FAQ

What does the report mean?

The EtreCheck report is a snapshot of the overall health of your Macintosh. Each individual line in the EtreCheck report may not have much meaning by itself. But taken together, the whole report tells a story about what is or is not really going on inside your Macintosh. Each machine is different. In most cases, it is not possible to automatically determine what is going on. The EtreCheck report is designed to provide basic information about your hardware and software to make further diagnostics and troubleshooting quicker and easier. In some cases, EtreCheck can detect and report serious problems without human assistance.

I have red lines in my EtreCheck report. How do I fix them?

Red lines are only red to get your attention. Sometimes they are serious problems and sometimes they aren’t. If a problem is serious, EtreCheck will say why with "Drive Failure", "Insufficient RAM", "Obsolete software", or "Time Machine not configured". In other cases, red is used because there are few colours that show up clearly and distinctly in the report. Black and green already have different meanings.

What do I do with the EtreCheck report?

EtreCheck was designed for use on Apple Support Communities. Run EtreCheck, generate a report, and paste the report into a new question on Apple Support Communities. Be sure to include a good description of the problem. People who see your report will have a better idea about where the problem is and can give you more accurate instructions that will resolve your problem more quickly and easily than if you had not included an EtreCheck report.

Is EtreCheck safe?

EtreCheck is designed for safety. It automatically hides any personal information. It is cryptographically signed with Etresoft's Apple Developer ID. EtreCheck never asks for your password or makes any changes to your machine. If you use EtreCheck to remove adware, it will use Apple services to make those changes and those Apple services may require your password. This is far safer than manually removing files from hidden directories.

Does EtreCheck fix malware and adware?

Yes! EtreCheck can now detect and remove adware and malware. EtreCheck is not a traditional anti-virus tool that checks for only a handful of known Mac adware or malware, and millions of Windows malware that are harmless to a Mac user. Instead, EtreCheck maintains a whitelist of known, legitimate software. If you have software that is not on EtreCheck’s whitelist, EtreCheck will flag it as an “Unknown File”. These “Unknown Files” may include false positives that are new or ununusal, but legitimate, software that needs to be added to the whitelist. They could also include new adware or malware that a traditional anti-malware tool would miss. EtreCheck gives you the ability to delete the files you don’t recognize and update the EtreCheck whitelist with any valid software that needs to be added. Of course, EtreCheck will also scan for known adware, clearly flag it as “Adware”, and give you the opportunity to remove it.

What if EtreCheck or people on Apple Support Communities can't solve my problem?

Unfortunately, not all problems can be solved on a internet-based tech support web forum. Some problems require in-person diagnostics by a trained technical support engineer. You can always contact Apple Support directly or an Apple Authorized Service Provider. They can provide one-on-one assistance either in-person or via internet screen-sharing.

Any other tips?

Sure! Read Etresoft's Tips for a Healthy Mac