Can anyone tell me if its safe to use MacKeeper to clean up my inherited Mac, the robot keeps popping up telling me there is lots of junk that needs cleaning out and its probably right, but after being hacked once I'm a bit wary of using things that I shouldn't. I understand there will be a payment for a one off clean which I don't mind paying providing its safe to use.
MacKeeper
- Thread starter Deakin
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Whatever you do, DO NOT use MacKeeper! That software will cause much more harm than good. If you (god forbid!) have it installed, get rid of it IMMEDIATELY!
There are a number of safe, effective ways of cleaning "junk" off your Mac. Part of that effort requires work to be done by you, and a continued effort on your part. The first thing is to get rid of stuff you absolutely no longer need. One source of this are updates to software. Whenever I obtain a new update, I remove not the previous update, but the one prior to that. Also, if you have any documents (Word docs, Excel spreadsheets, etc. (or the equivalent ones with other suites/programs)), get rid of them. Then, of course, get rid of any duplicate files/folders you have.
One excellent free product you can use is Onyx. This venerable gem has some useful disk cleanup functions that will help. However, you need to obtain the correct version, as Onyx is OS-dependent.
Another potential source of clutter are EMails. I use Outlook for my EMail needs, and whenever I delete an EMail, it actually does not get removed. So as part of my weekly disk cleanup/maintenance/repair, and backup processing, I first run a Microsoft-supplied "method of having those "deleted" EMails removed permanently. The same could be true for other EMail programs, but I do not know much about them. If you let us know which EMail program you use, then maybe someone could help you with that.
Finally, you need to use a disk cleanup/maintenance/repair program (beyond Onyx). Disk Utility is "OK" for that, although to use it, it needs to be executed externally to your Mac. Two excellent commercial programs are TechTool Pro (I have that one), and Disk Warrior. Either of these do a super job regarding disk cleanup/maintenance/repairs.
There are a number of safe, effective ways of cleaning "junk" off your Mac. Part of that effort requires work to be done by you, and a continued effort on your part. The first thing is to get rid of stuff you absolutely no longer need. One source of this are updates to software. Whenever I obtain a new update, I remove not the previous update, but the one prior to that. Also, if you have any documents (Word docs, Excel spreadsheets, etc. (or the equivalent ones with other suites/programs)), get rid of them. Then, of course, get rid of any duplicate files/folders you have.
One excellent free product you can use is Onyx. This venerable gem has some useful disk cleanup functions that will help. However, you need to obtain the correct version, as Onyx is OS-dependent.
Another potential source of clutter are EMails. I use Outlook for my EMail needs, and whenever I delete an EMail, it actually does not get removed. So as part of my weekly disk cleanup/maintenance/repair, and backup processing, I first run a Microsoft-supplied "method of having those "deleted" EMails removed permanently. The same could be true for other EMail programs, but I do not know much about them. If you let us know which EMail program you use, then maybe someone could help you with that.
Finally, you need to use a disk cleanup/maintenance/repair program (beyond Onyx). Disk Utility is "OK" for that, although to use it, it needs to be executed externally to your Mac. Two excellent commercial programs are TechTool Pro (I have that one), and Disk Warrior. Either of these do a super job regarding disk cleanup/maintenance/repairs.
Spawn_Dooley
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This is a very useful read:
Do not install MacKeeper
Possible also this:
It is heavily promoted and has been the subject of a class-action lawsuit for false advertising.
Do not install MacKeeper
Possible also this:
It is heavily promoted and has been the subject of a class-action lawsuit for false advertising.
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I once downloaded MacKeeper but ditched it by deleting the app. Then I started getting kernel panics on my Mac Pro - sometimes up to six or seven in a single day. Never a day without at least one. Invariably I sent the gobbledygook diagnostics to Apple, as invited, but never received any sort of reply or advice. Just short of going crazy I looked at the diagnostics to see if there was anything I could understand. I saw this in the middle of hexadecimal register content data : "BSD process name corresponding to current thread : esets_proxy". This belongs to MacKeeper. I found where it was hiding and removed it and never had another kernel panic. This product will give you more grief than it will ever save. Avoid it like the plague.