By: Matt | Last updated March 27, 2020 
Pros
- Useful features for both antivirus and internet security
- Intuitive controls and good user-design
- Has a thief protection feature, cleaning utility feature, and file encryption available
Cons
- Unreliable score on security tests
Review
MacKeeper is a known name mainly because of its immense advertising. Promising to be a software for real-time security and defence against malware, we reviewed the application to see its features and flaws.
In terms of security
The main purpose of purchasing Mackeeper is to secure the user from malware, virus, and hackers that may gather information from you while browsing the internet. To test its reliability, AV-Comparatives conducted a test on 2012 which showed results that the former was only able to detect 80 per cent of malware. In comparison to other applications, this is a disappointing score that makes the user vulnerable to threats while online.
Starting on a bad note, Mackeeper may already be a bad choice for some whose primary concern is protection from malware and viruses. However, the application excels with its other features. These include the following:
- Protection against thieves – Mackeepers allows you to constantly have eyes on your Mac. By creating a Kromtech account for the computer, you can ask for an instant report of its current location and an iSight snapshot in case a thief can steal it. Important information like IP address and location available hourly are also listed.
- File encryption – Mackeeper allows you to hide specific files within your laptop. You can choose to have specific files encrypted and hidden. These can only be opened using a password of your choice. There is also a file-recovery feature that retrieves files you have deleted before. You can also choose to use the file-shredder to permanently delete this data to prevent anyone from retrieving it. This can also be used for FTP servers, USB drives, and external hard drives.
- Cleaning utilities – To make your computer processes faster, Mackeeper also has a cleaning feature that removes applications and cached files. Unused languages and log files can also be selected to be deleted from your computer. By freeing up space in your computer, processes can be done faster and more files can be added. To do this, Mackeeper uses the Gutmann method which creates 35 patterns over the region that you want to erase. This makes it harder for others to be able to retrieve files that were once registered in the Mac.
- Good customer support – This is a helpful part that most antivirus software miss. Because most of the latter only have customer available for e-mail and through support tickets, customers may be disappointed to know that their inquiries can only be answered after a day or even a week. This inconvenience is avoided with Mackeeper’s 24/7 live chat support. Mackeeper’s respondents are most likely actual humans instead of robots as their responses to our inquiries were unique and filled with information. This is a notable feature that is not seen with its competitors.
- Clean interface – The user interface for Mackeeper is alike in many ways to Mac-specific applications. It uses a clean grey interface that lists out all of the necessary tools and parts. Upon opening the application, all of its tools can immediately be seen, each tool divided into Security, Data Control, Cleaning, Optimization, and Schedule on Demand. Each of its features has a description that explains its importance along with a guide visual.
Given that the primary reason for installing the software is to protect yourself from viruses, malware, and other factors on the internet, getting Mackeeper may be the last option for you. However, its additional features offer a big boost for your Mac. Given the lack of application that improves performance along with security measures targeted for Mac is quite lacking compared for Windows-tailored ones, the app may be a good complement application to another separate anti-virus application.
