Brandon Sky
Level 1 (36 points)

Q: Is MacKeeper a legitimate program?

I am concerned about this app named "MacKeeper". It's very weird, and I'm not 100% sure it's legitimate. Is it real or a scam? Here's a screenshot:

 

Screen shot 2012-09-08 at 5.45.52 AM.png

Is this app real or a scam? People here on Apple Support Communities think MacKeeper is a scam and they tell you that you must uninstall it now. MacKeeper displays a lot of distracting popups and notifications, and for doing almost anything requires you pay for the registered version.

 

Message was edited by: Brandon Sky

iPod and iTunes, Mac OS X (10.6.2)

Posted on Sep 8, 2012 1:57 AM

by roam,Solvedanswer
roam roam
Level 6 (13,576 points)
A:

It is a legitimate program available in the Mac App store. It gets a bad press fro a number of reasons;

-it got confused with MacDefender, a trojan malware,

-because fanboys are reistant to anything that suggest Macs are susceptible to malware.

-herd mentality, ie repeat something often enough and people will think there is something to it, like 'repair permissions' used to be an often recommended cure for everything, though you don't hear that so much anymore.

-unsophisticated marketing by the developers made it smell suspicious.

 

The following link offers some balanced information about it.

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

Posted on Sep 8, 2012 2:30 AM

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Brandon Sky

Q: Is MacKeeper a legitimate program?

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  • by thomas_r.,

    thomas_r. thomas_r. Sep 16, 2013 8:12 AM in response to BeenThere. . .
    Level 7 (30,944 points)
    Mac OS X
    Sep 16, 2013 8:12 AM in response to BeenThere. . .

    I am wondering is "Kromtech Alliance Corp." different from ZeoBit?

     

    Theoretically, yes. Zeobit sold MacKeeper to Kromtech not long ago. However, it's odd that the mackeeper.kromtech.net site redirects to mackeeper.zeobit.com, rather than the other way around. Makes me wonder if this is all just a marketing ploy, and they're both owned by the same company. (I should note that that is just a question I have pondered, not anything that I have any reason to believe is true. I cannot find any evidence to support that idea.)

     

    Since it's still the same flawed app, I'd still recommend against it. We'll see if Kromtech does anything different with it.

     

    Lastly what do  you think of DiskTools Pro?  Does this app do as much or more than MacKeeper?  Is it safer?

     

    I've never used DiskTools Pro, but some of the things it does are similarly unuseful. Defragmentation, for example, is not something you should be doing frequently - or, for most people, ever - on Mac OS X, as Mac OS X does defragmatation on its own in the background as files are written to the hard drive. In general, any time someone is selling a utility that does something that is completely unnecessary, I have to question that.

  • by thomas_r.,

    thomas_r. thomas_r. Sep 16, 2013 8:13 AM in response to Kudcubfa
    Level 7 (30,944 points)
    Mac OS X
    Sep 16, 2013 8:13 AM in response to Kudcubfa

    Kudcubfa wrote:

     

    Heres a good article. I have it and use it and so far no problems.

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


    That is generally considered to be an extremely biased article, probably paid for by Zeobit.

  • by Kudcubfa,

    Kudcubfa Kudcubfa Sep 16, 2013 9:26 AM in response to thomas_r.
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Sep 16, 2013 9:26 AM in response to thomas_r.

    Well, I can say with certainty I'm not biased. I was given a MacBook as a gift but also use pc's for work and at home. I'm neither a "fanboy" or part of whatever cult I keep seeing in these discussions.

    So, in my humble, non technical and casual opinion, the software is great. Not a bit of trouble.

     

    I will say this, there is a lot of creepy "conspiracy theory" feel to this whole discussion. I expect the comic book guy to jump in any second with "worst-software-ever!"

  • by thomas_r.,

    thomas_r. thomas_r. Sep 16, 2013 9:53 AM in response to Kudcubfa
    Level 7 (30,944 points)
    Mac OS X
    Sep 16, 2013 9:53 AM in response to Kudcubfa

    The fact that you haven't had any trouble does not mean that MacKeeper has done anything beneficial for you, and certainly doesn't mean that it will never cause you problems. It also does not, in any way, address the numerous legitimate concerns with MacKeeper that have been mentioned throughout the year-long history of this discussion.

  • by Csound1,

    Csound1 Csound1 Sep 16, 2013 9:56 AM in response to Kudcubfa
    Level 9 (51,447 points)
    Desktops
    Sep 16, 2013 9:56 AM in response to Kudcubfa

    Kudcubfa wrote:

     

    Well, I can say with certainty I'm not biased. I was given a MacBook as a gift but also use pc's for work and at home. I'm neither a "fanboy" or part of whatever cult I keep seeing in these discussions.

    So, in my humble, non technical and casual opinion, the software is great. Not a bit of trouble.

     

    I will say this, there is a lot of creepy "conspiracy theory" feel to this whole discussion. I expect the comic book guy to jump in any second with "worst-software-ever!"

    Do you imagine that all the detractors are making their stories up then?

  • by Klaus1,

    Klaus1 Klaus1 Sep 16, 2013 10:01 AM in response to Csound1
    Level 8 (48,918 points)
    Sep 16, 2013 10:01 AM in response to Csound1

    Do you imagine that all the detractors are making their stories up then?

    Unlike all the 'fans'!

  • by Steve HC19,

    Steve HC19 Steve HC19 Sep 16, 2013 10:52 AM in response to Kudcubfa
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Sep 16, 2013 10:52 AM in response to Kudcubfa

    Kudcubfa wrote:

     

    Heres a good article. I have it and use it and so far no problems.

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

    - You should always trust a review written on a website.  Especially when the said website is/was selling the said software. I see no conflicts of interests whatsoever ...

  • by seventy one,

    seventy one seventy one Sep 16, 2013 11:34 AM in response to Csound1
    Level 6 (15,383 points)
    Peripherals
    Sep 16, 2013 11:34 AM in response to Csound1

    Oh Csound,

     

    What's the matter with you.   You are so often a reliable contributor and then you wander off in support of this crap.

     

    71. 

  • by Csound1,

    Csound1 Csound1 Sep 16, 2013 11:38 AM in response to seventy one
    Level 9 (51,447 points)
    Desktops
    Sep 16, 2013 11:38 AM in response to seventy one

    ?

  • by Kurt Lang,

    Kurt Lang Kurt Lang Sep 16, 2013 11:48 AM in response to seventy one
    Level 8 (38,049 points)
    Mac OS X
    Sep 16, 2013 11:48 AM in response to seventy one

    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?

  • by Csound1,

    Csound1 Csound1 Sep 16, 2013 11:52 AM in response to Kurt Lang
    Level 9 (51,447 points)
    Desktops
    Sep 16, 2013 11:52 AM in response to Kurt Lang

    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 ....

  • by seventy one,

    seventy one seventy one Sep 16, 2013 11:56 AM in response to Csound1
    Level 6 (15,383 points)
    Peripherals
    Sep 16, 2013 11:56 AM in response to Csound1

     

  • by seventy one,

    seventy one seventy one Sep 16, 2013 12:00 PM in response to Kurt Lang
    Level 6 (15,383 points)
    Peripherals
    Sep 16, 2013 12:00 PM in response to Kurt Lang

    Don't think I did, Kurt,

     

    A bit of leg pulling from my side.

  • by Kurt Lang,

    Kurt Lang Kurt Lang Sep 16, 2013 12:38 PM in response to seventy one
    Level 8 (38,049 points)
    Mac OS X
    Sep 16, 2013 12:38 PM in response to seventy one

    D'oh! Missed in completely.

  • by cclaes13,

    cclaes13 cclaes13 Sep 23, 2013 6:30 AM in response to roam
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Sep 23, 2013 6:30 AM in response to roam

    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?

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