How to Uninstall on Mac Programs and Apps

Easy way to change your homepage on your Mac

Before we start, here’s the answer to your question (yeah, we know what question do you have). The main reason for changing your homepage is… Ads! You probably met such a situation. You search for something in the Internet and click on the “Download” button. But while installing the app you see that there is a bundle of adware coming with it. What’s next? You get pop-up windows on all the sites, incorrect work of the browser, strange warnings about urgent calls to some “support” and other unnecessary stuff.

The most obvious way of solving the problem is installing of free Anti-malware utility for Mac. It seems to be easy and comfortable, doesn’t it? So what can be wrong here? Note, that adware creators are very tricky and they want you to see their ads in any case. That’s why adware will change your homepage and you’ll suffer from the informational noise every time you turn on the browser. But you can change it and that’s the salvation! We got here all the easiest ways to do it. No more ads and baddies during web surfing!

Let’s go!

Homepage changing in Safari

First open the Mac’s browser. Click on the main menu in the left top of the screen. Go to Preferences. In the newly opened window you’ll find General tab and there is the place to type any page you like. It will be your homepage.

Of course, now it’s time to test the change you made and to make sure that you have beaten that bothersome adware. Close Safari and open it again. If the changes were made correctly, the new homepage will appear. If you see something else instead the site you’ve entered in Preferences window, launch the desires manually with keyboard. Tap the shortcut “Shift-Command-H”.

Setting homepage in Chrome

Open the application and click on Chrome button (it’s in the upper-left). Tap on Preferences and the new window with settings will open. If you see “Open a specific page or set of pages” marked, click on Set pages option. Chrome will offer you to change the startup pages.

If you see any unwanted URL-adresses in the box, click “x” (it’s to the right) and add the page you’d like to see as the homepage. Then click OK to save the changes.

Let’s change homepage in Firefox

The process of changing the homepage in this browser seems to be similar with what we did in Safari and Chrome. Open Firefox and go to Preferences. You can find them at the top of your screen. Next tap on General from the left column and find the Home Page box. Write the URL of the needed homepage here and close the browser.

Next time you launch Firefox you’ll see the desired page at the start.

Congratulations! Just run Malwarebytes program we noted above, change your homepage to your favorite site and enjoy web surfing without unwanted advertisements.

To avoid such situations in the future always look what you’re downloading on your Mac. Not all the apps are good for the systems and not all the ads are too much interesting to see them all the time. 🙂 We advise you to look for programs in the Mac App Store. Manufacturer’s website won’t provide you with unnecessary adware – it’s guaranteed!

So we wish you to get only safe applications from the Internet and find only interesting and useful materials there!

Awesome ways to use Siri in your Mac OS Sierra

Finally, we can have Siri on Sierra. Special digital personal assistant will answer all your questions and will help to improve your experience of using not only iPhone and iPad, but your home Mac too! As simple as it can be!

Good news is that Siri offers the same functionality on desktop. If you are a longtime user of the virtual assistant on your mobile devices, talking to her would be a familiar thing. But if you are beginning communicating to Siri, here is some useful tips how to use this progressive helper in Mac OS Sierra.

1. Look what’s the weather will be like today

Checking the weather in Mac Os always was comfortable thanks to Spotlight, Dashboard widgets and other apps which could be downloaded from the web. Having Siri will make checking the weather a great entertainment. Just ask her any weather-related question. “What about the weather forecast for the weekend?”, “Will it be sunny?” or “Will it rain today?”. She will find the correct answer for you, so you won’t forget an umbrella in a rainy day!

2. Turn on and off “Do not disturb”

This feature, like Siri itself, firstly appeared in OS X Mavericks. And though there are some manual ways to enable “Do not disturb”, use voice commands for Siri to do everything for you.

Tell her to turn it off or turn it on and she will respond immediately. The confirmation of request is the widget that appears in Siri window. By the way, it will appear every time when you will give her a query. After it pops up, you can tell Siri another command or override the change by mouse click if it’s necessary.

3. Ask about history. Anything you want!

It’s hard to believe, but Siri can answer questions of different difficulty. Of course, she can’t answer very complicated ones as masterfully as Google Now does. But you can experiment and ask Siri something simple at the first time. As Apple improves its services constantly, Siri becomes smarter every day. Try to ask her something straightforward and you’ll be pleasantly surprised.

She knows when were the Star Wars released, when the first Ferrari car was produced, who was the second president of the United States.

4. Control the speakers volume.

You could regulate the volume or mute your speakers manually with the help of menu bar or keyboard. The progress brought you Siri and now you can tell her to do it instead of you. Tell her “Mute the speakers” and she will turn them off. If you combine this feature with “Hey Siri” hands free, you will be able to mute the music just sitting in the other side of the room. It’s very useful when your iPhone rings and someone (boss or client) walks into the office.

5. Spell different words

Did you notice that there are less and less spelling bee contestants every year? It’s all because of computer spell-checkers. But computer will not tell you how to spell difficult and unknown words. It just won’t have any idea how to do it.

Anyway, Mac is the best machine and Siri is the best assistant. Ask “How do you spell ___” and she will tell you how to read and spell the unknown word back to you letter-by-letter.

By the way, you may entertain with Siri asking the most different questions to her. She can tell you what she thinks of different situations and news. Yes, she really has an independent opinion! 🙂

We hope you’ll enjoy working with your personal virtual assistant on your Mac Os Sierra!

Mac OS Sierra News: Why You Don’t Need to Empty Trash Since Now!

Every day Apple tries to simplify files storage in Mac OS Sierra by improving iCloud and Optimized Storage. Auto-empty Trash setting is a brand new step to the future. And we bet if you are user of Mac OS Sierra, you are interested in how it works. Let’s go!

Deleted files in Mac OS have always moved to Trash bin. Firstly, it seems that file is gone from the system. But if we look deeper we’ll know that the actual data is still on our drive. It always worked in such a way. The purpose of this strange algorithm is saving the files data for quick recovery. If the user has deleted something by mistake, he can always restore it just in pair of clicks. And if you wanted to free space on the drive you had to empty trash on your own.

Digital help to all the Mac users

Despite well-coordinated work of Mac’s trash system, some users often forget to empty it. The consequence of their forgetfulness is the slow work of the whole system as deleted files build up over time. Do you think that little files are not a big problem? We can bet they are! And when days and months pass, they’ll turn into cumulative gigabytes of space that could not be used by your system.

Of course, you can just turn off the trash on your main drive but it’s not the best way to solve the issue. What would you do if the file is deleted accidentally? Yes, you’ll lose it forever. The second possible way is to download a special program that will monitor and empty trash bin for you. But in fact these utilities provide only part of functions or much more options than you need. You will agree with us that approach “all or nothing” is no good for the user, because he will feel lack of important features or get lost in the abundance of them.

Do not rush to get upset! There is a solution!

Sierra offers you automatic empty trash!

Thanks to Apple’s innovations, users of Mac OS Sierra have a built-in feature that helps them to remove files from the trash if they hadn’t been restored in 30 days.

Let’s start now! See if you are already upgraded to Sierra. Go to Finder then. Open your Preferences on the top of the screen. On the appeared window with Preferences you’ll find new options. Mark “Remove items from the Trash after 30 days”.

That’s all! Congratulations, dear friend! Now all the files that are older than thirty days will be automatically removed from your Mac. Nothing will interfere the proper work of your Mac OS. You’ll just have to use your laptop or desktop Mac and enjoy working with it! All space that was occupied by unnecessary files will be cleaned regularly.

Forget about the full trash!

Now you see how masterfully Apple solved the problem. It’s an ideal compromise between guarding the user from accidental files deletion and cleaning up drive space. It’s much better than scheduled third party trash cleaners as if the time X is Sunday’s midnight, it can wipe out files that you have removed not on purpose, for example, at 11:59 PM on Saturday. But it will be too late when you’ll notice it.

Apple’s method is much smarter. It works individually with every deleted file. Only when the certain item rolls over 30-day term, it will be deleted by the system forever. Not earlier, not later. Voila! And you get more free space on the drive!

Why do we consider such feature comfortable? You don’t need to be distracted by unnecessary tasks. Just do what you do and Sierra will take care of everything (including trash cleaning) in the background. You won’t have to worry about items deleted by chance, because you’ll have the whole month to restore them!

Nevertheless, turning this function on is not obligatory. If you prefer to control everything what happens on Mac on your own and to empty trash manually, just check your Preferences in Finder.

Emptying Trash on Mac OS X

We all like to regularly clean up our Mac. One fine day, we just start to remove everything we see, delete unnecessary applications, movies, images, photographs, and send all the files from the desktop to Trash, until it’s full, or your Mac begins to display error messages and tips on moving files to Trash.

The most common problem is that Trash emptying runs very slow, and constant messages pop up warning us that an application cannot be deleted, etc. Chances are you don’t know Macs can have more than one Trash bin, there may be several, it all depends on the applications installed on your Mac, and that can be an additional headache.

We’ll start from the beginning.

Let’s see what kinds of Trash emptying there are, and how to quickly remove the trash that you have accumulated.

Each operating system has two Trash emptying options:

– quick

– irreversible

What’s the difference?

What is quick Trash emptying?

Quick Trash emptying is performed almost instantly. The point is that the files in Trash do not get physically deleted, they are simply marked “deleted”, so, in theory, new files may be written over them. Consequently, these marked files are deleted only after they are overwritten with other files.

Here is the upside! As long as the file marked as deleted hasn’t been overwritten, it is possible to restore it with the help of special applications.

On the one hand, it is good that recovering lost files is possible, but that brings up the downside right away! Your privacy can be compromised, if there is open access to your Mac.

What is irreversible Trash emptying?

In fact, the principle of irreversible Trash emptying is identical to the quick one. The only difference is that on top of the deleted files your Mac writes empty data blocks, which makes recovery of deleted files impossible.

The downside is that this process can take a very, very long time, because all the deleted files need to be overwritten with empty files.

This action is a default option on Mac, but you can always change it to quick Trash emptying. This can be done as follows:

• Open Finder
• In the menu bar (top left corner) click on Finder again
• In the drop-down menu, select Preferences
• In the window that opens, select Advanced
• Then you need to check or uncheck Empty Trash securely

From then on your Trash will be emptied in the way that you chose.

If there is a time when you need to empty Trash in a different way, just right-click on the Trash icon in Dock, and select the alternate option for Trash emptying.

Now let’s see how the same things can be done for those who like shortcuts!

Emptying Trash with hot keys

Hot keys or shortcuts can greatly simplify and speed up the user’s experience on Mac, but, as you know, not everyone chooses to use them. Perhaps, after you learn how to empty Trash with their help, you will see how handy it is and start using this method in the future. In any case, it won’t hurt to learn.

Shortcut Command + Delete deletes and sends the selected files to Trash. Deleting some of the files could affect applications’ performance. You will find out about it when you delete them.

Of course, you can recover the deleted files. Do this by using the same key combination Command + Delete, after going to Trash and selecting the files you want restored.

You can empty Trash by pressing the combination Shift + Command + Delete. The system will display warning that by agreeing to remove the deleted files from Trash (Empty Trash), you won’t be able to restore files, but it isn’t always the case.

There is another way to empty Trash by using hot keys: quick emptying. By pressing Shift + Option + Command + Delete you will immediately remove all the contents of Trash and remove all Trash from your Mac. But remember, it will be emptied without confirmation, so be careful when using this shortcut.

Let me tell you about another way of emptying Trash that is more practical.

Emptying Trash with CleanMyMac 3

Let’s start with the upside. At the beginning of this article, we talked about several Trash bins, remember? So, finding them can be a lot of work and take a long time. CleanMyMac 3 can empty all the existing Trash bins on your Mac without you knowing about it.

CleanMyMac 3 won’t be stopped by any errors that may appear when emptying Trash, all the trash will be removed in a moment.

Let’s see how this wonder app works!

Start by doing this:

1. Download the application here: http://macpaw.com/cleanmymac
2. Install it on Mac
3. Run the app

4. Find the tab Trash Bins

5.     5. Click Scan

The scanning of the system will commence.

Afterwards, the scan’s results are displayed. I try to keep my Mac in order, so there is not much Trash here.

6. CleanMyMac 3 prompts you to check the files that it found before deleting, in case you see some important information and decide against removing one or more of the selected files.

Of course, you will be the one who chooses to remove or keep the data. It’s very easy to do, just check or uncheck the box next to the file’s name.

7. Click Empty

Next, all your Trash bins will be emptied, including software bins and bins on other disks.

I think you will agree with me that this method is much more convenient and reliable than those listed above.

Getting iTunes in order

There are iPhone owners that have never synchronized their smartphone with a Mac and do not quite understand why it is necessary. Let’s find out.

Everyone nowadays uses iTunes to synchronize the information stored on your iPhone, iPad, or AppleTV with a Mac via Wi-Fi or USB.

What is iTunes?

iTunes is not just a media player that we can use to play music, videos, view photos, read books, etc. The developers have also opened access to an online store where we can buy everything from music and movies to applications. Of course, the most important function is to synchronize Apple devices using iTunes.

What’s synchronization?

Synchronization is a connection of two different devices to each other. It was invented to ensure that the information on one of the devices was completely identical to the information on the second one. It is very easy to use, especially handy if one of the gadgets is out of order, for example, after synchronization, so you can easily find the phone number you need (all the contacts are stored in the cloud that is accessible for you and with your devices only). You can also find any other information there.

Synchronization allows you to exchange data between devices to be able to view files (photos, videos, audios, games, podcasts, books, etc.) on your Mac, or vice versa on your iPhone or iPod. When you synchronize, your iTunes has the ability to check the contents of the latest updated information and determine what needs to be synchronized.

Synchronization is easy, because your devices are synchronized with each other, so when you make changes on one device, they will be automatically carried over to the second one. If the devices are not synchronized, you will need to make changes twice: separately on each one. The same happens when you delete files.

Synchronization is an indispensable tool when operating multiple devices simultaneously.

For ease of use, you can personally choose exactly which sections you want to sync and which you don’t.

There are two ways to synchronize: via a USB cable and via Wi-Fi.

Synchronizing with iTunes via a USB cable

Initially there was only one synchronization method: via USB.

It’s well regarded for its versatility; you only need to connect two devices with a cable, regardless of the software version installed on the Mac.

The only detail that you need to consider: do not disconnect the cable during synchronization, as it will fail and have to be started all over again.

Synchronizing with iTunes via Wi-Fi

To synchronize devices via Wi-Fi, you will have to do a little fiddling. First, you will need:

– Make sure that all the devices you want to synchronize have the latest version of iTunes installed

– Then connect your iPhone (or another device) via USB

– Find your device in iTunes and click on it

– Then choose to sync them over Wi-Fi

– Click Apply

– Disconnect the USB

After that the device will be synchronized automatically. The advantage of this synchronization method is that it doesn’t take too much time. The disadvantage is that it increases battery consumption and your devices can run out of juice faster.

Now it’s time to talk about cleaning iTunes.

Most of us clean it manually. We start by sorting all items by size, by date, arranging audio files by title, etc. I cannot say that this is not correct, rather, it is not all that needs to be cleaned, because iTunes stores music, as well as a lot of other files. In addition to music, it stores:

– Copies of the iOS apps on your disk

– Software updates for iOS

– Outdated backups

– Incomplete files left after a failed download

But how can we get rid of all these? How do we know where iTunes stores all the above-mentioned files? Our old friend CleanMyMac 3 will help us to find out.

Getting rid of junk in iTunes with CleanMyMac 3

As we have mentioned, in order to conduct an effective and reliable cleanup of iTunes, you have to use CleanMyMac 3. That’s how you do it:

1. Download the application here http://macpaw.com/cleanmymac
2. Install it on Mac
3. Run it
4. Find the iTunes Junk tab
5. The application prompts us to scan iTunes, do it by clicking Scan

When CleanMyMac 3 starts to process the data, the iTunes cleaning module will know what to delete and what to keep automatically, just trust it.

As soon as the application scanned all of iTunes content, it displays the result. We see how much space is taken by unnecessary information stored in iTunes. We have two options:

5.1 Trust Smart clean and remove everything marked by CleanMyMac 3 without checking (you need to click Clean)

5.2 See the list of files to be removed and possibly leave some for future use. To do this, we click Review Files

6. CleanMyMac 3 will display the contents of iTunes, namely:

– ITunes Broken Downloads

– IOS Software Updates

– IOS Device Backups

– IOS Applications

Now we can make decisions about removing applications, updates and anything else. To cancel the removal, unmark the item you want to keep.

7. Once you have made your choices, click Clean, and the app delivers you from unnecessary files that clog up the Mac.
8. At the end, CleanMyMac 3 displays the information about how much space has been freed after scanning.

If you have a large media library, like to read books, have a huge number of phone numbers and are constantly downloading new applications to keep up with the times, be sure to regularly use the iTunes Junk feature in CleanMyMac 3 to maintain order on all your devices.