is MacKeeper a scam

Kappy,

First, thank you for your thoughts and the information you put forth. Secondly after spending hours tonight on this MacKeeper subject, the only thing I feel sure about is that I am not sure of much. It reminds me of that old saying that goes something like...the more I learn, the less I know...

I am almost 60 and although I have been using computer for years, I mainly use them as glorified typewriters: I write proposals, invoices, use the Internet to e-mail and research, watch videos, etc., but my knowledge of software and programing is nil, so discussions about things like MacKeeper are really lost on me when I try to sort through all the vitriolic comments posted. I see that you wrote the comment I am responding to on 8/30/2011, which is about the time I purchased MacKeeper. You are probably aware of the firestorm of comments and review, both positive and negative about this product. I started to research this because recently they offered me a free upgrade if I would post an honest review on Mac Update. I have had none of the problems that people are livid about and yet I really have no way of knowing if Mackeeper is being beneficial either, since I have had no problems with my Mac, either before or after downloading MacKeeper.

My question to you, if you would be so kind as to respond, is... do you still stand by the comments in your 8/30/2011 post and/or has anything changed and would you add anything to that post?

You will probably find this amusing and it may give you further insight into my limited computer usage: I am not even sure how I will get your response if you do reply. I guess I will just look back here in a few days and see if there is something here.

I can't speak for Kappy on this, but am willing to share my own thoughts.

I feel I need to say up front that I have never actually used the product, for the reasons stated below.

My bias is very much against the use of any "Cleaner" apps. I have only owned one, which I believe was SpringCleaning 1.0 and it took weeks to repair the damage I foolishly allowed it to cause. Since that time I've evaluated maybe half a dozen just to see what they had to offer. I would run them in demo mode as long as all they did was tell me what they wanted to do without doing it. I saw nothing that I could not do for myself either manually or with a free utility.

I did download the MacKeeper installer, but that's as far as I was willing to go once I found out that all I had was a small utility that would then download the real pieces of the application as soon as it launched. I have never observed anything like it. By that time I became aware of some of the sleezy advertising methods they were using to trick customers looking for competing software into downloading MacKeeper instead. They blame their advertising contractor, but I can't believe they didn't know exactly what was going on. This situation has mostly been corrected now, possibly after threat of legal action, but it still doesn't excuse it. If you aren't familiar with all that take a look at Thomas Reed's Beware MacKeeper for details. If I had ever seriously considered buying it before, I totally dismissed the idea once I learned of it. Soon after that I participated in dozens of discussions here in the Apple Support Community Forum on how to remove it. That sealed the deal. There are still several users who swear they have removed every trace of it yet they still get pop-up ads that none of the rest of us ever see.

I have seen the over 200 five star comments on MacUpdate and your note explains a lot of that. To read some counter examples all in one place, visit the comment section of Phil Stokes' How to Uninstall MacKeeper. It wasn't designed to collect complaints, but many have volunteered their experiences.

The fact that they are effectively paying many of you to post comments on the software rating sites, may be their most blatant sleezy act. I know they told you to write an honest review, but really, what current user getting something for nothing is going to say anything negative about the product.

Message was edited by: MadMacs0

I concur MadMacs0.

It was even the same application that I recieved as a free copy when I ordered some other software that soured me on "Clean Up" applications. Since then I have set up a sand box where I have test numerous ones only to find out how bad they are.

My experience with MacKeeper is with helping others repair the damage it has caused on their Macs. That one struck me as so bad I never even tested it.

I would really like to know how much Zeobit is pay these inexperenced users, they always have one star hence my catorogizing them as in experienced, for their rave reviews. Perosnally I think that no matter what they are getting doing such a disservice for their other Mac user isn't worth it.

Allan

Hi everyone,

I can't say this is an absolute certainty, but I think there's a connection between MacKeeper and my partner's credit card being compromised. He rarely buys anything off the internet, and is not totally computer savvy, which is why he instantly fell for MacKeeper. He told me he bought it, I argued with him that it's likely a scam but then thought nothing more of it.

He got a phone call last night from his bank saying that his credit card was compromised after someone tried to use it in South Africa for $2000. Thinking back, we went through want he has bought off the net lately - there were only two things, some wine from a local producer and MacKeeper.

This indicated to me that either his credit card details were stolen when he bought the program or the program itself is stealing personal information.

I deleted the program and all the components immediately on more research that suggested only negative comments - some saying that it's useless, some that it's a scam for your money.

Like I said, I can prove that it was absolutely MacKeeper that caused his credit card to be compromised, but since we are otherwise so careful with our information, it's the only thing we could think of!

Don't fall for it!

Hello,

I have found this thread so informative - I only wish I found it earlier.

I have fallen victim to the MacKeeper scam and need some advice on how to best remove it with the least amount of damage. I lost my entire music library last year due to one of the clean up functions.

Can anyone recommend the best spy ware for my macbook pro?

Thank you

Liam

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

None. They are all worthless on the Mac. All they do is cause problems.

Why do you think you need such a thing anyway?

Allan

LiamOBrien87 wrote:

Hello,

I have found this thread so informative - I only wish I found it earlier.

I have fallen victim to the MacKeeper scam and need some advice on how to best remove it with the least amount of damage. I lost my entire music library last year due to one of the clean up functions.

Can anyone recommend the best spy ware for my macbook pro?

Thank you

Liam

Liam,

Follow the unnstall instructions in

http://help.mackeeper.zeobit.com/Manual/GettingStarted/UninstallingMacKeeper.htm l

The best anti malware app for your computer is OS X itself, simply keep it up-to-date and your computer is pretty secure. OS X is NOT like MS Windows that relys on third pary applications to make it run well. The very best thing you can do for OS X is to leave it alone and keep it up-to-date by running Software Update and installing all the suggested updates.

LiamOBrien87 wrote:

Can anyone recommend the best spy ware for my macbook pro?

Did you really mean to say spyware as in keyloggers and such? There is only one and it's often not accurate. Spyware requires physical access to your computer or your permission to give shared access over the network. Is that a possibility in your case and what reason do you have to suspect it?

Subject: BAD EXPERIENCE, DISINGENUOUS UP-SALE, NIGHTMARE CANCELLATION, and the same CREDIT CARD WAS COMPROMISED A FEW DAYS LATER - Coincidence? Installed easily, showed issues, then the sales pitch started. You have all these other issues with kernels and history that the MacKeeper program doesn't address but this other service will take care of starting at $100+. If this service is so valuable, why do they make you concerned about a additional product their web site does not offer? The sales woman purposely avoided direct questions so she could get her spiel out. After frustration with her, and conflicting information from the sales manager, I asked for a full cancellation under their guarantee. Sent me to a web address which would not work so I called back. A threat or two later, they agreed to process the request. I did not get a confirmation when I had asked for one so I called them back a week later and I am still waiting for the 5 minute that they told me it would take. During the same week, three fraudulent charges were made on my credit card in Canada. Coincidence?😠

Sorry. I'm not sure how to "initiate" my own question, so I'm piggy-backing as a "reply." I have just encountered MacKeeper,

and, trusting Apple and its products, I initiate its sales pitch, with the partial "clean-up" it includes. I was going to opt for the

whole package, when I discovered I'm locked out of my own Word files. Can anyone help me find my way back in?

Thanks, goph

goph1,

You should begin your own thread. However DO NOT download or install MacKeeper. OS X does not require cleaning, antivirus or any third party utilities. There are no viruses for O SX, none at all! There is a very small amount of malware but that is easily avoided by using a little common sense.

• Never download from a torrent.
• If you receive an e-mail, ad, popup or phone call telling you that your computer has been compromised these are SCAMS intended to take your money.
• The best thing to keep your machine healthy is to keep OS X up-to-date.

That's it, it's that simple.

goph1 wrote:

Sorry. I'm not sure how to "initiate" my own question, so I'm piggy-backing as a "reply." I have just encountered MacKeeper,

and, trusting Apple and its products,

MacKeeper is not an Apple product.

goph1 wrote:

Sorry. I'm not sure how to "initiate" my own question

Pretty simple, really. Go to iMac (Intel), type in your question and press the big blue button.

I believe it is a scam. One hour after signing up for a ridiculously expensive contract I called the company to have my money refunded. Why? Not only was there a disastrous rating on WOT but I belatedly read reports on this site and on others stating that many computer problems presented at Genius Bars could be traced to installing MacKeeper. Just got an email from MacKeeper that they will not refund my money. I believe that consumers legally have three days to cancel a contract and that refusing to grant me a full refund constitutes fraud.

Scary. I fell for the scam and now am in limbo trying to get a refund. I will check my account status daily in hopes of preventing the loss of more money from my checking account.