Should I regularly clean out cookies on my mac?

osx 10.9.1 should I be clearing out cookies for optimal performance?

Hi, normally Cookies won't affect performance.

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How to clean out junk on a mac?

I notice a TON of stuff on my mac I have never even seen, and I wanted to know if there was a program to scan your computer for crap and clean it out?
Thanks

There are many programs that claim the ability to do what you describe, but none of them can do it safely or reliably. They're all junk as shldr2thewheel says.
Ideally, you should know what you're installing before you install it, and know how to remove it as well. Most programs can simply be dragged to the Trash but some (generally, those that require a user name and password to install) require using their accompanying uninstallers to ensure all its remnants are eradicated.
If a program does not modify OS X, or is not configured to launch when you log in, it's just taking up space and can be ignored. Files, folders, music, pictures, and similar work that you create are not programs and can be deleted if you no longer need them. However, if a program installs kernel extensions, "daemons" or other running processes it can have detrimental effects on your Mac's operation.
You can use a little program written by Apple Support Communities contributor Etresoft to create a quick summary of the latter category as well as other system details. It does not delete anything, it merely reports what system modifications are running or installed and can be helpful in determining what may be burdening your system, so that you can decide what to do about such programs rather than delegate that task to some ill-conceived junkware. Read about it and download it here: http://www.etresoft.com/etrecheck.
Etrecheck itself is tiny, and when you're finished with it, can be left alone or dragged to the Trash as you wish.

Where to find the best application for cleaning out my MacBook Air with OS X 10.7.5? I've been using MacKeeper but believe it's slowing down my laptop considerable.

where to find the best application for cleaning out my MacBook Air with OS X 10.7.5? I've been using MacKeeper but believe it's slowing down my laptop considerable. Thank you.

How to maintain a Mac
1. Make redundant backups, keeping at least one off site at all times. One backup is not enough. Don’t back up your backups; make them independent of each other. Don’t rely completely on any single backup method, such as Time Machine. If you get an indication that a backup has failed, don't ignore it.
2. Keep your software up to date. In the Software Update preference pane, you can configure automatic notifications of updates to OS X and other Mac App Store products. Some third-party applications from other sources have a similar feature, if you don’t mind letting them phone home. Otherwise you have to check yourself on a regular basis. This is especially important for complex software that modifies the operating system, such as device drivers. Before installing any Apple update, you must check that all such modifications that you use are compatible.
3. Don't install crapware, such as “themes,” "haxies," “add-ons,” “toolbars,” “enhancers," “optimizers,” “accelerators,” "boosters," “extenders,” “cleaners,” "doctors," "tune-ups," “defragmenters,” “firewalls,” "barriers," “guardians,” “defenders,” “protectors,” most “plugins,” commercial "virus scanners,” "disk tools," or "utilities." With very few exceptions, this stuff is useless, or worse than useless. Above all, avoid any software that purports to change the look and feel of the user interface.
The more actively promoted the product, the more likely it is to be garbage. The most extreme example is the “MacKeeper” scam.
As a rule, the only software you should install is that which directly enables you to do the things you use a computer for — such as creating, communicating, and playing — and does not modify the way other software works. Use your computer; don't fuss with it.
Safari extensions, and perhaps the equivalent for other web browsers, are a partial exception to the above rule. Most are safe, and they're easy to get rid of if they don't work. Some may cause the browser to crash or otherwise malfunction. Some are malicious. Use with caution, and install only well-known extensions from relatively trustworthy sources, such as the Safari Extensions Gallery.
Never install any third-party software unless you know how to uninstall it. Otherwise you may create problems that are very hard to solve.
4. Beware of trojans. A trojan is malicious software (“malware”) that the user is duped into installing voluntarily. Such attacks were rare on the Mac platform until sometime in 2011, but are now increasingly common, and increasingly dangerous.
There is some built-in protection against downloading malware, but you can’t rely on it — the attackers are always at least one day ahead of the defense. You can’t rely on third-party protection either. What you can rely on is common-sense awareness — not paranoia, which only makes you more vulnerable.
Never install software from an untrustworthy or unknown source. If in doubt, do some research. Any website that prompts you to install a “codec” or “plugin” that comes from the same site, or an unknown site, is untrustworthy. Software with a corporate brand, such as Adobe Flash Player, must be acquired directly from the developer. No intermediary is acceptable, and don’t trust links unless you know how to parse them. Any file that is automatically downloaded from a web page without your having requested it should go straight into the Trash. A website that claims you have a “virus,” or that anything else is wrong with your computer, is rogue.
In OS X 10.7.5 or later, downloaded applications and Installer packages that have not been digitally signed by a developer registered with Apple are blocked from loading by default. The block can be overridden, but think carefully before you do so.
Because of recurring security issues in Java, it’s best to disable it in your web browsers, if it’s installed. Few websites have Java content nowadays, so you won’t be missing much. This action is mandatory if you’re running any version of OS X older than 10.6.8 with the latest Java update. Note: Java has nothing to do with JavaScript, despite the similar names. Don't install Java unless you're sure you need it. Most people don't.
5. Don't fill up your boot volume. A common mistake is adding more and more large files to your home folder until you start to get warnings that you're out of space, which may be followed in short order by a boot failure. This is more prone to happen on the newer Macs that come with an internal SSD instead of the traditional hard drive. The drive can be very nearly full before you become aware of the problem. While it's not true that you should or must keep any particular percentage of space free, you should monitor your storage consumption and make sure you're not in immediate danger of using it up. According to Apple documentation, you need at least 9 GB of free space on the startup volume for normal operation.
If storage space is running low, use a tool such as the free application OmniDiskSweeper to explore your volume and find out what's taking up the most space. Move rarely-used large files to secondary storage.
6. Relax, don’t do it. Besides the above, no routine maintenance is necessary or beneficial for the vast majority of users; specifically not “cleaning caches,” “zapping the PRAM,” "resetting the SMC," “rebuilding the directory,” "defragmenting the drive," “running periodic scripts,” “dumping logs,” "deleting temp files," “scanning for viruses,” "purging memory," "checking for bad blocks," "testing the hardware," or “repairing permissions.” Such measures are either completely pointless or are useful only for solving problems, not for prevention.
The very height of futility is running an expensive third-party application called “Disk Warrior” when nothing is wrong, or even when something is wrong and you have backups, which you must have. Disk Warrior is a data-salvage tool, not a maintenance tool, and you will never need it if your backups are adequate. Don’t waste money on it or anything like it.

HT1414 I have the iPhone 4s. I have tried restoring my phone and cleaning out the ports, but I still cannot hear music or my videos playing. This happened after I did the last update on my phone. Is there anything else I can do? This is really irritating.

I have the 4s. I have recently restored my settings and cleaned out the ports. I still cannot hear my audio for music or videos. My volume on the side of the phone does not work either. Everything workds in the setting menu. It is not a speaker issue because the ringtone works when people are calling and I can listen to the different ringtones as well. My notifications and text message audio does not work. My phone does not say that it is on a dock. When I try listening to music, the volume adjustment appears, but it is gray and unusable. Everything works when headphones are in plugged in and when it is on the dock. This started with the last iPhone update. What else can I do... this is becoming very frustrating.

Hi shanny202.
Really strange problem you have there. I have a few questions though.
Please try again and try to make the phone as a new without restoringen with you iCloud-data or backup-data from iTunes. Maybe it is something wrong with the data (strange).
Anyway, i think you should call Apple Support or visit an Apple Store, don't forgot to make a Genius Bar reservation.
You locate the nearest Apple Store here: http://www.apple.com/retail/storelist/
And here is Apples phone numbers around the world for support: http://support.apple.com/kb/HE57

I downloaded Lion on my iMac. It apparently cleaned out the hard drive. Nothing shows up from before. It looks like a brand new computer. It is backed up on Time machine. Any idea of why this happened and suggestions on restoring? Thanks.

I downloaded Lion on my 4 yr old iMac. The download stalled at the last minute so I clicked "CANCEL". When it was restarted, Lion was there, with no apparent option but to go ahead and install so I assumed it was okay. Didn't transfer data from "another computer" when prompted - assumed it would transfer from that computer. It apparently cleaned out the hard drive. It looks like a brand new computer. None of my apps, programs, files, or thousands of photos.   It is backed up on Time machine, but it's a sickening sight. Any idea why this happened and suggestions before restoring? Thanks.

I cannot find this 300GB "Backup" in the Finder, only in the Storage info when I check "About This Mac".
You are probably using Time Machine to backup your MacBook Pro, right? Then the additional 300 GB could be local Time Machine snapshots. Time Machine will write the hourly backups to the free space on your hard disk, if the backup drive is temporarily not connected. You do not see these local backups in the Finder, and MacOS will delete them, when you make a regular backup to Time Machine, or when you need the space for other data.
See Pondini's page for more explanation:   What are Local Snapshots?   http://pondini.org/TM/FAQ.html
I have restarted my computer, but the information remains the same. How do I reclaim the use of the 300GB? Why is it showing up as "Backups" when it used to indicate "Photos"? Are my photos safe on the external drive?
You have tested the library on the external drive, and so your photos are save there.
The local TimeMachine snapshot probably now contains a backup of the moved library. Try, if connecting your Time Machine drive will reduce the size of your local Time Machine snapshots.

How do I clean out the flash player cache?

How do I clean out the flash player cache? I'm told by zynga to clean it out...I play games. I don't know how to do it. Thanks in advance

i-phony wrote:
Thanks for your helpful reply. If most of my website visitors are using Safari browser (( iPhone, iPad devices )) what type of flash should we use in the headers?
www.i-phony.com
I hope to use my previous flash designs.
Best regards
Since Apple designed iOS (per Steve Jobs' insistence) to be specifically incompatible with Flash, I wouldn't worry about what Flash content to use in headers for devices that can never, and will never, be able to see it.
I stopped using Flash for anything in my websites about six months ago, converting what I had to HTML5 (MP4) and any new content that would have previously been done in Flash is going the be the same.

I want to clean out my macBrook pro for my daughter to use in college

I have a macBook pro I want to clean out, would it be better to take it to the apple counter or do it myself? If doing it myself, simple simple pls, how do I go about it?

I assumed you didn't mean physically clean it.
Follow these instructions step by step to prepare a Mac for sale:
Step One - Back up your data:
       A. If you have any Virtual PCs shut them down. They cannot be in their "fast saved" state. They must be shut down from inside Windows.
       B. Clone to an external drive using using Carbon Copy Cloner.
          1. Open Carbon Copy Cloner.
          2. Select the Source volume from the Select a source drop down menu on the left side.
          3. Select the Destination volume from the Select a destination drop down menu on the right
              side.
          4. Click on the Clone button. If you are prompted about creating a clone of the Recovery HD be
              sure to opt for that.
               Destination means a freshly erased external backup drive. Source means the internal
               startup drive.
Step Two - Prepare the machine for the new buyer:
          1. De-authorize the computer in iTunes! De-authorize both iTunes and Audible accounts.
          2, Remove any Open Firmware passwords or Firmware passwords.
          3. Turn the brightness full up and volume nearly so.
          4. Turn off File Vault, if enabled.
          5. Disable iCloud, if enabled: See.What to do with iCloud before selling your computer
Step Three - Install a fresh OS:
     A. Snow Leopard and earlier versions of OS X
          1. Insert the original OS X install CD/DVD that came with your computer.
          2. Restart the computer while holding down the C key to boot from the CD/DVD.
          3. Select Disk Utility from the Utilities menu; repartition and reformat the internal hard drive.
              Optionally, click on the Security button and set the Zero Data option to one-pass.
          4. Install OS X.
          5. Upon completion DO NOT restart the computer.
          6. Shutdown the computer.
     B. Lion and Mountain Lion (if pre-installed on the computer at purchase*)
         Note: You will need an active Internet connection. I suggest using Ethernet if possible because
                   it is three times faster than wireless.
          1. Restart the computer while holding down the COMMAND and R keys until the Mac OS X
              Utilities window appears.
          2. Select Disk Utility from the Mac OS X Utilities window and click on the Continue button.
          3. After DU loads select your startup volume (usually Macintosh HD) from the left side list. Click
              on the Erase tab in the DU main window.
          4. Set the format type to Mac OS Extended (Journaled.) Optionally, click on the Security button
              and set the Zero Data option to one-pass.
          5. Click on the Erase button and wait until the process has completed.
          6. Quit DU and return to the Mac OS X Utilities window.
          7. Select Reinstall Lion/Mountain Lion and click on the Install button.
          8. Upon completion shutdown the computer.
*If your computer came with Lion or Mountain Lion pre-installed then you are entitled to transfer your license once. If you purchased Lion or Mountain Lion from the App Store then you cannot transfer your license to another party. In the case of the latter you should install the original version of OS X that came with your computer. You need to repartition the hard drive as well as reformat it; this will assure that the Recovery HD partition is removed. See Step Three above. You may verify these requirements by reviewing your OS X Software License.

How can I "clean out" my iCloud storage on my iPad?

Lately I have been getting messages saying that I con't have enough space in my iCloud storage to backup my iPad and lately my iPad has been acting up and going really slow, freezing, and closing out apps. How do I "clean out" my iCloud storage so that I will have enough room? I saw an option to delete the backup, but I don't want to do that because that deletes everything...right? And I need a lot of those apps backed up. What should I do?

Settings>General>Usage>iCloud>Manage Storage

Clean out start up disc I Mac g5

How can I clean out the start up disk. I do not have enough space to import video into I movie on my G5.

If your hard drive is getting full,
You should never, EVER let a conputer hard drive get completely full, EVER!
With Macs and OS X, you shouldn't let the hard drive get below 15 GBs or less of free data space.
If it does, it's time for some hard drive housecleaning.
Follow some of my tips for cleaning out, deleting and archiving data from your Mac's internal hard drive.
Have you emptied your Mac's Trash icon in the Dock?
If you use iPhoto, iPhoto has its own trash that needs to be emptied, also.
If you store images in other locations other than iPhoto, then you will have to weed through these to determine what to archive and what to delete.
If you use Apple Mail app, Apple Mail also has its own trash area that needs to be emptied, too!
Delete any old or no longer needed emails and/or archive to disc, flash drives or external hard drive, older emails you want to save.
Look through your other Mailboxes and other Mail categories to see If there is other mail you can archive and/or delete.
STAY AWAY FROM DELETING ANY FILES FROM OS X SYSTEM FOLDER!
Look through your Documents folder and delete any type of old useless type files like "Read Me" type files.
Again, archive to disc, flash drives, ext. hard drives or delete any old documents you no longer use or immediately need.
Look in your Applications folder, if you have applications you haven't used in a long time, if the app doesn't have a dedicated uninstaller, then you can simply drag it into the OS X Trash icon. IF the application has an uninstaller app, then use it to completely delete the app from your Mac.
Download an app called OnyX for your version of OS X.
When you install and launch it, let it do its initial automatic tests, then go to the cleaning and maintenance tabs and run the maintenance tabs that let OnyX clean out all web browser cache files, web browser histories, system cache files, delete old error log files.
Typically, iTunes and iPhoto libraries are the biggest users of HD space.
move these files/data off of your internal drive to the external hard drive and deleted off of the internal hard drive.
If you have any other large folders of personal data or projects, these should be archived or moved, also, to the optical discs, flash drives or external hard drive and then either archived to disc and/or deleted off your internal hard drive.
Good Luck!

Scrolling and page loading is very choppy...i've cleaned out my history, cache, etc..it isn't my computer cause it does not do it in IE

Scrolling has become very frustrating--there is nothing smooth about it..the pages jump so when i try to click on a link, the page jumps and i click on another link that is close by....getting very annoying...there is nothing wrong with my machine cause i tried IE and Chrome and i don't have issues there...also i cleaned out my cache, cookies, history...

Please see [[Troubleshoot extensions, themes and hardware acceleration issues to solve common Firefox problems]]

How does one clean out the trash, after putting in a time line file in?

After cleaning out some old files, it was late one night that I put a old file from the Time Line into the trash. Now how can this be FIXED?

Time Line...? If you mean Time Machine, then you should only delete old backups and files using the Time Machine interface.
If you did a NO NO and moved old Time Machine backups to the Trash using Finder? Then go to > Time Machine - Frequently Asked Questions 12 and scroll down to the section in gray for the solution.

How do I clean out the "other" category, it is consuming lots of space and I dont know what is in there

I am hitting the upper limit on storage on my Iphone 5s; after music the greatest usage is in the category "other" and I can't figure out what is in it so that I can reduce it or otherwise clean it out. help?

Texas Mac Man post (2/10/2012) on "Other" data on iOS device - https://discussions.apple.com/message/19861751
https://discussions.apple.com/message/20053939 - "If it is much more than a gb or so, then it indicates corrupt files. A restore should resolve." "If restoring using your backup didn't work, you'll have to save as much of your data as you can (import your photos to your computer, sync your contacts and other data with iCloud, email things like Notes and Voice Memos to yourself, sync with iTunes to transfer all your purchases, etc.) and then restore it as new without using your backup." - https://discussions.apple.com/message/20054011

Steps to Transfer mail from Older MBP 10.6.8 to Newer MBP 10.8.5 for NON-tech person I really just need the simplest solution. I have cleaned out old folders on the OMBP, but there are folders I need for work

I really just need the simplest solution. I have cleaned out old folders on the OMBP, but there are folders I need for work.
I am not a technical person. I have gone online and read a gazillion "All Ya Gotta Do...." to the point where my head swims.
I backed up my older MBP onto WD Passport Studio via Time Machine.
I transferred all my files there and put them all onto the newer MBP.
I expected to see Mail but did not.
Someone said just use Migration Assistant, but I dont find that anywhere.
Please dont say iCloud because I dont even know what it is. Sorry, but I just dont use my Mac other than for work, meaning online access for research, and then typing reports of various kinds... and for emailing.
Can I just hook the firewire directly from OMBP to NMBP and copy them that way??
Sorry I am such a dolt, but I really just want easy step by step instructions, thank you.
Would the Genius Bar at my local store be able to help me???
Thank you,

Okey Dokey!
I followed the steps for the Target Disk thing, and was able to transfer everything on my old desktop, in my old pictures file... all the final transfers regarding my documents and photos.
BUT
there were no folders for Mail, and when I went to the only folder I could find that said "Mail" -- which was under "applications" it then told me that I could not transfer old "mail" to new "mail" since they were different versions...
Now THIS makes sense,,, and I was not looking to do that...
but how do I find all my mail folders????
Is there someplace I should be saving them in order to get them???
Do you mind helping me with instructions on how to do this?
Thanks!

The first time I start Firefox it is very slow coming up but after it is up and I want another window it fast again. What do I need to do to clean out whatever is clogging it up.

Question
The first time I start Firefox it is very slow coming up but after it is up and I want another window it fast again. What do I need to do to clean out whatever is clogging it up. edit

* The first time you start up any application after turning on your computer is called a cold start, which is why Firefox takes a while to load right away. (I've noticed that future versions of Firefox start up faster on a cold start then Firefox 5.0.1.) Also, a lower amount of RAM could be slowing its start-up down since Firefox is kind of memory hungry.
* As for the second part of your question, press ctrl,Alt, and the delete keys on your keyboard. The Windows Task Manager should start. Go to the processes tab and look for 'firefox.exe'. Right click on the firefox.exe and click 'End Process'. Hit Yes and wait for a minute.
* Then opening Firefox again.
Hopefully this helped somewhat!

My four year old iMac is running much slower than when it was new. Any suggestions on cleaning out the cob webs?

My four year old iMac is running much slower than when it was new. Does anyone have any suggestions on what I can do to "clean it up" and get it running like it used to?

What year, screen size, CPU speed and amount of RAM installed?
To find out info about your system,
Click on the Apple symbol in the upper left of the OS X main menu bar. A drop down menu appears.
Click About this Mac. A smaller popup window appears. This gives you basic info like what version of OS X your iMac is running, the speed of your iMac's CPU and how much RAM is installed.
Click on the button that says More Info. A larger window appears giving you a complete overview of your iMac's hardware specs.
Highlight all of this info and copy/paste all of this into another reply to this post, editing out your iMac's serial number before actually posting the reply.
This will tell us everything about your iMac so we may begin to help with your iMac issues.
How full is your Mac's hard drive?
Locate your iMac's hard drive icon on the OS X desktop. Click the icon once, then use the keyboard key combination Command-I. This will give you additonal info about your iMac's internal hard drive.
Post this info in your reply here, also.
Here are some general tips to keep your Mac's hard drive trim and slim as possible
You should never, EVER let a conputer hard drive get completely full, EVER!
With Macs and OS X, you shouldn't let the hard drive get below 15 GBs or less of free data space.
If it does, it's time for some hard drive housecleaning.
Follow some of my tips for cleaning out, deleting and archiving data from your Mac's internal hard drive.
Have you emptied your Mac's Trash icon in the Dock?
If you use iPhoto, iPhoto has its own trash that needs to be emptied, also.
If you store images in other locations other than iPhoto, then you will have to weed through these to determine what to archive and what to delete.
If you use Apple Mail app, Apple Mail also has its own trash area that needs to be emptied, too!
Delete any old or no longer needed emails and/or archive to disc, flash drives or external hard drive, older emails you want to save.
Look through your other Mailboxes and other Mail categories to see If there is other mail you can archive and/or delete.
STAY AWAY FROM DELETING ANY FILES FROM OS X SYSTEM FOLDER!
Look through your Documents folder and delete any type of old useless type files like "Read Me" type files.
Again, archive to disc, flash drives, ext. hard drives or delete any old documents you no longer use or immediately need.
Look in your Applications folder, if you have applications you haven't used in a long time, if the app doesn't have a dedicated uninstaller, then you can simply drag it into the OS X Trash icon. IF the application has an uninstaller app, then use it to completely delete the app from your Mac.
To find other large files, download an app called Omni Disk Sweeper.
Download an app called OnyX for your version of OS X.
When you install and launch it, let it do its initial automatic tests, then go to the cleaning and maintenance tabs and run the maintenance tabs that let OnyX clean out all web browser cache files, web browser histories, system cache files, delete old error log files.
Typically, iTunes and iPhoto libraries are the biggest users of HD space.
move these files/data off of your internal drive to the external hard drive and deleted off of the internal hard drive.
If you have any other large folders of personal data or projects, these should be archived or moved, also, to the optical discs, flash drives or external hard drive and then either archived to disc and/or deleted off your internal hard drive.
Good Luck!

Should I regularly clean out cookies on my mac?

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