MacKeeper Editor's Review

Keep your Mac running at peak performance with this must have all in one utility.

If there's one thing I know, its that actually using your computer causes it to be cluttered with junk that can really bog down its performance. Junk files, duplicate files, internet cache and expanding log files can really cause problems over time. Unfortunately, all of this garbage is usually flung all over your Mac, making it very difficult to get rid of.  This is where MacKeeper comes in. It’s a really great all in one utility that not only cleans your Mac, but makes certain that it runs as well as it can, all the time.

MacKeeper is an essential Mac utility that provides an easy way to manage routine tasks and keep your Mac secured, clean and running fast.  It’s a bundled utility, meaning that it has modules that clean, secure, optimize and control your data; and it does it all in one, single utility.

Identity fraud is one of the worst crimes in the world.  When someone steals your identity, its hard to buy things or to keep your credit clean (so you can buy something later, like a car, house, or other big purchase.  With MacKeeper, real time, safe browsing allows you to surf the internet and make online purchases without worrying about malicious websites. They're blocked automatically.  The app also provides built in anti-virus protection.  This protection also extends to VM emulators running Windows through Parallels or VMWare.  You're Mac is kept safe regardless of what OS you happen to be using on it, which is pretty cool.

Further security protection is provided by MacKeeper's Anti-Theft module. If your Mac is ever stolen, Anti-Theft can track its geographical location based on Wi-Fi and IP address; and then report its location back to you.  It can also then use the iSight camera to take a picture of the thief. This is some of the most thorough computer security available for your Mac.

MacKeeper's data control features also provide you with protection features to help keep your information private.  If you like, you can use its Data Encryptor module to hide your files using a password so that the data can't be found using either Finder OR Terminal. Its going to require some major hacking to get past that level of security, without the password, that is.

For data that gets accidentally deleted, you can use MacKeeper's File Recovery module to scan your hard drive for deleted files that can sill be recovered (provided the disc space they were using hasn't been overwritten with other data, that is). For when you need to truly erase data and make certain that it can't be recovered, MacKeeper's File Shredder can make certain that the files and folders you delete can't be recovered. The one thing that you need to be aware of here is that shredding files with a military style wipe can take a lot of time. Be ready to commit to that; but if you need the files securely wiped, MacKeeper can do a really great job of insuring that they are truly erased.

MacKeeper can also help you optimize your Mac.  Update Tracker analyzes all of the apps you have installed on your Mac and then checks to see if an updated version is available.  If found, MacKeeper can download and install the new version for you.  In order to help you keep your Mac working at peak performance, MacKeeper can analyze which apps run as login items and then allow you to control which apps do and do not start up with the system when it boots.

However, I think the best part of MacKeeper is its Geek on Demand Service and its new, Human Assistance.  With Geek on Demand, you get expert technical assistance and answers to your computing questions within 48 hours.  Human Assistance gives you instant access to a live tech.  I wish I had more information on it, but all that is currently available is a teaser on their current website.  There should be more information available as soon as their new site hits the 'net.

App Pro’s: Affordable, all in one utility, provides a quick and easy way to get your Mac back to peak performance

App Con’s: Cleaning can take some time, depending on how dirty your Mac is, apps/ modules for each utility type may need to be separately installed

Conclusion: MacKeeper really sets the bar for Mac cleaning and all in one utilities. It pretty much handles everything that you'd need an all in one utility to handle and it does it fairly well.  The one thing that is both good and bad about the app is that the only module(s) that come activated are the cleaning apps, and then only the basic ones. If you want to use some of the other utilities – Internet Security or Backup – for example, , you're going to have to install the utility.  I guess this is a good thing, as you may already have an internet security product installed, and installing another by default with MacKeeper may really make a mess of your Mac.

Initially, I had almost 7.0GB of junk files on my Mac.  While this gave me 7.0GB more space, the deletion of all of the cache files slowed some browsing functions down, as Safari and Chrome had to redownload some things again to speed the browsing experience back up.  Its give and take with some of this stuff, and cache files, while potentially space hogs can really make your computer run faster.