New to Mac - Questions

On your last point, I have seen Mac definitely leave behind a trail of files. One of the most annoying things I have seen tbh.

 

I do a google search on how to uninstall the app and delete all its related files. Usually i find on stackoverflow.com a couple of commands into Terminal.

I have to be doing something wrong. I really thought moving an app to the trash would delete everything.

 

I use Ublock Origin extension with Safari. AdGuard also works well and has a small footprint, but it is sometimes too aggressive. 1blocker is another good one. Purify and Wipr are a couple other alternatives.

CCCleaner, App Cleaner and App Trap are all pretty good at cleaning removing apps and the trails they can create.

 

Welcome to Apple computers. I hope you enjoy the ride. There are some tips and tricks that you might find along the way so feel free to ask!

I am also still finding a non intrusive and great ad blocker!
And like what others said, I usually just google "uninstall app and related files", then the result will mostly show all the related file names which can be hunted down by "finder" and I just delete them.

You'll also find that some features you want from windows is bit different here. Please feel free to ask!

 

UBlock Origin, has an easy pause button if you find a site that doesn't want to play nice. Some are getting adept at detecting the use of add blockers.

 

For removing applications, a free program like AppCleaner does a pretty good job of removing all files.

Get FireFox for OS X and you can still use NoScript with it.

 

With Chrome and FireFox, uBlock Origin is the best ad and popup blocker I have ever used. It works better than others I've used, with a fraction of the resource consumption. With Chrome, be sure to add the uBlock Origin Extra (formally Web Socket). That paired with Magic Actions for YouTube and adds will become so rare you might find yourself shocked when the occasional one comes through!

I've used Anti-Adblock Killer in Chrome via TaperMonkey with good success in terms of function, but it was relatively resource heavy so I stopped using it daily.

Macs still leave behind some files upon removal, but IMO it is rare that these affect the computer with the exception of the launchd folders (which can indicate a process starting at login or startup that may not have been removed along with the normal uninstall - for example, an antivirus program like BitDefender where BDAgent is a separate process from the actual BitDefender AV App.) If I want to be sure an App's main files are gone, I will use Finder to check the launchd, Application Support, Preferences, Cache, Startup Items folders and manually delete any remnant lists, and periodically check through the installed kexts.