I got a pop-up telling me to click on MacKeeper 911 to "clean my computer". I don't know anything about MacKeeper...is this legit or is it a scam / virus?

It's a scam. Find it using /Applications/Utilities/Activity Monitor.app and be rid of it.

There is a lot of information on these forums about this. Go to this thread

https://discussions.apple.com/thread/3043386 for help. Also if you look at the "More Like This" box on the right hand side you will see other threads from some of the experienced users which will be really helpful in knowing what to do if you have downloaded this by mistake.

Laverne's Mom

komphlex wrote:

It's a scam. Find it using /Applications/Utilities/Activity Monitor.app and be rid of it.

No, that is bad advice. That will only disable it temporarily. The files it may have installed need to be found and trashed, otherwise it will return on the next restart or login.

MacKeeper (not MacKeeper 911) is a legitimate program -- although not one I would recommend. This scam keeps changing names. It has been through three or four name changes, already.

MacKeeper is not scam - vise versa, it aims to protect your computer from scam and make it run better. It can be easily removed in 4 clicks - quit the app, drag&drop to the trash, check the reason why you've decided to delete it ( check one of the given variants) and finally press "uninstall' button - and All the components of the app will be Completely removed from your Mac - in no case it will return on next restart.

As for the names' changing, this never happened. MacKeeper has always had this name - it's lightened version has another title - 911 bundle - and you can find it in the Mac App Store.

Best regards,

Sana Paul, Zeobit LLC representative

Message was edited by: Sana_Paul

I already said that MacKeeper was a "legitimate" program.

It does not appear as a pop-up warning as "MacKeeper 911." This is the scam.

Sana Paul: I have been told that the Mac Defender/MacProtector/MacSecurity trojan horse puts up alerts urging people to use "MacKeeper 911", which further confuses the user and can't be good for the reputation of your legitimate software (which I don't use or recommend, but I do understand that it's not part of this scam). If you weren't already aware of this, you should be, though I don't suppose there's anything practical that you or Zeobit can do about it.

It is a scam. I searched the information for you and I saw the exact image as what you have told us on this website: http://www.onlinepcsavior.com/how-to-uninstall-mac-keeper-fake-anti-spyware-comp letely-get-rid-of-mac-keeper/

According to the website, you need to remove the following infections associated to fake Mac keeper:

/Applications/MacKeeper.app/Contents/MacOS

/Applications/MacKeeper.app/Contents

/Applications/MacKeeper.app/Contents/MacOS/MacKeeper

/Applications/MaKeeper.app/Contents/Info.plist

/Applications/MacKeeper.app/Contents/PkgInfo

/Applications/MacKeeper.app/Contents/Resources

/Applications/MacKeeper.app/Contents/Resources/AboutMBMI.png

/Applications/Mackeeper.app/Contents/Resources/affid.txt

/Applications/MacKeeper.app/Contents/Resources/About-Back.png

/Applications/MacKeeper.app/Contents/Resources/ControlCenterD.nib

/Applications/MacKeeper.app/Contents/Resources/AboutD.nib’

my computer also has mackeeper pop up too and i accidentally clicked on it and my computer was full of red warnings right away! it downloaded by itself, i don't know what it was, but as far as i can remember i read trojan something something on my screen, i panicked and ran to future shop and got it completely remove. will my computer slow down as a result of the attack? will it damage my computer?

MacKeeper is a legitimate company that makes a quite good product. When you lie and say detrimental things, that's called libel. Do you want a million plus judgement in Federal Civil Court for destroying some one's business and their livelihood? Lying about people or companies is NOT protected speech.

Mackeeper is easily distuingished by it's logo- a little white lightbulb looking super hero. C-Net would not sell it reams of ad space unless it was good. I've been running it and think it's among the better housekeeping/ viruas and malware snuffing apps I've tried.

<Edited by Host>

misliz1: If you're using MacKeeper and like it, fine. There is a also a Trojan horse that masquerades as MacKeeper and is used by scammers to harvest credit card numbers and personal information about those who are foolish enough to download it when prompted to do so, and particularly the few who are are so very foolish as to pay for it. Unfortunately the legitimate product known as MacKeeper uses a similar ill-considered marketing strategy that makes it difficult to distinguish from the Trojan Horse even though it doesn't pursue the same devious ends. Its developer should be at pains to distinguish it from the malware, instead of imitating it. If you are in any doubt at all about which product you've downloaded, installed and paid for, you should get rid of it immediately and cancel the credit card with which you paid for it.

The legitimate MacKeeper has a few functions that may be useful to some, but everything it does can be accomplished using free software and a little know-how, so it's unnecessary and a waste of money for nearly everyone.

What "free" software do you recommend? I have been using cocktail years. That works very well on my MacBook pros....

it is just an add. You can just click out of it or close that tab. It is the same thing if you have ever gotting a po up saying your windows computer is infected. Well we have macs so it is add scam. All they are trying to do is get you to click so they can make some money.

miliz1 --

I take it you think it's great because you haven't had any viruses?

You also wouldn't have any without it.

I've been running all of my Macs for over 20 years with no AV apps.

And I've had no problems.

Just sayin'.

There is nothing legitimate about a business that uses a completely deceptive and dishonest strategy to trick people into downloading its overpriced garbage. Here it is relying on the excellent reputation of the completely legitimate ClamXav to prey on the unwary.

Try going to ClamXav.org. Nothing at all to do with the real ClamXav; the real one is ClamXav.com. This will bring you to "ClamXav Review." After a very "informative" overview of the real ClamXav -- which is, apparently, meant to lead one into forming the completely mistaken impression that this site is really about ClamXav -- down at the bottom, you can download, you guessed it, MacKeeper. But you won't know that if you don't mouse hover over "Recommended Software: Mac Anti Virus DOWNLOAD NOW," while looking at the status bar in your browser. You'll see you will actually be going to mac-keeper.com. The "Recommended Software: Mac Anti Virus" has nothing to do with ClamXav.

In the very fine print, presumably just for the sake of creating some sense of propriety and quite easy to miss by comparison, you'll see what might be a link to the real ClamXav.

This is slimeware of the first order.

If MacKeeper is legit, it's a pity it uses the tactics of spyware and trojans to get itself installed. Often I have had a browser window advertising MacKeeper Pop-up that only offers one possible option in the dialogue box.

The only way to exit this window has been to Force Quit the browser - not much of an introduction to supposedly legitimate software. If you wish to be treated as ethical software, and not the slimeware that you appear to be (props to WZZZ), then it's about time you grew up and took responsibility for the way you are presenting yourself to users.

Ethical software does not usually load an installer which gets a user's permission to install, then downloads additional packages from a server. This is more akin to the behaviour of a Trojan.

I'd be wary of MacKeeper - there are plenty of Freeware utilities that will let you do all of what MacKeeper does.

Cheers.