CleanMyMac 2 – The New-Generation OS X Maintenance Tool

very good
key review info
application features
  • Automatic cleanup
  • (6 more, see all...)

CleanMyMac 2 is a powerful maintenance utility for keeping your Mac clean, organized, and free of clutter that slows it down. It’s been regarded as the best cleaning utility for years, and now version 2 is on the scene hoping to live up to the name of its predecessor.

The people at MacPaw have invested a lot of time and effort into creating the most comprehensive user interface possible for CleanMyMac 2, in order to provide users with a simple yet compelling layout.

The looks

The user interface is not much different compared to the previous version, but it’s much more polished, and the cleaning tools are organized a lot better. It also includes dozens of new options and controls that actually make cleaning your Mac a fun activity.

The program still uses what is basically a two-pane window, with the left side displaying the services, and the right side showing the current activity for each action.

You’d think all the oomph is there to catch your eye so that MacPaw can pluck your $40, but you’d be wrong. All the colorful graphics actually make the software a lot more comprehensive and usable. You’re never lost in CleanMyMac 2.

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The works

Like its predecessor, CleanMyMac 2 has a standard automated cleaning function called Automatic Cleanup. Simply hit that big Scan button at the bottom of the window and let the utility rummage through the resources of every app on your computer to search for clutter. If it finds stuff you don’t need (and it will), CleanMyMac 2 then presents you with the option to erase it all. You can also select which files to keep and which to delete.

System Cleanup is a more advanced module where power users can get a bird’s eye view of the system files that CleanMyMac 2 is getting ready to erase, so that it can speed up your Mac. It can remove 11 different types of junk, including user log files, broken preferences and login items, as well as iOS software updates, development junk, etc.

For example, following a cleanup, the software will almost certainly find a lot of User Cache Files, which are originally intended to improve your Mac’s startup times but ultimately accumulate and make your system sluggish.

A System Cleanup scan will also look for Language Files, System Log Files, Universal Binaries, and other stuff, all of which can be dealt with by simply hitting that universal Clean button.

The Large & Old files tab enables you to selectively do away with huge files (movies, archives, etc.) that may have been taking a longer than needed vacation on your hard drive. Just select those files that you no longer have use for and hit Remove.

iPhoto Cleanup now has its own module. You can use it to manage the contents of your photo library, as well as other clutter that iPhoto leaves behind. For photography fanatics, this function alone may be worth CleanMyMac’s price.

Trash Cleanup offers the ability to instantly empty your OS X Trash, complete with a secure-erase option. If you don’t trust your Mac around that nosy roommate, you might consider using this handy feature.

We’ve reached the best part of CleanMyMac 2, the Uninstaller.

In what is basically the heart and soul of CleanMyMac, the Uninstaller function allows you to selectively get rid of those applications that you no longer have any use for, as well as pick specific files and folders within their resources to remove only those files (not necessarily the whole app).

OS X users are accustomed to just sliding an app over the Trash bin to “uninstall” it, but this method doesn’t always eliminate all the files associated with that application. CleanMyMac 2 automatically takes care of that for you.

The Uninstaller itself contains three separate tabs which list regular applications, leftovers, and unsupported programs, such as PowerPC apps on a new version of OS X.

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Next up, the Extensions Manager is another handy tool that allows you to tend to all your browser add-ons, iTunes plugins, preference panes, etc. You can use this module to enable / disable some of them, as well as manage and delete any browser extensions from one window.

The Eraser deletes any unwanted files or folders quickly and securely. In this module, simply select any files you want to eliminate from your hard drive and hit Erase. You can also drag and drop, and you can tell CleanMyMac to perform a “secure” delete, which makes it hard to retrieve files using traditional recovery programs.

There’s also a handy button at the bottom of the app’s main window which you can use to send your cleanup results to social networks, such as Facebook and Twitter. In case you want to brag.

Finally, users who have a great deal of faith in CleanMyMac to run scheduled cleanups for them can set the program to work its magic at predetermined intervals.

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The Good

With a flawless UI and features to match, there’s not much left to praise here. Also worth noting as a plus, CleanMyMac 2 requires an administrator’s permission to make changes to your system configuration. This makes the software more secure than traditional cleaning utilities.

The Bad

As it is always the case with this type of software, CleanMyMac 2 may delete one unlucky system / application file that could cause your system to misbehave. I haven’t had such bad luck so far, but non-savvy users could do some damage with that Uninstaller function. And while the program is indeed polished, MacPaw could slash a few bucks off the $40/€40 purchase price.

The truth

Power users who install new software on a regular basis and handle lots of big files should really consider grabbing a copy of CleanMyMac 2. Unlike other cleaning apps, MacPaw’s CleanMyMac 2 really does speed up your Mac. It drills through your system, purges entire gigabytes of unnecessary files, and gets rid of them quickly and securely.
user interface 4
features 4
ease of use 4
pricing / value 2


final rating 4
Editor's review
very good
 
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