MacKeeper refund ads will run on Facebook as part of class-action lawsuit settlement

MAcWorld.com ^ | May 27, 2015 5:26 AM | Jeremy Kirk

[Swordmaker]

A sizable Internet advertising campaign is planned to alert people to a proposed class-action settlement over MacKeeper, a security program for Macs accused of deceptive practices.

MacKeeper’s developer, ZeoBit, was sued in May 2014 in U.S. District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania. Filed on behalf of Pennsylvania resident Holly Yencha, the class-action suit alleges MacKeeper was deceptively marketed and did not fully function as advertised.

Under a proposed settlement, ZeoBit—a company started in Ukraine but now based in California—will put $2 million into a fund to reimburse customers but admit no fault, which is customary in class-action settlements.

Once the settlement has preliminary approval from Judge Joy Flowers Conti, those who bought MacKeeper will be contacted by email. In case some of those email addresses are invalid, an Internet advertising campaign is planned as well as a website.

Rust Consulting, the company contracted to administer the settlement, plans to buy 16 million ad impressions through providers such as Xasis, an advertising platform, and Facebook.

Court documents show 513,330 people bought MacKeeper in the U.S. alone. At $39.95 per copy, ZeoBit would have made as much as $20.4 million in revenue.

If everyone who bought MacKeeper files a claim, the reimbursement amount will be small. About one-third of the settlement will go to the attorneys who filed the suit, with the remainder to claimants after other administrative fees are deducted.

A transcript of an April 16 hearing in the case shows some of the economics of class-action suits. Judge Conti pointed out that someone filing a claim “might be lucky to receive maybe $3” based on a $2 million settlement.

[a fool in paradise]

If everyone who bought MacKeeper files a claim, the reimbursement amount will be small. About one-third of the settlement will go to the attorneys who filed the suit, with the remainder to claimants after other administrative fees are deducted. A transcript of an April 16 hearing in the case shows some of the economics of class-action suits. Judge Conti pointed out that someone filing a claim “might be lucky to receive maybe $3” based on a $2 million settlement.

Class action lawsuits are a scam that overwhelmingly reward the lawyers and exploit the victims.

[Swordmaker]

If any of you got tricked into buying MacKeeper, here's a chance to get some of your money back. MacKeeper has agreed to refund money under a Class Action settlement, although admitting no guilt, for "deceptive advertising practices." Too bad it is not for ALL of their ill-gotten profits for foisting their malware on Mac users, but at least it's for 10% of the $20.4 million in sales they made in the USA. — PING!

AAARRRGGGHHHH! if you've installed MacKeeper
Class Action Suit Settlement Ping!

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[Swordmaker]

Class action lawsuits are a scam that overwhelmingly reward the lawyers and exploit the victims.

Sometimes they are a scam, sometimes they are the only way to go after crooked companies like the one behind MacKeeper. Too bad the lawyers always get 1/3 of the settlement. That's too much. . . but that's the way the game is played.

[MeshugeMikey]

I somehow managed allwowd a limited edition of mackeeper onto my machine...

I ran it once.

one early morning ...when I hadnt run it..it shut the mac down all by itself..

I know because i looked at the logs,,

I wonder if I should sue?

[Swordmaker]

I wonder if I should sue?

If you did not opt out of the class action prior to the settlement, you can't sue. You have to take the settlement amount. Sorry about that.

[MeshugeMikey]

I can’t see how these people stay in business

i regularly get popups for mackeeper that are the most intrusive I can imagine

Thanks!

[PghBaldy]

Yep. They are horrible.

[Jagdgewehr]

Indeed. Same here.

[Nifster]

The class action law suit against Kia for advertising that mistated actual mpg numbers has turned out to be very profitable for me

[NCC-1701]

So do I. Is MacKeeper any good at all? Are there any problems with it once downloaded?

[Biggirl]

Same here. That program is a pain of every part of the body.

[MeshugeMikey]

how it managed to launch itself...run...and then shut down my MAC is beyond me,but that’s what the log “told me” had happened.

[MeshugeMikey]

as to whether its any good..please see above..

I would never use it at this point.