WARNING! DetectX Swift is not free, it is trial so using it few times you will end up PAYING.
Like (2)
Version 1.082
3 answer(s)
STL@MacUpdate
04 January 2019
Thank you very much for pointing out us on this. Corrected
Like (1)
AnthoLogical
10 February 2019
@Sleek, your statement seems to be not correct. I read on DetectX official web page [ https://sqwarq.com/detectx/ ]: << What does it cost? For home use? Nothing if you prefer! DetectX and DetectX Swift are shareware, which means you can go on using them without sharing a cent! [...] For teams, organisations and those wanting to use DetectX Swift’s command line tools beyond the initial 20-day trial period, you guys need to buy a Pro or Management license. >> Just you have to close the shareware popup after launching the app.
Like (2)
Gazman
07 April 2019
A ½ star for an anti-malware tool on the sole basis that it costs $10 - or is there more to your review than that? Many malware services cost a lot more than that for an annual subscription and you don't have to buy a licence if you're only using it for personal use.
Spotlight status for /: Indexing enabled. System Integrity Protection status: enabled. Gatekeeper status: disabled. Caution! Allowing apps downloaded from anywhere. FileVault is Off.
Internet: Reachable Search definitions are up-to-date.
You folks have this app listed as "Free", however the program asks for a registration key.
Is it free or not?
Like (2)
Version 1.01
2 answer(s)
Ervins Strauhmanis
22 January 2018
Hi Michael!
As per the License Agreement, the current release version (v1.x+) of the app may be used without payment for personal home use only. An optional Home use registration key is available for users wishing to support development of the program. Institutional, organisational and commercial or commercial-like use of Release versions requires the purchase of a DetectX Swift Pro or DetectX Swift Management License.
In the past, beta versions (v0.x) of the app were permitted to be used without payment for both personal and institutional/commercial-like use.
Like (4)
applehelpwriter
23 January 2018
Good point. I can't correct that as MacUpdate haven't yet assigned this page to me as the developer (I wasn't the one to upload it).
I've asked them to do that now, then I can change it to shareware.
In the meantime, note that DetectX Swift's home page states correctly:
"What does it cost? For home use? Nothing if you prefer! DetectX and DetectX Swift are shareware, which means you can go on using them without sharing a cent!"
I have several apps by this developer. They're all free/shareware and he gives great customer support. DetectX Swift repeat some of the functionality of other apps of his that I use, but it looks better and offers some extra functionality, so I'll probably ditch the others when this is no longer beta software.
I didn't like the launch agent warning either. It seemed to give too many alerts so I disabled it in the app's prefs. I still run the app on a daily basis though as it's good for showing what's changed in the background. Its also very fast and light on system resources.
Like (3)
Version 0.121
1 answer(s)
applehelpwriter
13 January 2018
Hi
That was a problem with earlier versions of the beta, but I made changes to ameliorate that a few iterations ago. If you haven't tried the observer function again recently, it might be worth another go.
This app is garbage and very possible malicious.
It list files that are 100% save and even list files from CleanMyMac as dangerous. WTF?
But the worst of all, this app installs a Launchagent which could be your worst nightmare, especially from a developer who creates an app to mark similars apps as dangerous. That’s bad practice to say the least and should be avoided at all times. Shame on you!!
My advice, stay away from this malicious app !
Like
Version 0.121
6 answer(s)
applehelpwriter
13 January 2018
Re: the LaunchAgent - that can be turned of in the Preferences. Its purpose is to alert the user to changes to Launch folders when the app isn't running. It doesn't do anything else, so not really sure why you find that a nightmare. In any case, unchecking the preference uninstalls it, so if you don't like it, that's easily solved.
Re: CleanMyMac - Note that DetectX isn't just a malware detector - it's a troubleshooter, so yes it does flag many files that aren't malware at all but which may need reviewing if you are experiencing performance problems. You can whitelist that and any other files that you don't want flagged.
There is also a function within the whitelisting to report things that you feel are false positives, but remember DetectX is used for a wide variety of purposes (including system administration by network managers), and what's good for one user isn't necessarily good for another. This was pretty much the whole rationale for implementing whitelisting to start with.
In any case, I'm sorry you didn't like the app and thank you for the 1 1/2 stars! Pretty generous given your comments!!
Like (6)
B-Jefferson-Le-Blanc
06 March 2018
@ Staps Fanny: I don't user this app currently, but it's definitely not malicious. Bear in mind that, as the developer says, the app performs a variety of functions and may serve different needs. Perhaps yours is not among them.
Like (1)
MacParc
14 June 2018
All these so-called cleaner apps are completely unnecessary and so they're all kind of scareware or similar, because they make unexperienced users think that cleaning is important or even worse that their system is not working correctly. CleanMyMac, MacKeeper and so on are "bad" software; both of them also manipulate network settings so that certain VPN products or even WPA2 connections don't work anymore.
see also: http://www.thesafemac.com/the-myth-of-the-dirty-mac/
Like
B-Jefferson-Le-Blanc
14 June 2018
@chrisB: This is mot a cleaner tool. I think the problem here is that as DetectX has gotten more complex with the Swift version, more people are trying it casually and don't bother to look into the details. It has default settings that can be changed. Unfortunately some people seem averse to looking into the preferences. So they complain, sad to say, out of ignorance. Sometimes they complain just to get their oar in, as Like chrisB does. The apps he mentions, especially MacKeeper, are problematic at best. MaKeeper is little more than malware, which is why DetectX suggests removing it. Clean My Mac, on the other hand, has been well received. Whether you need it, though, is a question. If you use a MacBook Pro with a small SSD, you might, as space is at a premium. Apple tries to alleviate this problem by offering to move some of your stuff into the cloud, but some people may still need help. Removing duplicate files, however, is a dubious way to go about it. Moving your data, like your Photos and iTunes libraries, to an external drive may be a better solution. External drives are now small and relatively inexpensive. As well, with USB 3, they are quite fast. So there will be relatively little performance hit. Not nearly as much as you will experience with an overcrowded drive.
Now there are any number of apps that scan your system for trouble. You have to be careful no to double up on them or they will drive you crazy with alerts, or worse, conflict with one another. So pay attention to what you are installing and why.
Now that I think about it, I may give DetectX another try. I've turned off scanning by TechTool Pro and Drive Genius because they bugged me. But DetectX does things a little differently.
Like
MacParc
15 June 2018
@B-Jefferson-Le-Blanc
You completely missed the point!
I was NOT talking about DetectX Swift as a cleaner tool!
I WAS talking about DetectX Swift "listing files from CleanMyMac as dangerous" - this is what the initial posting by user Staps Fanny says.
Unfortunately some people just want to argue without getting the context. So they complain, sad to say, out of ignorance. ;-)
(By the way TechTool Pro and Drive Genius do completely different things than DetectX Swift.)
Like
B-Jefferson-Le-Blanc
15 June 2018
@chrisB: You're probably right. I misconstrued your comment. Because, well, you know, this thread is about DetectX Swift, after all. So it's not so preposterous that I though you were including it with your condemnation of cleaner tools. Beg your pardon. That said, CleanMyMac is not in the same league as Mac Keeper, which is truly malicious garbage. In fact, CleanMyMac has received largely positive reviews. While CleanMyMac may promise more than it delivers, it's hardly scareware. If you're using a relatively small SSD, saving space is not a trivial matter. Though, as I said, there may be better ways to do so.
Now that that's out of the way, I tend to agree with you, though not in so hostile at manner, that these cleaning tools are largely unnecessary. But that may depend on circumstances. I know people who have made umpteen copies of many or their images, most of which they don't need, even if they know where they are, as they often don't. But who has the time, even with a cleaner tool, to sort through them all. What people really need is a reliable filing system. But for most that's not going to happen either. That's why Apple developed Spotlight, so you can, theoretically at least, find your files wherever they are.
Many people no longer have spacious hard drives in their computers, so Apple has found a way to help folks and make money at the same time, renting cloud storage space. "We don't care how lazy or incompetent you are, for a fee we'll save you from yourselves."
None of this bears on DetectX Swift, but since you brought it up, I thought I'd do you the courtesy of exploring the subject further, with less invective. Accept for the part about Apple. It's they, after all, who shrunk their computers so you'd be inclined to use their cloud services—if you couldn't find a better solution, like storing your own files on an external drive.
By the way, the trial version of DetectX Swift found no problems on my 4 year old iMac. That's really no surprise because Malware Bytes doesn't either. But I check periodically—with their free version—just in case. Since I rarely find a problem, I'm not inclined to pay their subscription fee. At least DetectX Swift is not yet a subscription service. But who knows, that seems to be the way of the world.
Most helpful
Read 12 DetectX Swift User Reviews
Rate this app:
<< What does it cost?
For home use? Nothing if you prefer! DetectX and DetectX Swift are shareware, which means you can go on using them without sharing a cent!
[...] For teams, organisations and those wanting to use DetectX Swift’s command line tools beyond the initial 20-day trial period, you guys need to buy a Pro or Management license. >>
Just you have to close the shareware popup after launching the app.
Subsequent scans take twice as long at 6 seconds.
It said "no threats or problems found."
Hard to believe it’s doing a thorough job in so little time.
Here’s the entire log, sure doesn’t look very thorough:
macOS: Version 10.12.6 (Build 16G1510)
File System: hfs
Temp: The thermal state is within normal limits.
Boot time: Fri Aug 10 12:28:03 2018
Uptime: 1 day, 5:55
Spotlight status for /:
Indexing enabled.
System Integrity Protection status: enabled.
Gatekeeper status: disabled. Caution! Allowing apps downloaded from anywhere.
FileVault is Off.
Internet: Reachable
Search definitions are up-to-date.
With the unfortunate demise of Critical Updates, has it's features been incorporated into DetectX Swift?
Always recommended that little app…
As per the License Agreement, the current release version (v1.x+) of the app may be used without payment for personal home use only. An optional Home use registration key is available for users wishing to support development of the program. Institutional, organisational and commercial or commercial-like use of Release versions requires the purchase of a DetectX Swift Pro or DetectX Swift Management License.
In the past, beta versions (v0.x) of the app were permitted to be used without payment for both personal and institutional/commercial-like use.
I've asked them to do that now, then I can change it to shareware.
In the meantime, note that DetectX Swift's home page states correctly:
"What does it cost?
For home use? Nothing if you prefer! DetectX and DetectX Swift are shareware, which means you can go on using them without sharing a cent!"
:)
That was a problem with earlier versions of the beta, but I made changes to ameliorate that a few iterations ago. If you haven't tried the observer function again recently, it might be worth another go.
Re: CleanMyMac - Note that DetectX isn't just a malware detector - it's a troubleshooter, so yes it does flag many files that aren't malware at all but which may need reviewing if you are experiencing performance problems. You can whitelist that and any other files that you don't want flagged.
There is also a function within the whitelisting to report things that you feel are false positives, but remember DetectX is used for a wide variety of purposes (including system administration by network managers), and what's good for one user isn't necessarily good for another. This was pretty much the whole rationale for implementing whitelisting to start with.
In any case, I'm sorry you didn't like the app and thank you for the 1 1/2 stars! Pretty generous given your comments!!
CleanMyMac, MacKeeper and so on are "bad" software; both of them also manipulate network settings so that certain VPN products or even WPA2 connections don't work anymore.
see also: http://www.thesafemac.com/the-myth-of-the-dirty-mac/
Now there are any number of apps that scan your system for trouble. You have to be careful no to double up on them or they will drive you crazy with alerts, or worse, conflict with one another. So pay attention to what you are installing and why.
Now that I think about it, I may give DetectX another try. I've turned off scanning by TechTool Pro and Drive Genius because they bugged me. But DetectX does things a little differently.
@B-Jefferson-Le-Blanc
You completely missed the point!
I was NOT talking about DetectX Swift as a cleaner tool!
I WAS talking about DetectX Swift "listing files from CleanMyMac as dangerous" - this is what the initial posting by user Staps Fanny says.
Unfortunately some people just want to argue without getting the context. So they complain, sad to say, out of ignorance. ;-)
(By the way TechTool Pro and Drive Genius do completely different things than DetectX Swift.)
Now that that's out of the way, I tend to agree with you, though not in so hostile at manner, that these cleaning tools are largely unnecessary. But that may depend on circumstances. I know people who have made umpteen copies of many or their images, most of which they don't need, even if they know where they are, as they often don't. But who has the time, even with a cleaner tool, to sort through them all. What people really need is a reliable filing system. But for most that's not going to happen either. That's why Apple developed Spotlight, so you can, theoretically at least, find your files wherever they are.
Many people no longer have spacious hard drives in their computers, so Apple has found a way to help folks and make money at the same time, renting cloud storage space. "We don't care how lazy or incompetent you are, for a fee we'll save you from yourselves."
None of this bears on DetectX Swift, but since you brought it up, I thought I'd do you the courtesy of exploring the subject further, with less invective. Accept for the part about Apple. It's they, after all, who shrunk their computers so you'd be inclined to use their cloud services—if you couldn't find a better solution, like storing your own files on an external drive.
By the way, the trial version of DetectX Swift found no problems on my 4 year old iMac. That's really no surprise because Malware Bytes doesn't either. But I check periodically—with their free version—just in case. Since I rarely find a problem, I'm not inclined to pay their subscription fee. At least DetectX Swift is not yet a subscription service. But who knows, that seems to be the way of the world.