Q: Is MacKeeper a legitimate program?

Thanks for sharing, have you tried this app?

Even if Allan hasn't, just look around these forums for reports of people who have tried it. The majority of these reports say the same thing: the app is useless, causes problems, or both.

maharitho wrote:

 

Thanks for sharing, have you tried this app?

I tested it on a brand new Mac OS X system, just installed and with no other software on it other than MacKeeper. It told me that I had more than 1,400 "junk files," trying to scare me into purchasing it. (Of course, it wouldn't fix the "problem" if I didn't buy it.)

Remember, this was on a fresh Mac OS X system. Every single file - other than those associated with MacKeeper - was put there by Apple's own installer, and the system probably had probably had a total uptime of under an hour. There were no junk files on it. (Well, except for those associated with MacKeeper.)

Since I didn't buy it, I didn't "fix" the "problem," and thus didn't see any of the problems often reported by people who do. Any kind of "cleaning" software like this can damage the system and actually cause performance to lag, since this kind of cleaning is not necessary. See The myth of the dirty Mac.

This doesn't even begin to address the numerous unethical behaviors of the developer behind MacKeeper. They've done some truly scummy things.

Yes you can get all the app's and protection provided by MacKeeper for free. Frankly I don't have the time or inclination to spend my time downloading, running, updating, etc etc if I wanted to do that I'd go back to PC.

I've run MacKeeper on all my Mac's since 2008 and it does the jobs I need perfectly, the latest version 3.0 is even better and so much cheaper. Security and ease of maintenance is key for me, MacKeeper gives me peace of mind and their Geek Online service is first class, quickly sorting out all sorts of Apple and third party software issues.  I give it ★★★★★

Don't be folled by the fact that they agressively market themselves, I figure since their not in the App Store they have more to spend targeting potenetial Customers just like you, it neither proves or disproves anything about the quality of their offering.

Nice try, shill. The first release of MacKeeper didn't even exist until 2010.

If you're going to waste everyone's time posting a paid endorsement, at least make an attempt to get some facts straight.

My Bad it's just so good it just seems that long ago, yep bought it 20 December 2010. 

Shill really that's your best work Kurt, think maybe you need a break to get some perspective 13 years is the forum must be leaving you a bit jaded mate.

Not quite a shill just a happy Customer!

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You're not fooling anyone here. You say you've been using MacKeeper since 2008. Not possible unless you have a time machine and traveled two years into the future to get a copy.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MacKeeper

The first beta-version of MacKeeper 0.8 was released on May 13, 2010, the second release on October 26, 2010.

Muahahahaha!

Thanks Kurt, you've made my day!

I think I just peed in my pants a little

Brendan,

Thanks for posting your email address *in clear*.  To me, it looks like a gmail address circa 1977 

"His broad knowledge and exceptional expertise in the areas of website development and design, online marketing,"  yada yada yada ...

Hi

actually Im using mackeeper since 2011, and its working and doing fine. all in one, I am like brendanMcnelly said concerned with security and keeping my MBP smooth and fast. after 2 years I found it reliable even though apple OSx well protected unlike windows but still something inside people mind (obssession) to be safe rather than sorry, I give it 4/5 and recommend it.. as for the legitimate issue, I saw the revies in their site and most from known sources like Macworld with positive reviews from customers USED IT, regarding the rest of reviews if you search the net, you will find majority reviewes are negatives and few are positive. The negative because those users listened from others that considered as worth trust, again for me as normal consumer not involved too much with tech find this app suitable and convenient to use and as mentioned before the price cheap (pay as you like) try and see because you are the only one who can make judgement so  try for 1$.

I wouldn't let it near my computer if they paid me. (And I suspect that's what they may be doing to get the  positive reviews they are getting. Not very far fetched, as I've heard they did try to "pay off" someone here in the past.)

yea, I agree with you this might be right, but dont you think that if they took/ or did such positive reviewes from Macworld , brothersoft.com. such a legitimate sites and have respectful reputation among others (computers user, developer, etc.) that they will not law sue them (especially in todays world, one can sue anyone for a simplist case).

All I can say is I would take all those postive reveiws at Macworld with a huge grain of salt. And have a look at the WOT comments  for brothersoft, and draw your own conclusion.

https://www.mywot.com/en/scorecard/topfreedownloads.brothersoft.com?utm_source=a ddon&utm_content=popup-donuts

I am like brendanMcnelly said concerned with security and keeping my MBP smooth and fast.

Then MacKeeper is not for you.

Regarding the issue of keeping your machine running fast, have you actually done any benchmarks? If not, you probably just feel that MacKeeper makes your machine faster because it's been on there for so long. Perhaps you may have even had some corrupt caches that were causing a real problem, and that made MacKeeper's "cleaning" appear to work initially.

However, the kind of "cleaning" that MacKeeper, and other apps of its ilk, does is not something that is needed on a Mac. In fact, it can actually harm the performance of your machine, or if if gets a bit overzealous or suffers from an error, can damage your system.

For more information, see The myth of the dirty Mac.

As for security, MacKeeper offers only one real piece of security: the Avira anti-virus engine. You would do better, if you wanted to run that, to uninstall MacKeeper and install Avira itself, which is completely free.

You would be wise to do further reading on the issue of protecting yourself against malware. See my Mac Malware Guide.

Finally, note that the major printed Mac magazines have basically become shills for anyone who can pay them, since their business model of supplying a printed magazine that is a month outdated by the time it's mailed is beginning to fail in the face of always up-to-date online news sources. They were paid to review MacKeeper, and did so without any real scrutiny.

If you're interested in the opinions of people who have given it scrutiny, you should note that MacKeeper is currently the subject of a class-action lawsuit:

http://www.consumeraffairs.com/news/lawsuit-challenges-mackeepers-clean-computer -claims-012114.html

MacKeeper, or the 911 Bundle as it was sold by in the App Store has been pulled for good reason. Apple doesn't remove titles without cause.

The "positive" review in Macworld was shortly after MacKeeper's release. Read the comments under the review to see what people think of Macworld's article. It's not glowing.

As WZZZ noted, Zeobit (who no longer supposedly own MacKeeper) has been well known and proven to pay people to post positive reviews. Usually in the form of a free copy of the software.

The common giveaway to these paid positive reviews is the same thing you just saw here. A new user to these forums just happened to run across a topic on MacKeeper, and just happened to make their very first post a puppies and rainbows report of how wonderful the software is.

To see this in full action, go to MacUpdate and read through as much of 498 pages of comments as you want. Find any positive review and click on the person's screen name. Try and find any such person who has posted more than three times on MacUpdate's site that is about anything than how wonderful MacKeeper is.

This recent court case is illuminating:

http://www.courthousenews.com/2014/01/21/64695.htm  Quoted below

"CHICAGO (CN) - A class action claims ZeoBIT defrauds customers by saying its MacKeeper software can spot performance problems on Mac computers, but labels every computer as "at risk" and in need of repair.

     Lead plaintiff Gregory Ward sued ZeoBIT, a California LLC, in Cook County Chancery Court.

     "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 states.

     "Unfortunately, as described more fully herein, ZeoBIT uses a common deceptive scheme to trick consumers into purchasing its MacKeeper software, which ultimately fails to deliver the utility ZeoBIT promises."

For more about ‘astruturfing’ (writing phoney product reviews for money) see here:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Astroturfing

and  http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-24299742