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Comment by wil421 | Hacker News Reader

Not sure if anyone knowingly installs MacKeeper but I accidentally accepted the download for MacKeeper when I was trying to install a Camera app. Big mistake and I tried to stop the installation.

MacKeeper is a nasty piece of malware. I couldn't quit the program, it would immediately start back and putting it in the trash did nothing. Ended up having to boot into safe mode and remove.

Well as soon as I got it off my computer in Safe mode and restarted I get a prohibited sign. Mac will not boot. Ended up having to reinstall OS X. Thankfully you are able to reinstall and keep your files. Now I stay up to date on my backups!

I don't see why apple doesn't ban them. Obviously they are shady.

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I once saw a coworker accidentially installing it and it surely is a nasty piece of malware. The problem is that one can never be quite sure whether every piece of the software was removed, which is why we ended up just reinstalling OS X and avoid guessing.

Since then, a few of my friends, who aren't into tech, almost installed MacKeeper. They all had a long history of using Windows and felt that installing some Anti-Virus, Anti-Malware junk was the most natural thing. For normal users it's really hard to distinguish between legitimate applications/websites and shady stuff.

Their website[1] looks awesome, I don't own a Mac (Windows user) but if I were to buy one I would definitely consider buying and using it. It's good that this site[2] is the second result on Google for "mac keeper" though.

1. http://mackeeper.com

2. http://www.imore.com/avoid-mackeeper

Interestingly the toolkit shown is the Ikea toolkit "Fixa" - I wonder if there's not IP restrictions on their use of such an image.

Edit: I saw this quote on the Mackeeper website you linked (it is good design) "MacKeeper was noticed at Macworld by a journalist from Cult of Mac". So I chased that phrase and all I found was algorithmic page generators like this http://drgogek.com/is/is-mackeeper-really-a-scam-cult-of-mac....

Using a different tack CoM mention Mackeeper in a single page found from their search box, an affiliate promotion page ... using Google unearths more promotions, https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=site%3Acultofmac.com mackeeper.

So, it looks like their quoted reviews are from people they're paying to sell the product, that's a warning sign.

Didn't investigate further.

good find.

Do a search on google for "chrome" and you get any number of adverts for junkware installers before the actual application... this is true of any number of legitimate apps. Let alone if you are duped by an illegitimate app to begin with.

Surprisingly, it does - I just knew them for their shady ads and popups which clearly scream "don't install this!", but this website looks absolutely legitimate. Color me surprised.

http://mackeeper.com/uninstall_mackeeper

I don't trust borderline malware to uninstall itself.

http://www.imore.com/avoid-mackeeper

> What's more, "uninstalling" MacKeeper doesn't get rid of all of it — you'll find various traces of it in your Mac's system library folder, and they take a bit to get rid of (just search for anything with zeobit or MacKeeper in the name, and you'll turn up files).

I don't see why apple doesn't ban them.

Even in the Mac App Store, Apple permits scammy apps such as "Memory Clean" [1] that consistently ends up in top ranks/top grossing. For one, "RAM cleaning" does nothing helpful and theoretically can make your Mac less performant. Bonus: the app calls home to push the developer's other apps.

I'm surprised stuff like this prospers in plain sight with Apple's tacit approval. Snake oil for non-power users who don't know better.

[1] https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/memory-clean/id451444120?mt=...

Worse than that, that app claims to be "FEATURED BY APPLE AS AN INVALUABLE UTILITY 2014"

@lpsz can you support these statements? "For one, "RAM cleaning" does nothing helpful and theoretically can make your Mac less performant. Bonus: the app calls home to push the developer's other apps."

The GotoMeeting app did this as well, no matter how you tried to get rid of it, it would keep reinstalling itself into your applications folder. Nowadays all the sketchy tools I need for each client get installed in a VM.

Interesting, I wonder if that was an older version or perhaps even a modified version. The uninstall instructions[1] look pretty simple to me.

[1] http://mackeeper.com/uninstall_mackeeper

If it was only that easy! Those instructions never worked for me and some other users from at least 2014.[1] Its entirely possible they send different versions for bundled installs or it was modified. The app it was bundled with got promptly deleted and never opened.

[1]https://discussions.apple.com/thread/6502268

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