Is mackeeper safe to use?

It is safe, but like any Mac anti-virus, completely unnecessary.

NBO and should be avoided at all costs. Bit of a nightmare to uninstall. It is no better than installing malware and is the first program you will be told to avoid anywhere in these forums. Trouble with a capital T

Pete

Take a look at this. https://discussions.apple.com/docs/DOC-3027

Don't use it.

I beg to differ with you on how safe MacKeeper is.

I have never installed it on any of my Mac but a number of the users I help to support have. They were having all kinds of problems after install it. I helped them to uninstall it and not with the uninstaller provided by Zeobit which only made matter worst. After uninstalling MacKeeper and repairing the damages it did their Mac were finally returned to normal service once again.

I recommend that MacKeeper never ever by install on any Mac.

Allan

I realize that it is in vogue to bash MacKeeper. However, the Apple Support Communities Term of Use explicitly ask that we try solutions before recommending them. If you haven't tried MacKeeper, then how do you know it is junk? You can't cite the number of people on these forums who report problems with it, because then your only logical conclusion would be that all Apple products are junk because there are so many reported problems that need our help to resolve.

I have tried MacKeeper's uninstaller and found that is worked perfectly. I do not run any anti-virus software because I feel it is unnecessary. I have heard bad reports about all antivirus products on these forums. I suspect that the anti-MacKeeper sentiment might just be a simple astroturfing campaign sponsored by its more established competitors.

My official advice - don't use MacKeeper or any other anti-virus product on a Mac.

Here you go again. Are you going to do this dance every time this subject comes up. How many OP's have to endure your stubborn arguments in favor of this program. Knock it off!

Check the among of people who have posted here that had MacKeeper running and those who solved their issues by uninstalling it properly. I have seen friends fooled into installing it and have had to uninstall it for them to stop their nightmares - as per the TOU.

Pete

I'd have to disagree with you on the statement that is essentially, one must harm their Mac before they can say that the software was harmful. You told me on another thread that people should get infected with malware before giving people removal instructions, and I find that preposterous. And Allan does indeed have quite a bit of solid experience with the MacKeeper uninstaller, as he has uninstalled it many time on other people's Macs.

hpr3 wrote:

Here you go again. Are you going to do this dance every time this subject comes up. How many OP's have to endure your stubborn arguments in favor of this program. Knock it off!

You mean the part where I say "don't use MacKeeper"? Yeah, that's my standard argument in favour of software.

Actually, you are entirely correct. I do, indeed, intend to do this dance every time this subject comes up. Why? Because it is the right thing to do. I did the same thing a few years ago back when people used to bash Parallels. I used Parallels at the time so I knew it was nonsense. I don't actually use MacKeeper so I have, until recently, ignored it. When I actually did try MacKeeper's uninstaller I discovered that it worked perfectly. In fact, MacKeeper's uninstaller is better than average for MacOS X, which isn't saying all that much.

I never knew where the rabid anti-Parallels sentiments came from. I don't really know where the similarly rabid anti-MacKeeper sentiment comes from. MacKeeper is primarily an anti-virus tool and for that reason alone, I don't recommend it. I don't recommend any of its competitors either.

Thank you stevejobs0123. I was just getting ready to ask Etresoft why I had to infect my Mac with software that I have seen do damage to others' Macs before I have the right to talk about it that doesn't make any sense to me. Plus on his comment about the Zeobit uninstaller for MacKeeper I can vouch for the fact that it left behind a lot of stuff. This was causing all kinds of problems for the user until I help him remove it.

Allan

You tried the demo. I have it on good authority from several people now that the full version behaves differently, especially with regard to uninstalling. You have been made aware of this, but seemingly have chosen to ignore it.

If you are going to recommend against MacKeeper anyway, why do you feel so compelled to defend it based on such flimsy evidence? Doing so merely undermines your credibility.

Thomas A Reed wrote:

You tried the demo. I have it on good authority from several people now that the full version behaves differently, especially with regard to uninstalling. You have been made aware of this, but seemingly have chosen to ignore it.

softwater is not "good authority". Suppose someone tells me both A and B are true. Then I prove A is false. Furthermore, I show that said someone was trying to deliberately mislead me. Why should I continue to believe B?

If you are going to recommend against MacKeeper anyway, why do you feel so compelled to defend it based on such flimsy evidence? Doing so merely undermines your credibility.

I do not defend MacKeeper. I attack misinformation. You cannot prove anything about MacKeeper any more than you can prove Apple Mail can't send attachments. I have plenty of reports that MacKeeper is little short of malware and plenty of reports that Apple Mail can't send attachments. I know Apple Mail can send attachments perfectly well. I admit that I know little about MacKeeper. But what little I know directly contradicts everything the MacKeeper-bashers tell me about it. It doesn't add up. Someone is lying. I have zero evidence that MacKeeper is lying. I have some evidence that the MacKeeper-bashers are lying. Ergo, I will stay neutral about MacKeeper and attack those who bash it.

Well I can tell you that I have helped many of my friends to remove MacKeeper to fix their Mac for them.

Allan

Allan Eckert wrote:

I can vouch for the fact that it left behind a lot of stuff. This was causing all kinds of problems for the user until I help him remove it.

But here are also many suggestions not to use the MacKeeper uninstaller but to do it by hand instead. Some of those instructions go to great lengths to delete cache files and log files, which are harmless.

I don't doubt that these people need help. There is a lot of misinformation on blogs that inspire people to try to run obscure Terminal commands without knowing what they do. Invariably, that behaviour is going to need someone like us to help clean up.

By all means, we should help anyone who wants to remove MacKeeper or who has tried some of these blog-based suggestions and now needs their systems manually repaired. That is what we are here for. The Terms of Use explicity forbid "libelous, defamatory" posts and I think that is a good rule. Where MacKeeper is concerned, people tend to ignore that rule.