Sidebar Sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

What is Mac Keeper App?

M

marty1990

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Nov 25, 2011
418
25
England
I got this pop up that just wouldn't go.

sbmots.png


Each time I closed Safari and reopened it, it appeared. I didn't want to press okay in case it downloaded something. Managed to clear it by shift-opening Safari.

What is it? Is it a legit program or some scam/malware? I did a quick Google search on it and it seems legitimate, but even so, those kind of pop ups would put people off.
 
marty1990 said:
I got this pop up that just wouldn't go.

Image

Each time I closed Safari and reopened it it appeared. I didn't want to press okay in case it downloaded something.

What is it? Is it a legit program or some scam/malware? I did a quick Google search on it and it seems legitimate, but even so, those kind of pop ups would put people off.
Click to expand...
It's a useless app that is notorious for obnoxious and pervasive advertising. Clear your browser cache and cookies and use an ad blocker to block anything from zeobit.com.
 
Oh okay. So those pop-ups weren't due to anything being downloaded to my system then? It's not malware, just an application?

I have Adblock installed on Safari. Times like these make me think I'd be better off switching back to Chrome.
 
marty1990 said:
Oh okay. So those pop-ups weren't due to anything being downloaded to my system then? It's not malware, just an application?

I have Adblock installed on Safari. Times like these make me think I'd be better off switching back to Chrome.
Click to expand...
No, it's not malware. For malware concerns, read the following:

Macs are not immune to malware, but no true viruses exist in the wild that can run on Mac OS X, and there never have been any since it was released over 10 years ago. The only malware in the wild that can affect Mac OS X is a handful of trojans, which can be easily avoided by practicing safe computing (see below). Also, Mac OS X Snow Leopard and Lion have anti-malware protection built in, further reducing the need for 3rd party antivirus apps.
  1. Make sure your built-in Mac firewall is enabled in System Preferences > Security > Firewall

  2. Uncheck "Open "safe" files after downloading" in Safari > Preferences > General

  3. Disable Java in your browser (Safari, Chrome, Firefox). This will protect you from malware that exploits Java in your browser, including the recent Flashback trojan. Leave Java disabled until you visit a trusted site that requires it, then re-enable only for the duration of your visit to that site. (This is not to be confused with JavaScript, which you should leave enabled.)

  4. Change your DNS servers to OpenDNS servers by reading this.

  5. Be careful to only install software from trusted, reputable sites. Never install pirated software. If you're not sure about an app, ask in this forum before installing.

  6. Never let someone else have access to install anything on your Mac.

  7. Don't open files that you receive from unknown or untrusted sources.

  8. For added security, make sure all network, email, financial and other important passwords are long and complex, including upper and lower case letters, numbers and special characters.

  9. Always keep your Mac and application software updated. Use Software Update for your Mac software. For other software, it's safer to get updates from the developer's site or from the menu item "Check for updates", rather than installing from any notification window that pops up while you're surfing the web.
That's all you need to do to keep your Mac completely free of any Mac OS X malware that has ever been released into the wild. You don't need any 3rd party software to keep your Mac secure.
 
GGJstudios said:
It's a useless app that is notorious for obnoxious and pervasive advertising. Clear your browser cache and cookies and use an ad blocker to block anything from zeobit.com.
Click to expand...

Any ad blockers you personally like?
 
marty1990 said:
...

What is it? Is it a legit program or some scam/malware? I did a quick Google search on it and it seems legitimate, but even so, those kind of pop ups would put people off.
Click to expand...
No, MacKeeper does not seem legitimate. There are some websites that pretend to give third-party reviews and declare MacKeeper not to be scam. Those websites are clearly run by MacKeepter's developer. MacKeeper is a scam.
 
What, so it ISN'T legitimate? Errr. Okay, so what do I do in regards to my Mac? Reformat, or isn't that necessary?

I'm so used to Windows and problems.
 
MisterMe said:
No, MacKeeper does not seem legitimate. There are some websites that pretend to give third-party reviews and declare MacKeeper not to be scam. Those websites are clearly run by MacKeepter's developer. MacKeeper is a scam.
Click to expand...

That's incorrect. There are reviews of MacKeeper that are clearly not run by the developer. Here's a review from Cult of Mac, which is a site that's been around for a while, which also references TUAW, Macworld Magazine, and Dave Hamilton of The Mac Observer and MacGeekGab podcast.

While I don't know if I think MacKeeper offers much value, you're flat-out wrong to say all the reviews are from the developer.
 
AlanShutko said:
While I don't know if I think MacKeeper offers much value, you're flat-out wrong to say all the reviews are from the developer.
Click to expand...
MisterMe did NOT say that. Read the post again.
MisterMe said:
There are some websites that pretend to give third-party reviews and declare MacKeeper not to be scam. Those websites are clearly run by MacKeepter's developer.
Click to expand...
 
AlanShutko said:
It was pretty clear that he meant "Any websites which declare MacKeeper not to be a scam are run by the developer." That's untrue.
Click to expand...
Those are your words, not his. His post was not ambiguous. It is well known that among their other aggressive marketing ploys, the developer posts fake reviews on various sites. That's not the same as saying all reviews are by the developer.
 
Any app that uses this kind of obnoxious popup that is difficult to get rid of is by my definition malware and a scam. No respectable developer should use this kind of nasty advertising. In my book if MacKeeper uses this then it is a scam and malware and should be avoided like the plague. Even if you think it does some good, I would never trust any app on my computer that uses malware to advertise itself.
 
Let me put in a word for AdwareMedic.com

Also, here's Apple Support's page on adware. http://support.apple.com/en-us/HT203987 - while this methodology is harder than running Adware Medic, if you have any doubts about who you can trust, this is the place to go.

The thing is, you have to distinguish between the ads for MacKeeper, and the app itself. The ads may come from any number of ad-insertion programs (adware). So even though MacKeeper isn't named in the Apple article, the stuff that's delivering the ads probably is.

The results of downloading and installing MacKeeper are a separate issue (search at AdwareMedic.com to see what the site's developer has to say about it).

Finally, changing to a different browser isn't going to help with adware - it targets every browser out there. It's not a Safari issue, it's an Internet-wide issue.
 
MacKeeper is definitely malware. There are countless pages that state so, and have instructions on how to remove it, as it not as easy as with other apps.

Stay far away from it.
 
marty1990 said:
I have Adblock installed on Safari. Times like these make me think I'd be better off switching back to Chrome.
Click to expand...

ApfelKuchen said:
Let me put in a word for AdwareMedic.com
Click to expand...

You beat me to it! I don't get pop-ups so I don't use such blockers, but I've read posts by people saying that they tried AdBlock and it didn't help, but AdwareMedic took care of the problem. That's not to say that AdBlock isn't effective, just saying that some have found AdwareMedic to be more effective.
 
MacKeeper - bloody menace

I'm operating Chrome broswer, May 2015. Mac Keeper windows somehow shove their way to the front, inviting disaster. I have just found an article that shows how to get into Chrome's settings and kill the responsible cookies :

http://www.macworld.com/article/2861868/how-to-remove-mackeeper-part-ii-the-pop-up-edition.html

Thanks to author Christopher Breen.

When I installed malware this a few years ago, this machine (MacBook Pro, 2011 model) eventually degraded to the point that I had to reformat the hard drive. There was simply no other way to decontaminate the machine.

How this company continues it's operations is beyond me.

I'm including the full instructions as text, in case the link expires before you read this :

"In Chrome, open its preferences and in the Settings window click the Show advanced settings link. In the Privacy area click the Content Settings button and in the window that appears click the All Cookies and Site Data button. Use the search field in the resulting window to look for mackeeper. Click Remove All.

My hope is that clearing these cookies will take care of the problem. If it doesn’t, it’s time to employ stronger measures. The first would be to download and run The Safe Mac’s AdwareMedic (donation requested). It will scan your Mac, seeking out adware that may be causing your problem."

Grant.
 
Last edited:
applelover4u said:
Personally, I love mac keeper and haven't had any problems so far
Click to expand...
While you may not have had problems yet, enough people have to advise against it. At best, it's completely unnecessary. You don't need "cleaner" or "maintenance" apps to keep your Mac running well, and some of these apps can do more harm than good. Most only remove files/folders or unused languages or architectures, which does nothing more than free up some drive space, with the risk of deleting something important in the process.
​
These apps will not make your Mac run faster or more efficiently, since having stuff stored on a drive does not impact performance, unless you're running out of drive space. In fact, deleting some caches can hurt performance, rather than help it, since more system resources are used and performance suffers while each cache is being rebuilt.
​
Many of these tasks should only be done selectively to troubleshoot specific problems, not en masse as routine maintenance. OS X does a good job of taking care of itself, without the need for 3rd party software. Among other things, it has its own maintenance scripts that run silently in the background on a daily, weekly and monthly basis, without user intervention.
 
An older posting above said:
GGJstudios said:
It's a useless app that is notorious for obnoxious and pervasive advertising. Clear your browser cache and cookies and use an ad blocker to block anything from zeobit.com.
Click to expand...

Just wondering...

Is there any way I can block the Mac from communicating with "zeobit.com" at all?
Completely?

Need some newbie-level guidance here, never tried this sort of thing before.
Can anyone point the way?
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Fishrrman said:
An older posting above said:
GGJstudios said:
It's a useless app that is notorious for obnoxious and pervasive advertising. Clear your browser cache and cookies and use an ad blocker to block anything from zeobit.com.
Click to expand...

Just wondering...

Is there any way I can block the Mac from communicating with "zeobit.com" at all?
Completely?

Need some newbie-level guidance here, never tried this sort of thing before.
Can anyone point the way?
Click to expand...
This is an older article, but I believe it still applies: Block Access to Websites on a Mac by Modifying /etc/hosts

Edit: Just tried it and it still works.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
As pointed out, this particular "program's" maker uses tactics to get people to wittingly and unwittingly install the application.

Just an opinion here - I would NEVER ever install or buy from anyone a program that resorts to that type of marketing distribution. I don't even care if it is the best program of its kind ... behavior like that should never be rewarded.

Btw, all the things this program claims to do can be found elsewhere including OSX itself.
 
TinHead88 said:
Ha ha we have a comedian onboard :)
Click to expand...

i was serious lol

GGJstudios said:
While you may not have had problems yet, enough people have to advise against it. At best, it's completely unnecessary. You don't need "cleaner" or "maintenance" apps to keep your Mac running well, and some of these apps can do more harm than good. Most only remove files/folders or unused languages or architectures, which does nothing more than free up some drive space, with the risk of deleting something important in the process.
​
These apps will not make your Mac run faster or more efficiently, since having stuff stored on a drive does not impact performance, unless you're running out of drive space. In fact, deleting some caches can hurt performance, rather than help it, since more system resources are used and performance suffers while each cache is being rebuilt.
​
Many of these tasks should only be done selectively to troubleshoot specific problems, not en masse as routine maintenance. OS X does a good job of taking care of itself, without the need for 3rd party software. Among other things, it has its own maintenance scripts that run silently in the background on a daily, weekly and monthly basis, without user intervention.
Click to expand...


yea i dont know. Everytime i run , mac keeper my mac runs heck of alot better and is not sluggish. No problems yet. Maybe the old mac keeper was the way but the new 3.0 is awesome
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom
Back