Q: is it safe to download the mackeeper?

While I have heard about users with your experence with MacKeeper, I have heard about far too many users with the exact opposite. In fact there have been enough with problems that I complete distrust the software.

My other reason for taking my position against MacKeeper is that it does next to nothing that you can't do with OS X for free and they charge for it. I find that just wrong.

Allan

And since this thread seems to be becoming an advert both for mackeeper and those who've written about it , I'll throw this link in here in case you decide either

i. you want to uninstall it properly or

ii. want to read the 100+ comments from people whose computers have been totally stuffed by MK.

http://applehelpwriter.com/2011/09/21/how-to-uninstall-mackeeper-malware/

(Disclaimer required by ASC ToU: I may (or may not) receive some form of compensation from my website or something like that).

I too downloaded this turkey. At first i didn't notice anything untoward, but i do believe it was this app that prevented me from completing almost any updates.

I managed to get rid of it, and after taking it to my tech, my Mac is perdorming well again.

Unless the software you're considering adding to your machine has been either designed by or expressly approved of by Apple, (especially utility stuff) don't bother.

Softwater, thanks for the link

If you're worried about virus's on your Mac I have used Sophos which is free. I only found out about MacKeeper because a friend asked whether she should download and pay for it because it indicated she had a virus, after a quick search I found Sophos which seems to do the business, 4.5 years without a scan and my Mac is clean, no infections found.

And in 4.5 years Sophos saved your Mac from how many virus attacks? Let me answer that for you: exactly none.

Sophos and all other virus software is a waste of time in terms of protecting your mac.

Their only possible use is to protect a Windows installation on your mac, or to scan your emails/downloads before you pass on an infected file to others

If you check into the amount of computer resourses that Sophos uses doing nothing, it is not quite as free as you might think.

Allan

I haven't used any antivirus software on any of my Macs for over ten years, and have had exactly 0 problems because of any lack of antivirus software. Past experience is no guarantee, of course, but I have no intention of installing antivirus software until there is a report of an actual virus I should be worried about. It will probably come some day, but I'm not holding my breath (nor installing antivirus software) while waiting for it.

Thanks fellow mac users for posting this thread, it help a lot. However, is there a way where you can safely clean out your mac?

You don't need to.  It maintains itself.  Don't treat your Mac like a Windows machine.

You certainly don't need any "maintenance utility" to keep your mac running well, but your mac may accumulate junk over time that you can live without it if you find the HD filling up and space is a problem. You can use OmniDiskSweeper or DupeGuru to find your own redundant files.

Don't use either of those without backing up first though, and don't go messing with any stuff that you don't know what it is.

mmmm, I agree more with Thomas: all caches that take space are cleaned automatically by the Mac (Daily, Weekly and Monthly).

All files that you willingly stored should be cleaned once in while when you want to get rid of them: you know in what folders you have stored them.

The Sweepers that Softwater mentioned, may help you with that but they are basically a "finder" that sorts on File Size, you can do the same in Finder by clicking the size column.

LexSchellings wrote:

 

The Sweepers that Softwater mentioned, may help you with that but they are basically a "finder" that sorts on File Size, you can do the same in Finder by clicking the size column.

Finder won't do what dupeGuru does, but you're right that it will do what OmniDiskSweeper does. The difference is that ODS offers a much clearer visual interface, and it will also show you stuff that Finder won't unless you really mess around with Finder's settings (agreed, this might be a bad thing in the hands of the inexperienced ).

I'd also point out that both ODS and dupeGuru are free, so the user can easily check them out and dump them if they don't like them.

Hi Softwater, I expected your reply...

Personally I think that getting routine to using Finder is the best way for a mac user.

But, do not take my remarks personally, I did not want to criticize...

LexSchellings wrote:

 

I did not want to criticize...

The thought never crossed my mind...

LexSchellings wrote:

 

Personally I think that getting routine to using Finder is the best way for a mac user.

 

Your mission to properly educate other users may or may not have merit. Personally, I try to just answer the questions that people ask, rather than impose my own moral perspective on others.

Are we done?

Yes.