mackeeper antivirus - how do you delete it?

Question

hi allThis is a weird one. I deleted Mackeeper as detailed in quite a few places. But found my iMac running Mountain Lion really slowing down.Weird - so I checked the activity monitor and found something called AntiVirus running and taking up 139 mb of real mem.I tried quitting but it just popped up again!So I clicked the Sample button and it came up with :Analysis of sampling AntiVirus (pid 238) every 1 millisecondProcess:         AntiVirus [238]Path:            /Library/Application Support/MacKeeper/AntiVirus.app/Contents/MacOS/AntiVirusLoad Address:    0x1000Identifier:      AntiVirusVersion:         ??? (???)Code Type:       X86 (Native)Parent Process:  launchd [1]Date/Time:       2012-10-22 22:01:43.233 +1030OS Version:      Mac OS X 10.7.5 (11G63)Report Version:  7Call graph:    2795 Thread_13595   DispatchQueue_1: com.apple.main-thread  (serial)    + 2795 start  (in AntiVirus) + 53  [0x1da5]    +   2795 main  (in AntiVirus) + 503  [0x1fd9]    +     2795 -[NSRunLoop(NSRunLoop) runMode:beforeDate:]  (in Foundation) + 273  [0x924624af]    +       2795 CFRunLoopRunInMode  (in CoreFoundation) + 120  [0x9c64b088]    +         2795 CFRunLoopRunSpecific  (in CoreFoundation) + 332  [0x9c64b1dc]    +           2795 __CFRunLoopRun  (in CoreFoundation) + 1428  [0x9c64bb04]    +             2795 __CFRunLoopServiceMachPort  (in CoreFoundation) + 170  [0x9c6429da]    +               2795 mach_msg  (in libsystem_kernel.dylib) + 70  [0x923de1f6]    +                 2795 mach_msg_trap  (in libsystem_kernel.dylib) + 10  [0x923dec22]    2795 Thread_13597   DispatchQueue_2: com.apple.libdispatch-manager  (serial)    + 2795 _dispatch_mgr_thread  (in libdispatch.dylib) + 53  [0x96f45853]    +   2795 _dispatch_mgr_invoke  (in libdispatch.dylib) + 969  [0x96f46e04]    +     2795 kevent  (in libsystem_kernel.dylib) + 10  [0x923e190a]    1173 Thread_75233      1173 start_wqthread  (in libsystem_c.dylib) + 30  [0x930b16fe]        1173 _pthread_wqthread  (in libsystem_c.dylib) + 773  [0x930afccf]          1173 __workq_kernreturn  (in libsystem_kernel.dylib) + 10  [0x923e102e]Total number in stack (recursive counted multiple, when &gt;&#x3D;5):Sort by top of stack, same collapsed (when &gt;&#x3D; 5):        kevent  (in libsystem_kernel.dylib)        2795        mach_msg_trap  (in libsystem_kernel.dylib)        2795        __workq_kernreturn  (in libsystem_kernel.dylib)        1173Binary Images:    0x1000 -     0xaff7 +com.zeobit.MacKeeper.AntiVirus (2.0.1 - 2.0.1) &lt;8B8D7F01-B412-635C-C373-9A9356FC27AC&gt; /Library/Application Support/MacKeeper/AntiVirus.app/Contents/MacOS/AntiVirus   0x7a000 -    0x9afea +aecore.so (??? - ???) &lt;DF48167D-72EC-4AB1-402C-1220C04BA749&gt; /Library/Application Support/MacKeeper/AntiVirus.app/Contents/Resources/bin/macosx_x86_32/aecore.so   0x9f000 -    0xa9ffd +aevdf.so (??? - ???) &lt;AC0102DA-C9A7-94E9-271A-CA8D68CCC7A4&gt; /Library/Application Support/MacKeeper/AntiVirus.app/Contents/Resources/bin/macosx_x86_32/aevdf.so   0xad000 -    0xc0ff7 +aescn.so (??? - ???) &lt;4E7B79EE-401D-1C15-769E-6EBFD1C1DFB8&gt; /Library/Application Support/MacKeeper/AntiVirus.app/Contents/Resources/bin/macosx_x86_32/aescn.so   0xc4000 -    0xedfff +aeoffice.so (??? - ???) &lt;B9CA0655-8196-95B8-C6D1-6D7D6C8BEE3B&gt; /Library/Application Support/MacKeeper/AntiVirus.app/Contents/Resources/bin/macosx_x86_32/aeoffice.s oand on it goes.. I&#x27;ve tried what I can to delete this but to no avail. I don&#x27;t know if it is in my Time Machine too - but I can&#x27;t see my Library files in Time Machine This is really freaky - any help is really appreciated. I have done what is written in here - http://applehelpwriter.wordpress.com/2011/09/21/how-to-uninstall-mackeeper-malwa re/But that doesn&#x27;t help me as I don&#x27;t have a Mackeeper app or program anywhere I can see.thanksRob

Klaus1 · Answer

Many users will see references to an application called MacKeeper on various web sites and via pop-ups on their browser. Not only is it expensive for what it purports to do (freeware applications that do the same or more are readily available), it can sometimes install itself without the user realising it, and it can be very tricky to get rid of.Most positive reviews of it have been found to have been paid for by Zeobit (developers of MacKeeper) in the form of ‘free upgrades’ etc. For example (posted by fellow contributor Softwater), on their Facebook page and on their webpage they have this apparent endorsement from UNC Charlotte:https://discussions.apple.com/servlet/JiveServlet/downloadImage/2-18670779-12515 7/450-259/Screen+Shot+2012-06-17+at+17.04.04.pngSoftwater contacted the Director of IT at the College of Arts and Architecture UNC Charlotte, about whether they endorse MacKeeper and his response, quoted here, was:No, please do not download and install MacKeeper. We have seen problems with this software in the past.MacKeeper has been described by various sources as highly invasive malware* that can de-stablize your operating system, adding that it is unethically marketed, with a history of making false advertising claims, by a company called Zeobit and a rip-off.For more details about Zeobit’s alledgedly fraudulent advertising and paid-for ‘reviews’, and their dubious marketing practises, read this:http://stemmings.com/the-truth-about-mackeeper-scam/Further opinion on it and how to uninstall MacKeeper malware can be read here:http://applehelpwriter.com/2011/09/21/how-to-uninstall-mackeeper-malware/MacKeeper have recently said that the uninstaller from here:http://applehelpwriter.wordpress.com/2011/09/21/how-to-uninstall-mackeeper-malwa re/now works.This is also worth reading:http://www.reedcorner.net/news.php/?p&#x3D;245Equally phoney was iAntivirus:http://www.reedcorner.net/news.php/?p&#x3D;341until it was purchased recently (May 2012) by Symantic (makers of Norton anti-virus which does not work well with Apple OS X). Even after having tinkered with it, iAntivirus still fails to do the job properly and cannot be recommended.There are no viruses that can affect Apple OS X and there is therefore no reason to run anti-virus software on a Mac, but a Mac, like all computers, can transmit viruses and malware to other users particularly those running Windows. Note, however, that Trojans are another matter and can represent a genuine threat, an example of which was the recent &#x27;Flashback Trojan&#x27; which you can read more about here:https://discussions.apple.com/docs/DOC-3261For further information you may find this User Tip on Viruses, Trojan Detection and Removal, as well as general Internet Security and Privacy, useful:https://discussions.apple.com/docs/DOC-2435The User Tip (which you are welcome to print out and retain for future reference) seeks to offer some guidance on the main security threats and how to avoid them.* The expression ‘malware’ is a general term used by computer professionals to mean a variety of forms of hostile, intrusive, or annoying software.

Linc Davis · Answer

How did you try to uninstall it?

Bluxx999 · Answer

Hi LincEventually I had to get on to Mackeeper and got their online help.They then walked me through the uninstall - in fact they actually log on to your system via a "Go to meeting" style application. I watched like a hawk - they got into hidden libraries then deleted everything related to Mackeeper and Zerobit and then restarted. All fixed now.Rob