A new sponsor to the site, CleanMyMac, has kindly provided 10 free lifetime licenses for the application. Check out the bottom of this post your chance to win one of them.

CleanMyMac is a bit of an all-in-one application with many different functions. Its main role is to clear up unneeded files to save disk space and improve system performance. On top of this, it allows you to fully uninstall applications and widgets that often leave files hidden all over your Mac, and it has a quick erase function that will allow you to delete files that the Finder has trouble with.

When you first open it, CleanMyMac scans your hard drive and compiles a list of all possible files that you might want to delete, and separates them into sections. One of the great strengths of CleanMyMac is that it clearly explains what the files in each section do so you can make an informed decision on whether you actually want to delete them.

The first two sections, caches and log files, are the safest to delete. They normally accumulate over time, taking up a considerable amount of space. Caches actually speed up the loading of applications, but often you have caches left behind by applications you don't regularly use that take up lots of space. Log files are often used for troubleshooting when something goes wrong, but the average user won't ever use them. It is important to note that even if you delete your caches and log files, your Mac will carry on creating them if it needs them again. So on the upside you won't delete anything vital, but on the downside you will have to run CleanMyMac every now again once the files start to accumulate.

The next two sections, language files and universal binaries, are for slimming down your applications. Most applications come with the files for loads of different languages, and the binaries for both PowerPC and Intel Macs. Obviously you are likely to only use your applications on one type of Mac and in only one language, so it is fine to delete the rest to save space and speed up performance. CleanMyMac allows you to choose from a list of what languages you want to keep, and automatically deletes the parts of the application that your Mac doesn't use. The only problem with this is that you won't be able to get these parts back without installing the application from scratch again, should you ever learn a new language or transfer your applications to a different type of Mac. There are also a couple of applications that are broken by this, but CleanMyMac has a blacklist that should prevent it from trying to slim these down.

Finally, as a sort of extra feature, CleanMyMac allows you to fully uninstall applications and widgets. While this is normally a fairly straightforward task of dragging the application to the Trash, some applications leave files littered around your Mac, normally in the Library folder. CleanMyMac will search and find all the separate files, so you can fully get rid of the application.

One thing I will note is that the licensing scheme seems a little bit overpriced. If you are interested in buying CleanMyMac, it seems the best value is to go for the lifetime license special offer that they currently have, which gives you MacHider included for free as well.

Overall, CleanMyMac’s main strengths come with its great user friendly interface with clear explanations, and the fact that it does so many things in one. While it’s true that other applications will do some of the same things as CleanMyMac, none will do them all, and none will do them in such a clear, easy to use way.

If you want to win a free copy of CleanMyMac, just answer the following question. The winners will be chosen at random from all the correct answers.

What is the name of the company that makes CleanMyMac?

a) MacClaw
b) MacDraw
c) MacPaw

Once you know the answer, head over to this page to enter.