OnyX - Is It All I Need For Mac Maintenance?

[Lukebull]

So I've just realised I use no mac maintenance and cleaning applications / scripts.

I know OnyX is widely trusted (please correct me if I'm wrong.)

Does it provide all the cleaning and maintenance scripts I need to keep my Mac 'Good as new?'

 

[GGJstudios]

Yes, and you don't even "need" that, although it's a good app. Mac OS X doesn't require user involvement to keep itself running well.

Helpful Information for Any Mac User

 

[Lukebull]

Don't you use anything?

 

[Akme]

OnyX runs maintenance scripts that are already built into OS X, and which are run on an automatic basis fairly regularly. So, technically, you shouldn't need to run anything like that whatsoever.

Despite that, for peace of mind, running OnyX should do just about everything you would want from a maintenance perspective, and has the added bonus of being simplistic and on-demand.

 

[GGJstudios]

Don't you use anything?

Nothing. Mac OS X does it all. My Mac runs as well as it did 3 years ago.

 

[Lukebull]

Nothing. Mac OS X does it all. My Mac runs as well as it did 3 years ago.

So is this whole 'you have to repair permissions' thing rubbish?

 

[GGJstudios]

So is this whole 'you have to repair permissions' thing rubbish?

No, it's not rubbish, but you only have to do that if you have a problem with permissions. I've never had to do it. In the same way, there's lots of good medicine out there, but you only take it if you have symptoms of the illness they're designed to treat.

 

[Lukebull]

hmm,

On my old ibook - the only thing I used to do was run a few scripts as recomended on Xlab.

http://www.thexlab.com/faqs/maintainingmacosx.html

Reading further I notice that they reiterate what you two guys were saying - Onyx just runs scripts that mac already does.

The site does raise questions about malware/ viruses/ etc.

I was always told not to get any software for this, is this still the case?

 

[GGJstudios]

The site does raise questions about malware/ viruses/ etc.
I was always told not to get any software for this, is this still the case?

There has never been a virus in the wild that runs on Mac OS X, and the handful of trojans can easily be avoided through common sense.

Mac Virus/Malware Info​

 

[munkery]

I would recommend Maintenance by the same dev as Onyx. It is a more user friendly tool based on Onyx.

Repairing permissions is a good idea after system updates. It is also a good idea if you modify permission while fooling around in Terminal. But, do not repair permissions if you wish to keep the changes to permissions that you have made.

Most needed maintenance tasks are performed by default by OS X.

 

[Lukebull]

@GGJstudios I've just read through your recommended reading, the security post is very good, made me think more about some quite obvious security boosters.

Assuming I will be trojan free (if I'm careful) in the future do you think it would be worth checking I don't have anything weird on my MAC now with something like ClamXav?

Or would I know if I had something bad on here?

 

[GGJstudios]

@GGJstudios I've just read through your recommended reading, the security post is very good, made me think more about some quite obvious security boosters.

Assuming I will be trojan free (if I'm careful) in the future do you think it would be worth checking I don't have anything weird on my MAC now with something like ClamXav?

Or would I know if I had something bad on here?

As the very few trojans that exist will usually present themselves if installed and activated, you're most likely clean if you're careful about where you get software. After 2+ years of running on my Mac, I installed ClamXav as a test and ran a scan..... nothing. I then removed it. It doesn't harm anything if you want to run scans from time to time, but if you exercise care when installing or entering your admin password, you're better than 99.999% likely to be clean.

 

[Lukebull]

Thanks for all your help mate