How Safe Is Mackeeper?

One of the most searched for phrases that we see in our stats here at WeHateMalware.com is questions about the Mackeeper software utility.  “Is Mackeeper safe?” and “Is Mackeeper legit?” are very common search terms.  So we thought we would help out and provide an in-depth answer to those questions.

It seems that many people are interested in this software but aren’t sure if it will do what it says.  Also, there seems to be a lot of vocal opponents to Mackeeper out there on the internet for some reason.

I will start this article by saying that Mackeeper is a totally legitimate and useful program for people who need to clean out files, back up data, and even locate or protect their computer in the event of theft.

Industry Praise

It seems that most professional reviews offer high praise to Mackeeper.  In fact, most reviews from top authorities give it a great writeup.

MacWorld gave it a “gem” award as one of their favorite free or low-cost utility software programs.

Dave Hamilton, a well-known Mac industry veteran gave it a favorable review in this talk at Mac Expo.

It seems that someone writing for Buzzfeed was recently able to recover their stolen computer thanks to MacKeeper.

It was endorsed by Forbes in this article about maintaining your Mac.

So Why The Complaining?

So why all the trash-talking from internet strangers who like to make blog comments and forum posts?  It could have to do with the mentality that Macs can do no wrong, and don’t need such software.  There is also an epidemic of people who complain about software when they don’t fully understand what they are talking about.  I’ve been in this industry for a LONG time, and people love to kick and scream that a program is a scam if they actually….have to pay money for it (gasp!).  It’s no secret that you have to buy Mackeeper.  They are a business.

There’s a lot of useless noise out there about Mackeeper that seems to be drowning out the fact that this program might be very useful to some people.  I also see a lot of complaints from people about most utility software because they simply don’t know how to actually install or uninstall programs.  And since they are having a problem, it MUST be a scam.  Unfortunately these people tend to drown out those who buy the software, happily use it, and quietly go about their day.

Additionally, there is a similarly named trojan virus called “MacDefender” that has nothing to do with Mackeeper.  Unfortunately it seems that many people seem to get the two confused.

I’ll tell you right now that Mackeeper is a 100% legitimate program that can help with certain Mac issues.

It’s becoming evident that the days of complete Mac immunity from viruses and other typical “PC” problems are gone.  Macs have been under attack by hackers and cyber criminals thanks to the booming popularity of the Mac computers and OS.  Also, despite those who are brainwashed saying that Macs can do no wrong, Macs can and do suffer from typical computer problems such as piles of junk files, slowdowns, and adware.

Mackeeper is one of the few utilities on the market that promises to give people tools to deal with these problems.