[Swordmaker]

This MacKeeper program preys on the fears of people who have converted to Mac from the Windows environment and think they NEED something like MacKeeper to run various routines and utilities on their Mac to keep it "clean" and clear of sludge. First of all, Macs do not accumulate the sludge files that Windows installs seem to accumulate over time. . . nor do Mac hard drives need to be de-fragged or optimized like Windows computers required. . . nor is there a Registry to clean up after months of collecting scruff from adding and deleting files. Apple's system takes care of all of that in the idle time when the Mac is asleep. Mac converts to Windows have urges to run Anti-virus ware and other utilities they were used to running on their Windows machines. . . MacKeeper plays into that urge and offers them a way to do all those things in one package, all tied up in a bow. Unfortunately, it brings with it all of the system and processor sapping pain those things they loaded on their Windows machines because of necessity. . . but are TOTALLY unnecessary on an OS X Mac.

Save your money. The Mac does everything MacKeeper claims to do that are necessary without you lifting a finger. . . and there are some optional things it does you can do yourself for free.

[Captainpaintball]

And their tactics to get you to buy, and then keep, their service seem to be even worse than the actual product!

[Swordmaker]

The closest thing to MALWARE that you actual BUY, but really isn't malware — MacKeeper: What is it and why you should avoid it! — PING!

Apple Scareware MacKeeper Ping!

If you want on or off the Mac Ping List, Freepmail me.

[Fungi]

Hundreds of words for one purpose. Just say “do not use it, stay away.” How simple is that?

[Eva]

Every time that my computer is acting funny, I find an ad from Mac Keeper on a pop up screen when I go to close down my computer. Even the ads slow down the computer! I hate them.

[__rvx86]

The only things that Apple and MS have in common:

-System architecture: AMD64
-Magnetic storage as default secondary storage

For the second one, of course, defragmentation is always a recommended maintenance task.

[Ronin]

I’m glad I asked you about that thing several years ago. It’s nasty, alright.

Like the author, I especially dislike it’s ham-handed, scary popups, double close window sales tactics and they way they try to sleepwalk you into installing it by making it appear that you are closing the windows to navigate away from it. They haven’t got me yet, but they keep trying.

[dayglored]

Yep, MacKeeper is garbage. I've had to uninstall it from friends' machines.

BTW, minor typo: "Mac converts to Windows have urges" should have been "Mac converts from Windows have urges", right?

[W.]

"Please consider cleaning your Mac from junk."

Herro? [One swing, three strikes.]

:)

[rarestia]

Does it stick in your craw when you post these articles, Sword? You and I went around and around not too long ago about how Macs were just as susceptible to vulnerabilities as any other machine. This, I believe, is a good example of a socially engineered scheme that preys on the ignorance of the recent Mac convert, would you agree?

My only real intent here is to stand up against misinformation when it comes to Microsoft. You said, "First of all, Macs do not accumulate the sludge files that Windows installs seem to accumulate over time." Sludge files? I would ask you to clarify what you mean by "sludge files." Runtime application data? You mean Macs don't cache runtime data for common applications? How about temporary internet files? Do Macs not use cookies or cache for Internet browsing? I know I had to turn them off on my iPhone and iPad, so I'm sure they're available. Maybe by "sludge files" you mean the enormous catalog of drivers that Microsoft packages in their OS? You do understand that Microsoft operating systems are designed to be run on almost any PC platform and that those drivers exist to cater to the myriad configurations possible with PC hardware? Don't misunderstand me: if you want to pay the relatively high price for an Apple device, that's fine, you ARE getting a proprietarily-pegged piece of hardware that is specifically designed for the operating system. It's the difference between a sport-tuned Lambo and a Ford diesel truck: both get you where you want to go.

Next, you mentioned defragging and "optimization," and that makes me chuckle a bit. Yes, NTFS has its pitfalls. It can be kludgy and is not as "refined" as an extfs-based machine, but Apple (and Linux) folks have continued to pull out this old dead horse and continued to beat it while modern versions of Windows no longer use defragging, esp. if you have an SSD. And if you're using an SSD in your Mac, guess what? You're "trimming" that SSD the same way that Windows does. If that's what you mean by "optimization," so be it.

And fine, I'll concede on the whole registry bit, because the registry is a bit of relic that Microsoft needs to address. The thing with the registry, esp. in Windows 7 and 8, is that it's more of a repository than an active hive anymore. Used to be that the hive had to be loaded into memory and would get bloated. Now they use some kernel-mode addressing tools to allow the registry to remain stateful while the kernel only plucks out the data needed. This saves a lot of processing cycles and is one of the main reasons why Win7 and 8 have been credited as being faster than their predecessors.

Bottom line, I guess all I ask, sword, is that when you post your Mac stuff, please show at least a sliver of respect for the other operating systems out there. You won't find a single post of mine, a Microsoft engineer, that compares Apple products to Windows negatively. I own an iPhone and an iPad and have one of the older HD Cinema monitors Apple used to make. Mac people are like streetcorner preachers: they try everything in their power to gain converts. They proselytize their product and laud its efficiency and effectiveness as a computing platform, but in the end, what I, as an MCP, find the most amusing about it all: Apple devices, at least in most corporate computing environments, become fancy terminal emulators running Windows on Parallels for corporate business applications.

Each platform has its place. I truly believe that. I'm not trying to convert anyone. I'm just asking that you cool it with the "Microsoft is evil" tripe.

[left that other site]

Thank you SO much for this article. I use both a Mac Mini and a PC, and those horrible MacKeeper ads pop up every time I go to gather graphics for my postings here on FR.
They clog up my computer, and won’t let me close out their windows without several steps.

Why on earth would ANYBODY purchase something from such an intrusive and assaultive marketing strategy?

Grrrrrr.

I HATE mackeeper. It is EEEEVILLLLL>>>>>>>>>>

[SZonian]

Not interested in a Apple vs. Windows flame war, however...

None are immune from these types of tactics...none.

I’ve learned to go to computer forums to read up on these types of things and I’ve learned quite a bit here on FR as well...

I just can’t understand why folks keep falling for this type of crap on the internet. One would think that after all these years of this type of crap running amok on the internet and the innumerable warnings and stories about this that folks would wise up.

[Menehune56]

I’ve never installed MacKeeper but I can always tell when I’ve picked up a MacKeeper cookie. When I go to close Safari there’s a sinister little MacKeeper window taunting me underneath everything.

So I look for Zeobit and Mackeeper in my cookie folder and trash them and it’s all good for a few weeks. I’ve set privacy to allow cookies from sites I visit to avoid functionality issues but I wish there was a way to reject just those specific cookies since I don’t know where they’re coming from. Any Mac Geniuses on this thread?

[johngrace]

Thanks. I just isolated Mackeeper. My machine is faster. Thanks again.