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Is mackeeper safe to use?

Is mackeeper safe to use?

Posted on May 12, 2012 4:51 PM

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Posted on May 12, 2012 5:30 PM

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

53 replies

May 11, 2014 10:22 PM in response to mtc4

mtc4 wrote:


Is mackeeper safe to use?

Simple question for such a lengthy discussion isn't it. I'll not give you my opinion since that seems irrelevant at this point, so I'll stick to some facts:


A January lawsuit in Illinois alleges that "ZeoBIT develops software that it claims will increase the speed, performance, and stability of a consumer's Macintosh personal computer by removing harmful errors, and eliminating privacy and security threats." The complaint adds that "ZeoBIT uses a common deceptive scheme to trick consumers into purchasing its MacKeeper software, which ultimately fails to deliver the utility ZeoBIT promises."


A more recent lawsuit in Pennsylvania, is by Holly Yencha, who purchased MacKeeper for $40. Her complaint states that "under MacKeeper's reporting algorithm, even brand new computers are in 'critical' condition and require repair by purchasing the full version." MacKeeper allegedly only "provides limited antivirus and firewall protection" but does little else.


You might want to wait and see how these turn out.

Aug 30, 2015 6:36 AM in response to mrcv56

If you actually have MacKeeper installed, see:


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


If you actually purchased MacKeeper, see:


https://yenchasoftwaresettlement.com/


If you don't have MacKeeper installed, but are having MacKeeper ads pop up frequently in your web browser, you may have adware installed. In that case, see:


http://www.thesafemac.com/arg


(Fair disclosure: I am affiliated with Malwarebytes, and the last of the links above goes to a Malwarebytes-owned site.)

May 16, 2016 4:08 AM in response to mtc4

I stupidly downloaded a free song from a site I did not know, and straightaway Mackeeper (which I had never heard of before) appeared on the screen and told me I had infected my computer with a virus, and did I want the virus eliminated and my computer scanned. I went into panic mode thinking that Mackeeper was part of the Applemac support network and said yes. The scan started and did a 20% scan free and I hope eliminated the virus (if it ever existed). It then went into soft sell mode suggesting I needed support (obviously at a cost) and that my computer was in danger of being infected. At this stage I became somewhat suspicious, they then went into hard sell mode. I eventually closed the site and looked for information on my search engine. I decided that I did not want Mackeeper at any price or something called 'megabackup' which also appeared.

From information on this site one important step to take is to empty your waste bin before you start removing Mackeeper. I found it quite easy to remove, simply going into Applications and sending it to the trash bin, I was asked for my computer password which I gave and asked to give a reason for removing Mackeeper. Having done that it disappeared without any problem. I then got rid of Megabackup in the same way and emptied the trash to remove any last vestiges from my computer, I also removed the symbols from launchpad. Apart from a few e mails trying to frighten me into having Mackeeper, I have had no more trouble, so hopefully that is the last of it.

I have a suspicious mind and wonder if the virus was sent by Mackeeper, so that they could offer to remove it, it seems strange that as soon as I downloaded that song Mackeeper appeared (how could it know that I had downloaded a virus if it did not have some link to that site?).

The best thing to do is empty your trash bin and then try removing it from Applications, if that works fine, otherwise you might need to take a longer route as detailed elsewhere on this site.

May 16, 2016 8:25 AM in response to Shotblast

Shotblast wrote:


I have a suspicious mind and wonder if the virus was sent by Mackeeper, so that they could offer to remove it, it seems strange that as soon as I downloaded that song Mackeeper appeared (how could it know that I had downloaded a virus if it did not have some link to that site?).

No, there was never a virus of any kind. The entire routine was all a scam to get you to purchase MacKeeper.

Is mackeeper safe to use?

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