The year is almost over, the evenings are getting longer and somewhere in the corner of your house your Synology NAS or your UGREEN NAS is humming quietly, like a faithful little helper that never takes a holiday. For twelve months it has kept your photos, your documents, your backups and a growing family of Docker containers, and along the way it has also collected a little digital dust. Before you welcome 2027, this is the perfect moment to give it an afternoon of care. Nothing dramatic, nothing complicated, just a calm cleanup so your data stays safe, your volumes have room to breathe and you start the new year without surprises. Let me walk you through a simple checklist that works for both DSM and UGOS Pro.
🧹 Check Your Backups First
A cleanup should never start with an update or a deletion. Start with the question that really matters: can you get your files back if something goes wrong? On a Synology NAS, open Hyper Backup and look at the last successful run of every task. Then use Check backup integrity and, even better, restore a few test files to another folder so you know the backup is not just a green checkmark. If you use Snapshot Replication, confirm that snapshots are still being created and that you can browse or restore an older version. On a UGREEN NAS, open the Sync & Backup app, review your tasks under Back up & Restore and restore a sample file from a recent backup. If you use the Snapshot app on a Btrfs volume, check that the schedule is still running, but remember that snapshots live in the same storage pool. They are wonderful for a quick recovery, but they are not a substitute for a backup kept somewhere else. Note: Synology Hyper Backup: What is Backup Integrity?.
🧹 Update DSM and UGOS Pro
Once you trust your backups, it is time to update. On Synology, go to Control Panel / Update & Restore, read the release notes and install the available DSM update, including important security fixes. You can let DSM install important updates automatically, but a major version is still something you apply when you are ready. On a UGREEN NAS, go to Control Panel / Update & Restore / System Update, review the new version and click Update Now when the storage pool is healthy and no long backup or RAID job is running. After the restart, open a share, check that your backup schedules are still enabled and look at your Docker containers or virtual machines. If you want the details of the latest UGOS Pro releases, I have already written about them.
🧹 Look After Your Disks
Your photos and backups are only as healthy as the drives that hold them. On Synology, open Storage Manager / HDD/SSD, select a drive and click Health Info. On the S.M.A.R.T. tab, you can run a Quick Test or an Extended Test. The quick test is enough for a regular check, while the extended test takes longer and may slow the NAS down for a while, so run it when the system is quiet. Previous results are kept under History. NVMe SSDs use their own health reporting and do not offer the same S.M.A.R.T. test. On a UGREEN NAS, go to Storage / Hard Drive, select a drive and run a Status test, then read the result and the history. If a drive reports a failed test or a rising number of reallocated or pending sectors, back up first and plan a replacement. Do not ignore unusual temperature warnings either.
🧹 Run a Security Scan
Think of Security Advisor as the bodyguard of your Synology NAS. It is already installed in DSM, it lives in the Main Menu rather than on the desktop, and a scan only takes a few minutes. Open it, choose a serious baseline (I still prefer For work and business, even at home) and click Scan. Then follow the recommendations, from weak passwords to services you no longer need. On a UGREEN NAS the habit is a little different: open App Center, install the Security app if it is not already there, and review its status and scan options. It is not the same tool as Security Advisor, but it is the right place to keep an eye on suspicious files.
Note: Where Can I Find Security Advisor on Synology DSM.
Note: How to Prevent Brute Force Attacks.
🧹 Passwords and 2FA
The end of the year is a good moment to look at who can sign in and how. Use a unique, strong password for every administrator account, and turn on 2 factor authentication. On DSM, click the person icon, open Personal, go to Account and enable 2-Factor Authentication under the Sign-in Method. You can use a verification code from the Synology Secure SignIn app. Administrators can also require 2FA for users in Control Panel / Security / Account. On UGOS Pro, go to Control Panel / Security / Account security and enable two factor authentication, then complete the setup with an authenticator app such as Google Authenticator or Microsoft Authenticator. Keep a backup email or recovery method up to date so you are not locked out if the phone is lost.
🧹 Remove Unused Users and Packages
Over a year, guest accounts, old family users and forgotten packages tend to pile up. On Synology, open Control Panel / User & Group and disable or remove accounts that nobody uses anymore. Do the same in Package Center for packages you installed once, tried for a week and then abandoned. Some built in tools, such as Security Advisor and Storage Manager, cannot be uninstalled, and that is fine. On a UGREEN NAS, open Control Panel and go to User Management, then review each user and delete or disable the ones that are no longer needed. After that, visit App Center and uninstall apps you do not use. Leave anything that still runs a service you care about, and never remove an account until you are sure its files have been copied or are no longer needed.
🧹 Clean Up Docker
If you run Docker, this is probably where most of the hidden space has gone. Unused images, old containers and forgotten volumes quietly fill the volume after every update. On Synology, open Container Manager, go to Image and use Remove Unused Images. Then look at stopped containers you no longer need, and only then at Volume, because a volume can still hold data even when the container is gone. On a UGREEN NAS, open the Docker app and review unused images, unused containers and volumes in the same careful order. If you manage your stacks with Dockhand or Portainer, the idea does not change. In Dockhand, open Images and click Prune unused. It only removes images that no container is using, so your running apps stay untouched. Take a moment to confirm which volumes still belong to a stack before you delete anything.
Note: How to Free Disk Space on Your NAS if You Run Docker and Dockhand.
Note: How to Free Disk Space on Your NAS if You Run Docker.
🧹 Recycle Bin and Storage Space
Deleted files often never really leave the NAS. They sit in the Recycle Bin and keep using space. On DSM, go to Control Panel / Shared Folder and use Action / Empty all Recycle Bins when you are sure you do not need those files anymore. You can also empty one shared folder at a time from its Edit window. If a volume looks fuller than it should, open Storage Manager and check the usage details. Recycle bins, snapshots and Docker are usual suspects. On a UGREEN NAS, open the Recycle Bin from the desktop or from the sidebar in Files, restore anything you still want, then permanently delete the rest or empty the shared folder recycle bins from Settings / Recycle Bin management. If you prefer, set a Cleanup Plan so old deleted files do not stay there forever. Note: How to Empty All Recycle Bins on DSM 7.
🧹 Check Logs and Notifications
A quiet NAS is not always a healthy NAS. You need to hear about a failing disk or a failed backup. On Synology, open Log Center and look for recent warnings or errors, then go to Control Panel / Notification and make sure email, or another channel you actually read, is working. You can also set rules in Log Center / Notifications. On a UGREEN NAS, open the Logs app, filter by serious events and check the last few weeks. Confirm that important events still reach the message center, and that your Sync & Backup logs show successful runs rather than silent failures.
🧹 Check Your UPS
A short power cut should not be the thing that corrupts a volume. On both Synology and UGREEN, the setting lives in Control Panel / Hardware & Power / UPS. Confirm that the NAS still communicates with the UPS and that the shutdown or standby behavior still matches the way you use the device. On Synology you can enable UPS support for a USB, SNMP or Synology UPS Server connection. On UGOS Pro you can connect a USB, SNMP or Network UPS slave device and choose Standby Mode or Auto Shutdown, plus the waiting time. If you also want the NAS to come back when power returns, check the related option in the same Hardware & Power area. If you are unsure whether to leave UPS support enabled, I have already written about that choice in detail. Note: Should I Turn On UPS Support on My NAS?.
🧹 Firewall and Auto Block
The end of the year is also a good time to close doors you no longer need. On Synology, go to Control Panel / Security / Firewall and keep only the rules that still make sense. Then open the Protection tab and enable Auto Block so addresses with too many failed login attempts are blocked. On UGOS Pro, review Control Panel / Security / Firewall, and turn on Account blocking under Control Panel / Security / Account security. The default is 6 failed attempts within 5 minutes, and you can add trusted accounts to a whitelist. Note: How to Set Up Synology Firewall.
🧹 Check Your Certificates
If you reach your NAS or a hosted site over HTTPS, look at the certificate before it expires at the worst possible moment. On Synology, go to Control Panel / Security / Certificate and check the expiry date. A Let’s Encrypt certificate lasts 64 days and can renew on its own when ports 80 and 443 are reachable, or you can renew it by hand. On a UGREEN NAS, open Control Panel / Security / Certificates, check that the certificate is still valid and that it is assigned to the right services. If the browser starts warning you, do not teach your family to ignore it. If you use Nginx Proxy Manager, check out my article How to Delete Unused and Renew SSL Certificates in Nginx Proxy Manager. Note: How To Renew Let’s Encrypt Certificate On Synology NAS. When you have gone through these steps, your NAS should feel lighter, safer and ready for 2027. You do not need to do all of this every week. Once at the end of the year, with a little extra attention after bigger updates, is already a very good habit. Make a short note of what you changed, keep those backups tested, and then go and enjoy the holidays. Your NAS can take it from here.
🍀Note: Back Up Your Entire NAS.
🍀Note: Backup Your NAS Using Another NAS.
🍀Note: How to See Full Volume Usage Details.
🍀Note: Dockhand Tips and Tricks.
🍀Note: Install Dockhand on Your Synology NAS.
🍀Note: Install Dockhand on Your UGREEN NAS.
🍀Note: Install Portainer on Your Synology NAS.
🍀Note: How to Check Your Docker Container Logs.
This post was updated on Tuesday / November 10th, 2026 at 10:39 PM