How to Uninstall MacKeeper

Written by Jack Lloyd

Last Updated: May 25, 2021 Tested

This wikiHow teaches you how to uninstall the MacKeeper program, as well as how to remove its remaining files from your computer and Safari browser.

Part 1

Part 1 of 4:
Removing MacKeeper from the Menu Bar

1
Open the Finder. It's a blue face icon in your dock, which is the row of apps typically found at the bottom of the screen.
2
Click Applications. This option is in the sidebar on the left side of the Finder window.
3
Open MacKeeper. It's a white and blue robot icon in the Applications folder.
4
Click MacKeeper. It's the left-most option in the menu bar at the top of your Mac's screen. Doing so will invoke a drop-down menu.
5
Click Preferences. This option should be toward the bottom of the drop-down menu.
6
Click the General tab. It's near the top of the Preferences window.
7
Uncheck the "Show MacKeeper icon in menu bar" box. This box is at the bottom of the General page. The MacKeeper icon will no longer display in your Mac's menu bar.
8
Close the Preferences window. To do so, click the red circle in the top-left corner of the window.

Part 2

Part 2 of 4:
Uninstalling MacKeeper

1
Click MacKeeper. It's in the top-left corner of your Mac's screen.
2
Click Quit. Doing so will quit MacKeeper.
3
Click and drag the MacKeeper icon over to the Trash. The Trash app is on the far-right side of your Mac's dock.
- The MacKeeper icon is in the same place (the Applications folder) as when you first opened it.
4
Drop MacKeeper in the trash. Simply removing your finger from the mouse will accomplish this. You should see a pop-up window from MacKeeper appear.
- You may have to enter your administrator account password and click OK before the pop-up window appears.
5
Click Uninstall MacKeeper. It's in the top-right corner of the pop-up window.^{[1]
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6
Wait for MacKeeper to finish uninstalling. Once it does, the base program will be completely gone from your Mac; unfortunately, lingering MacKeeper files can still impact your Mac use, so you'll need to remove those next.

Part 3

Part 3 of 4:
Deleting Residual Files

1
Re-open the Finder if you closed it.
2
Click the Go menu item. It's in the menu bar at the top of the screen.
3
Click Go to Folder. This option is at the bottom of the Go drop-down menu. Clicking it will invoke a text field.
4
Type in ~/Library/Application Support/, then click Go. This command will take you to the Application Support folder, which is where the residual MacKeeper folder is stored.
5
Locate the "MacKeeper Helper" folder. It's somewhere in the Application Support folder.
- If you don't see this folder in the Application Support folder, the process of uninstalling MacKeeper also deleted the folder.
6
Use two fingers to click the "MacKeeper Helper" folder. Doing so will prompt a drop-down menu.
- You can also hold down ⌘ Command and click the folder to prompt this menu.
7
Click Move to Trash. This option is at the bottom of the drop-down menu.
8
Click OK when prompted. Doing so will remove this folder from the Application Support folder.
9
Look for any remaining MacKeeper files. While the uninstall process typically removes most MacKeeper files, check the following locations for the pertaining files by using the Go to Folder function you used earlier:
- ~/Library/Caches/ - Delete the "com.mackeeper.MacKeeper" and/or "com.mackeeper.MacKeeper.Helper" file(s) if either of them are here.
- ~/Library/LaunchAgents/ - Delete the "com.mackeeper.MacKeeper.Helper.plist" file if it's here.
- ~/Library/LaunchDaemons/ - Delete the "com.mackeeper.MacKeeper.plugin.AntiTheft.daemon.plist" file if it's here.
10
Use two fingers to click the Trash. A pop-up menu will appear.
11
Click Empty Trash. It's an option in the pop-up menu.
12
Click Empty Trash when prompted. This will rid your Mac of all files stored in the Trash, including the MacKeeper folder(s).

Part 4

Part 4 of 4:
Removing MacKeeper from Safari

1
Open Safari if it isn't already open. This will allow you to change your Safari settings from the menu bar.
- If Safari is open but overflowing with ads, you can force-quit it by pressing ⌘ Command+⌥ Option+Esc, clicking Safari in the pop-up menu, and clicking Force Quit. You'll then hold down ⇧ Shift while opening Safari to prevent the ads from appearing on your current tab.
2
Click Safari. This menu item is in the top-left corner of the screen.
3
Click Preferences. It's toward the top of the drop-down menu.
4
Click the Extensions tab. This option is near the top-right side of the Preferences window.
- If you see a message that says "Extensions can be enabled in the Develop menu" here, click the Advanced tab to the right and then click the "Show Develop menu in menu bar" box. This will force your extensions to display in the Extensions tab.
5
Remove any extensions you didn't personally install. One of MacKeeper's more nefarious alterations to your system comes in the form of extensions it adds without your permission. To remove an extension, select it by clicking it, then click Remove.
6
Click the Privacy tab. It's to the left of the Extensions tab you're currently on.
7
Click the search bar and type in mac. The search bar is in the upper-right side of the Privacy tab; typing "mac" in here will scan for any cookies that start with "mac", which will most likely comprise of MacKeeper cookies.
8
Click Remove All. It's in the bottom-left side of the Privacy tab. Doing so will remove any MacKeeper temporary browsing files from your Safari browser, thereby preventing MacKeeper ads from disrupting your browsing experience.
9
Restart your Mac. To do so, click the Apple menu in the top-left corner of the screen and then click Restart.... When your computer restarts, you shouldn't see any MacKeeper announcements or advertising on your Mac's desktop or within the Safari browser.

Warnings

Simply uninstalling MacKeeper will likely not be enough to truly remove it from your Mac.

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Avoid downloading MacKeeper or any rogue Mac antivirus.

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References

↑ http://www.macworld.com/article/2861435/software-utilities/how-to-uninstall-mackeeper-from-your-mac.html

About This Article

JL

Written by:

Tech Specialist

This article was written by Jack Lloyd. Jack Lloyd is a Technology Writer and Editor for wikiHow. He has over two years of experience writing and editing technology-related articles. He is technology enthusiast and an English teacher. This article has been viewed 31,292 times.

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Co-authors: 6

Updated: May 25, 2021

Views: 31,292

Categories: Software

Article SummaryX

1. Remove MacKeeper from the menu bar.
2. Close MacKeeper.
3. Drag the MacKeeper icon to the trash.
4. Confirm your administrator password.
5. Click Uninstall MacKeeper.
6. Delete residual files.

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