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macOS does a pretty good job of managing system memory and, as long as you have a reasonable amount of space free on your boot drive, it can also swap data between RAM and disk when it needs to. However, even the most recent Macs only ship with 8GB of RAM as standard, which can be tight for apps hungry for memory.
Parameters has some of OnyX’s best features. Using the tabs inside, you can make all sorts of secretly available customizations to the way your Mac boots (say, startup sound or no startup sound. Since its launch in 2013, Slack has quickly become the first name in business collaboration and messaging, and its free Mac app is the best way to keep in touch with your team. Clean 500MB of Junk for Free A firmware password is not the same as the administrator password or login password. It's a separate password that appears immediately after boot and must be entered into the system lock screen, which appears as a lock symbol on either a black or a gray background. Magoshare AweUninser for Mac is the safe and efficient free Mac uninstaller to completely uninstall applications and software on your Mac. It not only can quickly uninstall unwanted applications, but it also can remove all related files including logs, junk files, register files, and other leftovers.
In addition, some apps misbehave and “leak” memory, meaning they hog more than their fair share leaving less for other apps. The solution is to use a memory cleaning app to free up RAM. Here, we selected the top 10 best Mac memory cleaners that will help you control memory usage.
If you want to know just how much RAM each app you’re running is consuming, go to Applications > Utilities and launch Activity Monitor. That will display all running processes, including browser tabs, and show you how much RAM they are using.
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CleanMyMac X has two methods for cleaning memory. The first is its Maintenance module that has a Free Up RAM tool that can grab gigabytes of memory back with a couple of clicks. The other tool is the CleanMyMac X menu bar item. When it’s running, it will pop up a warning whenever your Mac runs low on RAM and offers to free some up for you.CleanMyMac X also has a System Junk tool that clears out junk files from your boot drive, giving you more space for virtual RAM. The app is notarized by Apple, which means it’s safe to use on a Mac. Download the free version to try out all features.
2. Memory Clean
Memory Clean is a menu bar item that shows how much memory you have available and what is occupying the rest. It also displays the apps that are eating out your Mac’s resources and inactive apps occupying RAM. There are two options for cleaning, Clean and Extreme Clean, and you can also set Memory Clean to free up RAM automatically, so you never have to think about it.
3. Nektony Memory Cleaner
Memory Cleaner is also a menu bar app with a clear, easy-to-read dashboard-style layout. When you click on it, Memory Cleaner displays how much RAM you have in use as a percentage of the total, as well as the apps that are using the most memory. You can then free up RAM with one click.
Memory Cleaner also shows you how much space is being used by junk files on your Mac and allows you to free some of that space up, too.
4. Memory Diag
Memory Diag is a RAM cleaning tool that not only looks good but does a great job of letting you know when memory is running low. Like others on this list, it’s a menu bar item. In this case, it displays what it calls a memory pressure graph that’s color-coded so you can easily see how much memory your Mac has free. If it’s in the green, no problem. If the meter is deep in the red, though, it’s time to press the recycle button to free up memory. Memory Diag also shows you which apps are taking up most RAM.
5. Memory Magic
Memory Magic is so-called because it works away in the background performing tasks to optimize memory and free up space for applications that need it. If you click on its menu bar item, you’ll see how much RAM you have still available and can, if required, manually force it to recover memory. History graphs allow you to see how often you come close to running out of memory space.
6. Instastats
This menu bar app displays how much memory is occupied and color codes wired, active, inactive, used, and free, so you can see precisely how RAM is allocated at any given time. It does a similar job for CPU, disk space, network, and battery. And it has a Notification Center widget that provides the same information. It automatically cleans memory every five minutes if it is running low.
7. Memory Purge for Mac
Memory Purge is another menu bar tool that helps quickly clean memory. It looks clear and simple and does what you expect: it presents brief memory usage stats and specifies which apps are using a significant amount of memory. You can then click then free up RAM with a single click.
8. Memory Check
Memory Check can display a memory meter in your menu bar showing the percentage of memory currently in use. It will also warn you when memory usage goes beyond a certain level and allow you to free up space. There’s a Notification Center widget and support for Dark Mode.
9. SystemPal
SystemPal combines a memory monitor and cleaning tool with other features like a mini music player and screenshot utility, as well as CPU and network monitors. The memory monitor displays a pie chart showing how memory is allocated and lists the most memory-hungry processes currently running. There’s also a button to free up memory.
10. iCleanMemory
iCleanMemory is the simplest of all the tools here. The menu bar item shows how much memory is in use and how much is free. Click on its icon, and it displays how memory is currently available. If it looks low, press the optimize memory button, and it will free some up.
There are lots of options for memory cleaners on the Mac. Some just do one job and sit in the menu bar. Others combine multiple features and allow you to customize them. Which one you choose depends on whether you just want a tool to clean up memory or whether you want other features to help keep your Mac running smoothly.
macOS provides multiple methods to protect the data on a Mac: a user account password, encryption via FileVault, and optional low-level security measure that prevents starting up from storage devices other than the selected startup disk. That's known as the firmware password or EFI (Extensible Firmware Interface) lock, which will also block the user's ability to use all startup key combinations, except the NVRAM or PRAM reset combinations. This command (Option + Command + P + R), however, will initiate the machine from macOS Recovery instead.
The Lost Mode feature of Find My Mac will remotely lock the Mac with a firmware password for one-time use. The user's Mac receives the lock instruction from iCloud, restarts, and asks for the system lock PIN code that they set up. After entering the passcode the Mac starts up from the designated startup disk and disables the passcode.
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A firmware password is not the same as the administrator password or login password. It's a separate password that appears immediately after boot and must be entered into the system lock screen, which appears as a lock symbol on either a black or a gray background.
Firmware Passcode Security
Low-level passwords are quite secure, which also means there is potentially a headache if the password is forgotten. If you or any of your users can't remember the firmware password or passcode, know that Apple doesn’t allow for any workarounds, but instead recommends scheduling a service appointment with an Apple Store or Apple Authorized Service Provider. The process requires the original receipt or invoice as proof of purchase.
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Earlier versions of macOS required manual installation of the firmware but, starting in 2015, Apple began bundling EFI updates with the macOS updates in order to deliver security patches to all users. But as security firm Duo Labs discovered in late 2017, some Macs aren't getting the right firmware, which makes them vulnerable to hackers. They recommend checking the firmware version and updating if needed.
Firmware Passcode Location
On Intel-based Macs shipped before 2011, the firmware password was stored in the PRAM and read by the system EFI firmware before other PRAM variables. That lead to a serious security issue, allowing the firmware to be revealed in a native macOS app and weakening the enhanced security Apple had hoped to introduce with the addition of the firmware password.
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In 2011, however, Apple added an important change to the system: the firmware password was moved to a separate programmable controller from Atmel. This component contains lockable flash memory to store the password and requires special programming with identifier numbers for both the Mac's motherboard and the Atmel chip to access and reset it.
Since the controller is an independent component, the only way to bypass it is to manually remove it from the motherboard, but this requires highly precise reflow soldering tools and techniques.
Bypassing the Mac Firmware Password on MacBooks With Upgradeable RAM
This hardware hack works on both Intel- and Motorola-based MacBooks and requires users to remove the RAM and reinstall it. You can check our guide on how to upgrade the RAM on Macs for further reading.
- Shut down your computer and remove the battery.
- Locate your RAM, remove one of the RAM modules and put it aside.
- Put the battery in, and boot your computer while holding the Command + Option + P + R keys to reset the parameter RAM.
- Wait for the chime to sound three times.
- Release the keys and shut down the computer.
- Remove the battery again, and reinsert the RAM module.
- Put the battery back in.
- Boot up your Mac, and you should not see the firmware lock again.
Disable the Password With Firmware Password Utility
- Restart your Mac while holding down the Command + R keys to enter Recovery Mode.
- When the Utilities screen appears, go the Utilities menu bar, and select “Firmware Password Utility”.
- Choose to turn the Firmware Password off.
If none of the above methods worked, there are still two more options to try: either have Apple do it for you, so long as you have the original receipt or invoice, or alternatively use any of the EFI lock bypass hardware kits available for sale on various sites. In using one of these EFI lock hardware bypass methods you’ll almost certainly void your warranty, so it is down to you whether you want to risk the procedure.
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