Windows comes with a built-in uninstaller, and many apps now come with their own uninstallers. But until Apple adds such a function to Mac OS X, you'll need either CleanApp or [url=http://www.macsimumnews.com/index.php/archive/appzapper_adds_user_authentification_unzap_features]AppZapper[/url] to do the job.

Why? According to a poll I saw somewhere (but can't remember where), users install three to five applications a week, or at least demo versions of them. A lot of those apps are never used regularly, which leaves a lot of junk just sitting around taking up space on your hard drive. You can manually delete apps and their associated files, but it's easy to miss some of the "hidden" files. CleanApp automates the process.

CleanApp's interface is clean and user friendly, so you can be up and using it immediately after installation. You can drag and drop an app's icon to start the deletion process.

CleanApp has a Logging Service, a custom-designed mechanism to record all activities of applications on your Mac. In other words, it creates a database, analyzing applications and their behaviors right from the start. You can see whatever files a program uses any time you wish, even if you're not planning on deleting it.

Another really nice touch is that CleanApp also keeps an eye on deletion processes. If, for example, you move an application to the Trash manually, you'll be greeted with an interactive dialog to invoke a comprehensive list of all related files you might want to get rid of while you're at it. CleanApp performs a direct Spotlight-enabled search for all programs installed on your hard drive and displays them in a list. They're sorted by the moment they were used for the last time. You can directly delete files one-by-one or globally (in other words, every file related to an app).

CleanApp has a useful safety feature: it can exclude specific files and entire folders from all deletion processes. Plus, a flexible selection also allows you to predefine language packages to be either deleted or kept for applications on your system. Finally, the app has a CleanApp Dashboard widget that helps speed up system maintenance.

An in-the-works version (3.0) of CleanApp has been rewritten to leverage Apple's "launchd" for speedy background tracking of installations and programs' activities. CleanApp 3 will also include: the ability to deliberately stop and restart logging with no reboot required; a new Status Display that visualizes all logged tasks; the ability to comprehensively list applications and their files; interactive monitoring of the Trash; and the ability to protect dedicated folders and files from deletion.

CleanApp requires Mac OS X 10.4.9 or 10.5. It's Universal Binary so runs natively on both PowerPC and Intel Macs.

CleanApp 3 costs $13. That's about the same price as AppZapper, also a good tool (though not, IMHO, as comprehensive as the Synium software). Try 'em both out and be sure and add one to your arsenal. Your Mac's hard drive will be glad you did.

Macsimum rating: 9 out of 10.

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