MacBooster

[iGuy]

Anyone familiar with MacBooster?  MacBooster

My iMac had been acting slower then its usual self. I have recently upgraded to Maverick.  So I thought maybe a virus or something since I have never owned an antivirus program I did a search an found MacBooster.

I do own TechTool but not sure if it can do what MacBooster can.

Thanks!

[jchuzi]

I don't know anything about MacBooster but I can make some general suggestions regarding slowdowns:

1. What is the hard drive capacity and how much free space does it have?
2. How much RAM does your iMac have? BTW, it would help if you told us which model you have.
3. Clean caches and see if that helps.
4. I generally use Disk Warrior to rebuild the directory (and yes, I have TechTool Pro as well) but you could try TTP's routines.
5. Use Disk Utility to run Repair Disk (if you don't want to use TTP). Repairing permissions is probably a waste of time but it doesn't hurt.
6. If you haven't restarted recently, try that. Waiting a long time between restarts can slow things down.
7. Consult Activity Monitor to see if there is anything unusual that is eating up CPU and /or RAM.

I would do all these things before trying an unknown program.

[Xairbusdriver]

Thanks for updating your Profile! Frankly, I'm always leery of any app that claims to "boost" any computer. And I am extremely leery of any site that almost exactly mimics Apple's layout and design.

Activity Monitor can tell you what app(s)/processes are using the most cpu cycles. Check the 'page ins' vs 'page outs' especially; high numbers there indicate you probably short of real memory (ram) and the OS is using the hard drive as extra memory. Why is it doing that?

1. You have too many apps/processes running at the same time (which ones do you really need?)
2. You just don't have much more than the minimum ram (I think 4GB is the suggested minimum for Mavericks, BTW).
3. Your directory or your drive(s) are severely scattered (Mavericks does a very good job of preventing this, once it's installed but it may not correct previous fragmenting )
4. You could be part of the .1% who managed to get an actual virus (very unlikely, but it's much more likely that it's 1,2 or 3 or something Jon mentioned)

No matter what it is, I'd try the fixes already mentioned rather than using MacBooster, at least until we know something about that app. Realize that anyone can put anything they want on their own website, whether it's true or not. As Abe Lincoln said, "It's hard to know what to trust on the Internet!" A wise man was he...

[Paddy]

With only 4GB of RAM, it's highly likely that memory is the issue. As Jim notes, check the page in/page outs in Activity Monitor and tell us what it says. Also let us know how big your hard drive is and how much free space is left on it. Also let us know how many apps you typically have open and what you see in terms of CPU usage etc. when you look at Activity Monitor. Be aware that Safari still has memory leaks - if you run it long enough without restarting it, and with enough windows open, it can eat up a LOT of memory.

0.1% with viruses, Jim? Even that seems high. There are a few trojans, "scareware," spyware and other assorted nasties out there, but almost all of them require the USER to actually install them. A virus, by definition, replicates itself. There IS malware - but most of it requires the active participation of the user. The likelihood of this being the source of the problem is rather low. However, since you have asked about MacBooster, you haven't, by any chance, installed MacDefender, OSX/MacProtector, OSX/MacSecurity, Premium Opinion, pirated copies of iWork, iPhoto or Photoshop, MacSweeper...?

You do NOT need MacBooster. See discussion here - it neatly sums it all up:

https://discussions.apple.com/message/25257326#25257326

[iGuy]

No Paddy I have not installed any of those.  My HD in 500 GB.  My iMac is a 2008 model an I have the ram maxed at 4 gig.  I wasn't aware that was the minimum requirement for Maverick so yes that could be what I am seeing.  Thanks for the information about the Activity Monitor.  General use of the computer is fine.  Just noticed a decline in performance on a couple online multiplayer games I use the computer to play. I closer out other programs before playing these games.Thanks, very helpful information!My computer information is provided under, My Mac info.  The OS is outdated, I am running Maverick now.

[Paddy]

QUOTE(iGuy @ May 20 2014, 07:11 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

No Paddy I have not installed any of those.  My HD in 500 GB.  My iMac is a 2008 model an I have the ram maxed at 4 gig.  I wasn't aware that was the minimum requirement for Maverick so yes that could be what I am seeing.  Thanks for the information about the Activity Monitor.  General use of the computer is fine.  Just noticed a decline in performance on a couple online multiplayer games I use the computer to play. I closer out other programs before playing these games.Thanks, very helpful information!My computer information is provided under, My Mac info.  The OS is outdated, I am running Maverick now.

While the official line is that this iMac is maxed out at 4GB of RAM, unofficially, it will recognize and use 6GB, so you may want to look into getting a 4GB stick of RAM. What are you seeing re: page ins/page outs in Activity Monitor? That might give you some idea of whether or not it's worth trying.

http://www.everymac.com/systems/apple/imac...nryn-specs.html

Also - you can update your profile to reflect the newer OS - click on "My Controls" at the top of the page. In the Personal Profile section, click on Edit Profile Information.

[iGuy]

I had no idea my iMac would recognize 6 gig of ram, thank you for the info.  I have updated my profile.