not clean the log files, you may need those) and reboot. ..Step by Step to fix your Mac

2: Check your router makers site for firmware updates for your router and apply, they fix security issues. WiFi security issues, at home and WiFi hotspots

3: Update your long term backup/bootable clone if there wasn't a OS X or third party update in the last week or so to make sure it's running as expected.

Do all the time:

1: Don't let your boot hard drive get more than 50% (best performance) or more than 80% filled. Do not ignore the warnings your boot drive is getting filled

2: Don't let your boot Solid State Disk or Flash drive get more than 80% filled. Look in Utilities > Activity Monitor

3: Do not install software or browser plugins from unverifiable sources. Especially if there is no means to get into physical contact with the developer. Security Steps and Behavior

4: Do not visit risky web sites or ignore 'Safe Warnings' as Mac's can also be attacked at malicious web sites. Ideally, use a virtual machine operating system you can purge in a few seconds by reverting to a earlier snapshot. (Linux also can be used and it's free)

5: Do not install software promising to 'speed up your Mac' Learn how your machine works here: Why is my computer slow?

6: Keep a clone backup of each Mac on a powered external drive kept offsite to prevent against fire, theft and acts of man. Most commonly used backup methods

7: Hardening your MacHarden your Mac against malware attacksSecurity Issues Warning List

What you don't need to do:

1: Regular Defragmentation -

Needed only for hard drives (not SSDs) and OS X does it's own so you don't have to unless it's been upgraded or in a very rare long time, then if it's required there is a very safe and long lasting method to go about it here: How to safely defrag a Mac's hard drive

2: Run restrictive or always on anti-virus.

Apple has their own installed and the free ClamXav is good enough for the Windows malware that comes on files in OS X. (but don't affect OS X)

Uninstall the always on anti-virus using the developers uninstall method as it likely installed files into OS X itself, thus needs special uninstaller to remove it.

3: Don't use MacKeeper, it's a burn.

What you should consider having done:

1: Cleaning inside of the machine of dust

One can greatly extend the usable life of their computer if the dust is routinely cleaned out of the machine, especially the cooling fins where it gets clogged at.

Inquire with Apple or Apple Authorized Repair about having the dust cleaned out of the machine at least once a year and determining from that how often to have it done.

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Do not open the machine unless it's one of those machines that are user service allowed or you will void your AppleCare/warranty.

Enjoy your Mac. 🙂