Can defragmentation optimize my Mac

Many users complain that after long usages their Mac starts working slowly. As per technical experts it is suggested to optimize Mac to get rid of this problem. Defragmentation is one of the optimization techniques . As we know fragmentation process means keeping fragmented data together in memory location to reduce data accessing time. The new version of Mac file system i.e HFS + has the ability to minimize chances of fragmentation. But, it can handle fragmentation up to 20 MB of file size. If you want to defrag more than 20 MB file size then you must go for third party tool.

If you are working on large media files then inbuilt ability of Mac file system fails to reduce fragmentation. There are two software available in market iDefrag and Stellar Drive Defrag .You can use any of these. It helps to defrag heavily fragmented Mac volumes.

I have used the defragmenting software of Stellar. The welcome window of this software has options - Defrag Metadata, Quick Defrag, Full Defrag and Optimize to defrag Mac volumes, from which the user can choose, as per his requirements. with this utility, you can list all the fragmented files on the selected volume and defrag one or multiple files.

Defrag Volume - You can select any Mac volume from your hard drive and defrag. In this process metadata files, large fragmented files and helps in optimizing free space.

Defrag selected files - The 'Defrag Files' option of the software lists all the fragmented files in the selected Mac drive and allows you to defrag only the selected files.

DVD to Boot Volume – You can make bootable DVD by this option which helps you to booting your Mac system if it is failed to boot.

Although defragmentation is one of the ways to optimize a computer but the task can be accomplished via other methods. This includes reformatting the drive , restoring system from it's backup etc.

In our next post we will discuss these methods in details.

Alternatives of disk utility to erase Mac hard drive

Now a days it's a big challenge to keep personal data secure in case when someone wants to switch OS or plan to sell hard drive. If files are deleted permanently by applying common method then, it can be recovered from hard disk by using data recovery software, until it's overwritten by another files on the same memory location. When file is deleted from the system, OS makes the free space for new data. So, here you need to wipe data beyond recovery to prevent unauthorised access.

There are two ways to perform this task. Either via disk utility tool or by using any third party tool. Before deleting files we can keep backup of those files into another hard disk.

Steps to erase data via Disk utility:-

1.Click on Applications in the dock on Mac's screen, open disk utility.

2.Click on Hard drive which you want to wipe.

3.Click on 'Erase Tab' , Disk utility will erase and format all the data.

There are some limitations of Disk utility like you can not wipe data of particular file so here introducing another alternative third party software with more features , one of them is 'Stellar Mac wipe', it is a module of Stellar Drive Toolbox. This software helps to erase data from Mac Drive beyond recovery.

With this software, you can completely erase any specific file or your entire Mac hard drive. Stellar Wipe provides a safer and efficient means of Mac wipe. 

Key features of Stellar Wipe :-

• It Performs hard drive wiping in just one go
• It Allows scheduling the wiping task on a specific categories of data
• It provides standard Mac disk wiping algorithms for specific folders or files
• Wiping unused spaces Increase efficiency of the Mac drive
  

There are two options inside Wipe utility :-

1. Drive Wipe – This option helps to erase data from entire Mac
2. File wipe – This option helps to erase data from particular file.

So, user is always suggested to keep data safe to prevent unauthorised access.

For more details you can visit :- http://www.drivetoolbox.com/mac-wipe.php

How to encrypt Mac Files | Encryption software for Mac

Mac is becoming more popular in all the fields like Government, education and business sectors because it is easy to use, compatible and secure. Today we are living in the world of piracy where it is very difficult to secure your confidential data. So it is suggested to keep such data in encrypted or non-readable format.

Usually when people share a common system, there are more chances to lose privacy. In such situation we must keep eyes on Mac all the time and keep our data secured with some kind of encryption method.

Following are the tips by which we can keep our data safe:-

• Data can be kept in the form of encrypted disk image. When opened by someone, will prompt the user for a password. It will check for authentication to mount image on the desktop.
• Next method is using FileVault in Mac to keep the confidential information safe. We can scramble, or encrypt, the data in Home folder (only your Home folder) using this Mac OS X feature.
• The task of encrypting data to keep information secure can be performed by using software. There are so many encryption software for Mac available in market. One of them is 'Data Encryptor of Stellar Drive ToolBox, which has 12 other additional utilities also.

Following are the key features of Mac Data Encryptor:-

• Encrypts selected files with password
  
• It allows hiding of encrypted files
  
• It provides option to locate all hidden encrypted files in the system
  
• It has option to verify, whether the listed hidden files exist in the system or not
  
• Files can't be decrypted by using any other tool
  

This software has option allows you to choose any standard encryption algorithm from the list and encrypt them.

Mac cleaning Software | Cleaner for Mac

I am working as a video editor for a production house in Mumbai. Doing the job on Mac is a great experience untill it starts behaving sluggish. I am bond to deliver work on time so, need to work fast. It tends me to run 8 to 10 applications simultaneously. During work, sometimes it gets hanged and needs to restart my computer again and again due to slow Mac performance. I started to search reasons for this behaviour of my Mac and found that it coud be due to accumulation of duplicate files, widgets, startup items , unused applications in Mac Drive.

One of my friends suggested me to cleanup Mac Drive. It was too surprising to see that there were so many Startup items ,cache files, unnecessary language files etc. I started removing these items one by one but it was so time consuming to do this manually. I was busy in solving clients problems related to freelancing projects. At that critical time, found Mac cleaning Software 'Stellar SpeedUp Mac' on Internet. It was wonderful to solve my problem and helped to save my precious time.

It is a Mac maintenance software which has everything to keep your Mac clean. There are three options available for user.

SpeedUp now , Clean My Mac and Uninstaller. You can use Uninstaller option to remove all unused installed applications by dragging process or selecting checkbox.

Clean My Mac option is used to clean selected volume of your Mac.

The other features of this software which helps you to optimize your Mac are:-

1. It helps to find out all duplicate files unwanted Applications, Widgets and Plug-ins in just few clicks and remove them fastly.
2. Scheduler to perform tasks at a specified time
   
3. It shows live status of hard disk space gained after cleanup process .
   
4. More interactive and user-friendly interfaces
   
5. It works as a Cleaner for Mac

Now once again my Mac is behaving as it was on day 1. Hope my experience would help other users facing similar situation with their Mac.

Free Tips to Improve Mac Performance

Mac systems are generally trouble free but Mac users are immune to the problems of computer slowdowns and other glitches. As with all things, an ounce of prevention is better than a pound of cure. There are some free tips that you can use to improve your Mac performance and keep it in tip-top shape.

1. Free up space on your hard drive - For best performance of Mac, hard drive should have 20% of free space. There are so many cache files, language file and system junks remain in hard disk. You shoud start removing theses files either manually or by using any software.
2. Defragment your hard drive – Defragmentation is a very good way to keep fragmented files together in hard drive. It reduces data accessing time.
3. Back it Up - The first and most important thing you should do to keep a backup of your important files, or even the entire system. To clone the entire system are the best solution . Make a bootable clone of your hard drive is a good idea to do before performing large system updates, or something to schedule timely. We can schedule backups by using Time Machine.
4. Check drive status time to time :- You should check S.M.A.R.T status of hard drive so that you could ensure if any problem in hard drive or disk failure condition. You can perform these task via Disk utility(inbuilt function in Mac OS X).
5. Beware of memory leaks - Some people may leave their systems running constantly, or put them to sleep without restarting the system. If any running software has memory leaks, it will start to consume more and more system memory. Quitting and restarting these memory hogs will reduce memory consumption.

By performing all these tasks we can keep our Mac optimized. All these tasks can be performed by using third party tool 'Stellar Drive Toolbox'. It is a complete Mac optimization tool.

DriveToolbox is a pack of 12 utilities to improve Mac performance. SpeedUp Mac is used for Clean Up work like removing cache, unwanted application, widgets etc. Partition manager is for managing Mac Volumes. Drive status, drive clone, disk defrag, steller shield. Drive performance and Data encryptor is a free utility with this pack.

How to check drive status in Mac | Check SMART in Mac

A hard drive is an amalgum of technology. We know machines are not cent percent reliable so, we need to check hard drive status time to time. We can reduce the chances of hard drive failure with regular checkup.

It doesn't matter either we are using Windows , Linux or Mac OS , Drive status should be checked in all cases. Mac users can perform this operation by Disk utility. Disk Utility is an inbuilt application in Mac OS X which performs lots of useful operations to keep Mac hard drive in good health.

Following are the steps to check Drive status by using Disk utility :-

1. Open up the Disk Utility program. Select hard drive listed on left hand side.

2. Click on the "Get Info" button to open a window with all disk related information like Created, Modified date, Format, availabe or Used space, lebel etc.

3. Close and quit Disc Utility if your check of the Mac's S.M.A.R.T. status is "verified." If the status is "failing," then Mac hard drive is having some problem and here you need to take steps to back up and replace the drive as soon as possible.

Some Mac users for whom disk utility is not so user friendly, prefer third party tool. 'Drive Status' module of Stellar Drive ToolBox software helps to show Full status of Hard drive.

There are three options available inside this module:-

1. General Status - It shows Drive title, name, media type, total size ,free space etc.
2. Full Description - We can check Volume Signature, version, Creation, modification, Backup date, File & Folder count etc.
3. S.M.A.R.T Status - We can determine the health status, temperature, and other vital parameters of Mac hard drive.

This software Provides entire Mac hard drive information, including all basic details, full drive description, and the SMART status.

Another options available in DriveTool Box is Drive clone, Partition Manager, SpeedUp Mac, Drive Wipe, Disk Defrag.

For more details visit :- http://www.drivetoolbox.com