MacKeeper is a program that bills itself as a utility to help you keep your Mac running smoothly. Originally, it was a good program. The publisher showed up at all the Mac-oriented trade shows, and the program was given high marks by the tech press for its usefulness and design.
Then it changed hands; the original publisher sold it off to another company, which had different plans. While they retain some of the functionality of the program, and have continued to add features (though these features aren’t really helpful), they’ve also made it an advertising tool, delivering intrusive popup ads to users’ web browsing. Instead of speeding up your Mac, it can actually slow it down.
If you have MacKeeper, you might be able to easily uninstall it, though sometimes it doesn’t want to go quietly. MacWorld.com refreshed an article this week (they edited it after its initial publication earlier this year) on how to remove it, and it’s worth looking at, if you want to remove MacKeeper. It’s also worth reading some of the comments in the article, to see what kinds of problems it has caused for users.
My recommendation is that you DO remove this program, if you have it. If you paid for it recently, you may be able to get a refund from the publisher.
The MacWorld article also mentions MalwareBytes Anti-Malware for Mac (free), which can be used to remove MacKeeper and other problem software. There aren’t many viruses for Mac, but they’re out there. I’ve trusted MalwareBytes to clean up Windows systems for years, and their Mac version is just as useful. Run it once a week, or whenever you think there’s a problem with malware or viruses on your computer, and it can help keep things cleaned up.
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