Is MacKeeper a legitimate program?

Kurt Lang wrote:

I'm afraid you read Csound1's note the wrong way. He's saying if MacKeeper is so great, then are all the people (whom are legion) saying how bad it is all liars?

That's it ....

😀

Don't think I did, Kurt,

A bit of leg pulling from my side.

D'oh! Missed in completely. 😊

The following link offers some balanced information about it.

http://www.cultofmac.com/170522/is-mackeeper-really-a-scam/

From the given website:

"We believe that we have a great product and we want people to know about it and the only way to do this is to explore every medium of advertisement."

Balanced information?

SO frustrating. Now I am a newcomer to to Apple/Mac world and have defected to the "light side" from being a PC user since I've been able to use a computer. I was under the impression that Macs don't get viruses on their machines and that was the #1 selling point for me, but now with all these discussions about the pros and cons of Mackeeper I just don't know anymore. I've successfully removed the software from my laptop but do I need anti-virus software or not??? I come to these Apple forums for support but just get a bunch of confusing back and forth heresy and arrive at no resolution. What to do, what to do? Is there a licensed Apple computer "cleaner" so I can always count on machine to work at its most optimum capabilty? Thanks guys!

?

JVillalobos21 wrote:

where do I look on my laptop to see what OS i'm currently running??

Select "About This Mac" from the  menu.

JVillalobos21 wrote:

I was under the impression that Macs don't get viruses on their machines and that was the #1 selling point for me

Which is generally true, but they are not immune. You have to keep your software fully up-to-date, don't disable any security features and pay attention to all the warnings you get. If you are asked for your admin password or to approve an invalid certificate, be sure you fully understand why you are doing that. Apple wants you to disable Java in all your browsers. And only download legitimate software and files from trusted sites.

now with all these discussions about the pros and cons of Mackeeper I just don't know anymore. I've successfully removed the software from my laptop but do I need anti-virus software or not???

If you don't feel like doing all the things I outlined, then you probably need some form of A-V software, otherwise there is adequate protection built into OS X 10.6.8 and above. But just to be clear, MacKeeper is a lot more than just an A-V product. It also has a lot of mostly unneeded "cleaning" processes, which should be an entirely different discussion topic.

Is there a licensed Apple computer "cleaner" so I can always count on machine to work at its most optimum capabilty?

Yes, it's all built into OS X. It will normally keep everything running smoothly and will not require any routine user maintenance at all. Sometimes you will run into issues and when that happens, come back and describe the problem in detail and someone will point you in the right direction.

do I need anti-virus software or not???

There's no easy yes or no answer. You probably can get by just fine without, but even if you do use anti-virus software, you need to know how to stay safe. See my Mac Malware Guide.

I come to these Apple forums for support but just get a bunch of confusing back and forth heresy and arrive at no resolution.

Yes, unfortunately, that's always the case here when it comes to the topic of anti-virus software. There are a lot of people out there who will tell you “There are no Mac viruses” and who will get downright rude about anti-virus software. Others can get equally vehement that anti-virus software should be considered a requirement. Both sides tend to make their cases based on a lot of hearsay and isolated incidents, and not a lot of personal experience or decent data. As with most cases where two groups violently argue with each other over extreme points of view, the truth lies somewhere in the middle... ground that, in this case, few people seem to tread.

Is there a licensed Apple computer "cleaner" so I can always count on machine to work at its most optimum capabilty?

There is no need to "clean" your Mac regularly, except to keep the dust off! See The myth of the dirty Mac.

JVillalobos21

Hypochondriacs.

Thats what you have on these forums for the most part. People are tuned to being afraid and they think that pointing out the boogie man is the best way to look like they are intelligent and safe.

FACT:

There is no mac virus that has effected the operation of a mac system that i have seen since 1998. There wasnt any before then either. There are trojans and back door things but you must put in your password in order for a virus to effect your operation. There are no worms as far as i know as i do not believe that unix allows application duplication.

I am not an expert. I have not studied anything but the 12 Macs i have owned since 1998. While i have had to replace ram, connections and hard drives. I have never had a system failure or operational problems due to some virus. I even tried to download some from a site that claimed that they collected Mac viruses. It never worked and my mac just kept on humming.

I will say that it is possible for a mac to carry a virus that does not effect the mac at all but will effect a pc that you transfer file or send emails to. Even thats rare.

I came from a PC and it is wierd to adjust to just using the computer and not fixing it yearly. Other than repair permissions which i do about every 3 months on my macs, I do not ever have to maintenance my system os. Because of heavy use (35-65hr per week) video editing, GFX, CGI and audio design i do use Disk Warior once a year on my hard drives. Disk Warior is never used on my main drive.

Just run your mac and don't worry about virusses the chances of you getting a virus is 75% less than you getting one from a one night stand.

Thomas Reed studies this so i would +1 his post on this issue.

Mackeepr is legit, but unnecessary. Unless you're donwloading lots of random plug ins and ignore the "may contain virus" warnings you won't get a virus.

Ok so here's my issue (disclaimer: I have not read all 8 pages of this forum): MacKeeper does advertize itself as anti-virus software, but it also purports to delete unnecessary files, uninstall applications, and generally keep one's computer running smoothly. I have owned MacKeeper in the past, but I don't feel confident saying that it didn't harm my computer in any way. Maybe it made it run slower, I don't know. My point is, however, that a discussion of whether or not Macs get viruses doesn't completely cover the issue and if MacKeeper is a scam, then what other software is there that has the same non-anti-virus functionality of MacKeeper?

emily.wherever wrote:

if MacKeeper is a scam, then what other software is there that has the same non-anti-virus functionality of MacKeeper?

I don't necessarily categorize it as a scam, although some of their advertising methods have been and still are to some extent very scam-like. Their A-V software has actually progressed to the point of being better than average, after starting out as a recycled PC scanner.

As to the other functions, most users will never need them (see Thomas Reed's link above to "The myth of the dirty Mac") and novice users could very well do more harm than good by using them routinely or without knowing exactly what they do. When problems do develop, there are almost always free utilities available to do those same tasks. At the end of Beware MacKeeper, Thomas has a list of alternative software.

I found the article of Thomas Reed excellent: it's very well balanced and spot on. It's a very good read.

You can replace the MacKeeper antivirus by the Free Sophos Mac Antivirus.

Another list of replacement for Mackepper amazing list of Nutilities (non-utilities) can be found here, and they are almost all free, and often, much better. i.e see "Prey"

http://themacschool.blogspot.com/2012/09/mackeeper-is-scam.html