A closer look at MacKeeper

MacKeeper (v1.0.3.) is a comprehensive bundle of various system utilities that will help you keep your Mac secure from malware; find it if it gets stolen; backup, restore, shred or encrypt files; clean you computer from unnecessary clutter; help you keep your applications up-to-date, and more.

To use MacKeeper, you need to open up an account with ZeoBIT, the company that manufactures the software. Buying a license for it be managed through the account, and once you bought it, it will show up in it.

You won’t be needing a license number – simply download the software available on the company website, perform a very short installation and, once the software is run, connect to your account.

The welcome screen will look like this (click on the screenshots to enlarge them):

MacKeeper’s Security features include Antivirus and Anti-Theft, both of which you’ll have to install before using, but the process is fast.

The Antivirus presents the usual options: scanning and custom scanning, scheduler, quarantine, updating. You can also turn on the real-time protection feature.

The Anti-Theft feature allows you to notify ZeoBIT of the theft of your computer, and they will track its geographical position based on Wi-Fi and network details as soon as the thief connects it to the Internet, send you the information and snapshot of the thief.

All you have to do is to access your ZeoBIT account from another computer, press the “Computer was stolen” button and wait for the details which will include the MAC address; internal, external and router IP; subnet mask; name of the current WiFi SSID; the router’s hardware address; the ISP; a list of WiFi towers in range; the traceroute and the snapshot (if available). Armed with this information, you can contact the local police and find the thief.

Data Control features include the Data Encryptor, Undelete, Shredder, Backup And ZeoDisk (online storage feature that is currently unavailable). The names pretty much tell all the story.

Data Encryptor hides your files using a password so that the data cannot be found through Finder or Terminal:

You can choose AES-128 or AES-256 encryption to encrypt the content and you can choose to keep the encrypted file in plain sight or hide it.

Undelete scans your hard drive for deleted files that can be still recovered.

Shredder deletes files or folders without any chance to recover them – just toss the file or folder you want to delete in it and it’s gone.

Backup creates reserve copies of your files and folders on external storages: USB Flash drive, External HDD, FTP, and ZeoDisk. You can choose how many copies of the file will be backed up, the destination, and if the backup will be manual or automatic (scheduled).

For those who keep a tight ship on their machine, there are also cleaning features that include Fast Cleanup, Duplicates Finder, Files Finder, Disk Usage and Wise Uninstaller.

Fast Cleanup finds and removes all junk files on your hard drive with these cleaners:

Duplicates Finder detects file copies that take up space on your Mac’s hard drive. If groups identical files even if they were renamed.

Files Finder is, obviously, a file finder, and is a little more specific than Mac’s Finder. It even lets you make your own filters for searching.

Disk Usage visualizes the size of your files and folders and marks them with colors depending on the size.

Wise Uninstaller completely removes applications, widgets, preference panes and plugins and all the stuff that is usually left behind when you drag an application into the Trash. You just need to select the thing you want removed and the tool performs a complete clean up.

Of the Optimization features, the most helpful is the Update Tracker:

In one fell swoop, you can see which application should be updated, and proceed to update them one by one or all at once. Although, I suggest you just take note of which need updating and use the updating feature in the application itself – it’s bound to be more current.

Login Items enables you to control automatic startup of selected applications – but that option already exist on Macs.

Default Apps allows you to define which application will open each file type.

The Geek on Demand lets you send an e-mail describing your problem and schedule a talk with an expert about it.

You can make only one “demand” at a time, and it can concern technical issues, buying tips and advice, etc. Supposedly, your question we’ll be answered in 24 hours, and the expert can even configure your Mac using remote access.

MacKeeper offers a lot. Among those which I appreciated more than the rest are the Wise Uninstaller and the Update Tracker. Although, I imagine that the Anti-Theft and Geek on Demand feature are perfect when the need arises for such things.

This bundle of tools is easy to use even for beginners – explanations of features are clear and concise.