MacKeeper threatens 14-year-old YouTube video maker with harassment suit

Posted:
in Mac Software
Infamous software developer MacKeeper has demanded that four videos critical of its maligned tune-up utility suite be removed from the internet, threatening the teenager behind the videos with $60,000 in court costs and legal fees.




Luqman Wadood, the creator of the video series, made a set of five videos, which he calls the "MacKeeper Sucks" and "MacKeeper is a scam" series. Since MacKeeper owner Kromtech's legal threat, four videos in the set have been made private, with one video, called "Confronting MacKeeper" remaining viewable.

Wadood published a video on July 4, addressing the situation, admitting to having prank called MacKeeper in the past. Regardless, he claims that he has gone through the videos that Kromtech has taken issue to "frame by frame" and has decided that "there was nothing that was illegal" in any of the videos.

The four videos that Kromtech name in the legal complaint are "MacKeeper (busted)" part one and two, "Trolling MacKeeper (again)", and "Trolling MacKeeper (once again)." The videos span a time period from December 4, 2015 through April 27, 2016. The "Confronting MacKeeper" video was published on December 4, 2015, the same as the first video from Wadood.

As one video critical of the company is still publicly available, it is unclear if Wadood's shifting the four accused videos to private will forestall the suit. Wadood signaled he is willing to head to Norwegian court to settle the matter.

In August 2015, ZeoBIT, creators of MacKeeper, agreed to a settlement in 2015 to put $2 million in a compensation fund to cover attorney fees, refunds and administrative costs to U.S class action claimants who purchased MacKeeper prior to July 8, 2015.

The complaint alleged that "ZeoBIT intentionally designed MacKeeper to invariably and ominously report that a user's Mac needs repair, and is at-risk due to harmful (but fabricated) errors, privacy threats, and other computer problems, regardless of the computer's actual condition." Court documents state that 513,330 people are registered owners of the software in the U.S.

New parent firm Kromtech has supposedly abandoned the aggressive advertisement that was noted in the suit, and has claimed to have made efforts to cut down on ads from affiliates claiming that a computer displaying the ad is infected by some form of malware. Current MacKeeper owners Kromtech Alliance were not named in the suit. No fault was admitted in the settlement.

Additionally, in December 2015, the MacKeeper user database was breached, with 13 million records stolen that contained the user base's names, email addresses, phone numbers, poorly-hashed passwords, and details on computer hardware. The customer databases have since been secured by Kromtech.

Neither Wadood nor Kromtech have responded to AppleInsider's queries on the lawsuit.
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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 47
    MacProMacPro Posts: 19,718member
    YouTube and Apple should defend Luqman Wadood for telling the truth!
    bdkennedy1002irelandtrashman69mobiusDeelronluwadorobertwalterhmm
  • Reply 2 of 47
    apple ][apple ][ Posts: 9,233member
    Who the hell in their right mind would ever install this crap?

    I don't trust these people or the software at all, and I certainly don't like their vicious, intrusive, annoying and should be outlawed advertising practices.

    This is the software that advertises with intrusive pop ups on many sites. I've had to force quit Safari before, to get rid of those fucking popups.  

    Hell, there should be a software to keep Mac users safe from this damn software!
    calijay-tjbishop1039robertwalter
  • Reply 3 of 47
    MacKeeper, might want to read up on the "Streisand Effect". Good job of bringing those concerns back into the public view.
    larryamobiusDeelronrobertwalter
  • Reply 4 of 47
    A Virus is a Virus is a Virus. A door opener for others.

    A virus has been Detect on your Computer Do you want to remove it. (DOWNLOAD) >:)
    robertwalterbrakken
  • Reply 5 of 47
    bill42bill42 Posts: 131member
    apple ][ said:
    Who the hell in their right mind would ever install this crap?

    I don't trust these people or the software at all, and I certainly don't like their vicious, intrusive, annoying and should be outlawed advertising practices.

    This is the software that advertises with intrusive pop ups on many sites. I've had to force quit Safari before, to get rid of those fucking popups.  

    Hell, there should be a software to keep Mac users safe from this damn software!
    You left out a word- software UPDATE.  I agree with you- Apple should at least make it known to users that Mackeeper is basically malware. My poor mother in-law gets tricked into installing it about once a year.
    irelandjay-tDeelronrobertwalter
  • Reply 6 of 47
    williamhwilliamh Posts: 1,032member
    This horrible software should be blacklisted by GateKeeper.  It would be nice if the ACLU would defend the kid.  I'm totally with him in spirit but he needs to be careful as far as the law goes.  If he's making claims that are not substantiated or that he can't prove, he could be in a little bit of hurt.  (Only a little bit).

    He can only be in a wee bit of hurt because there is not any way for the developers of the MacKeeper crapware to collect money from a 14-year-old.  I know from my own experience about 30 years ago as a plaintiff (and also a minor at the time) that the parents can't be held responsible and a kid has no assets to pay any judgment. What will they do, take his cell phone and backpack?  (Nope) The moron developers will be out their court expenses.
    edited July 2016 trashman69jay-tDeelron
  • Reply 7 of 47
    Rayz2016Rayz2016 Posts: 6,957member
    How are these scam artists still in business?
    irelandcalijay-t
  • Reply 8 of 47
    appexappex Posts: 687member
    A fine of 1 billion to the malware makers will fix it.
    cali
  • Reply 9 of 47
    Sorry MacKeeper, read up on the first amendment.
  • Reply 10 of 47
    Mac Keeper can be pretty aggressive in their partnerships. I recently installed the newest version of MplayerX (which looked good on it's website, and the old versions had been great.) Turned out that the new one had a new installer that among other things installed Mac Keeper. (Which is kinda impressive because normally I'm good about checking what I click on in an installer so I don't have to do clean up.
  • Reply 11 of 47
    irelandireland Posts: 17,798member
    A Virus is a Virus is a Virus. A door opener for others.

    A virus has been Detect on your Computer Do you want to remove it. (DOWNLOAD) >:)
    Which employee of this shit-hole company are you? I find it difficult to believe you just happened to register here to post this. Either that or I missed your sarcasm.
  • Reply 12 of 47
    bonobobbonobob Posts: 382member
    bdkennedy said:
    Sorry MacKeeper, read up on the first amendment.
    How does the first amendment of the US Constitution apply to Norwegian law?
    stevehronn
  • Reply 13 of 47
    irelandireland Posts: 17,798member

    Rayz2016 said:
    How are these scam artists still in business?
    Can't believe Apple haven't gone after these scum ages ago. 500,000 Mac users in the US alone have this garbage installed???!!!!! I don't believe that number but the fact that it's raised in a court is scary. Lots of gullible people out there when it comes to computers. I know of two separate people who installed it "just to get rid of it". I know, smh.
    edited July 2016 cali
  • Reply 14 of 47
    irelandireland Posts: 17,798member

    williamh said:

    He can only be in a wee bit of hurt because there is not any way for the developers of the MacKeeper crapware to collect money from a 14-year-old.  I know from my own experience about 30 years ago as a plaintiff (and also a minor at the time) that the parents can't be held responsible and a kid has no assets to pay any judgment. What will they do, take his cell phone and backpack?  (Nope) The moron developers will be out their court expenses.
    It's clear they have money. The idea isn't to take the 14 yo money, but to put fear into anyone who criticises this heap of shit company. That's their goal. It's why all journalists are afraid to go after them—they're like wealthy scientologists. Behind the curtain is most certainly organised crime.
    edited July 2016 caliDeelron
  • Reply 15 of 47
    irelandireland Posts: 17,798member

    gadgetdon said:
    MacKeeper, might want to read up on the "Streisand Effect". Good job of bringing those concerns back into the public view.
    It works in their favour in this regard. Do you want to install "Garbage App". Yeah, I've heard about them, sounds legit.
  • Reply 16 of 47
    tallest skiltallest skil Posts: 43,388member
    bonobob said:
    How does the first amendment of the US Constitution apply to Norwegian law?
    When YouTube is under US jurisdiction.
  • Reply 17 of 47
    williamhwilliamh Posts: 1,032member
    ireland said:

    williamh said:

    He can only be in a wee bit of hurt because there is not any way for the developers of the MacKeeper crapware to collect money from a 14-year-old.  I know from my own experience about 30 years ago as a plaintiff (and also a minor at the time) that the parents can't be held responsible and a kid has no assets to pay any judgment. What will they do, take his cell phone and backpack?  (Nope) The moron developers will be out their court expenses.
    It's clear they have money. The idea isn't to take the 14 yo money, but to put fear into anyone who criticises this heap of shit company. That's their goal. It's why all journalists are afraid to go after them—they're like wealthy scientologists. Behind the curtain is most certainly organised crime.
    I think you are right about the motives of these loathsome parasites who produce MacKeeper.  But I'm not sure their strategy is well thought out.  How do you put fear into others by suing someone from whom they cannot hope to collect?   The kid won't be held responsible, and pushing around kids isn't they very best PR anyway.  If it is widely publicized that the scum producing the horrible software are suing a child, it would certainly not help their reputation.  

    If it is organized crime (and that seems like a reasonable theory) I would think they'd find their best interest to be to keep flying low and avoid unnecessary attention.  They might not want a judges decision on whether their business practices constitute FRAUD.
  • Reply 18 of 47
    bonobobbonobob Posts: 382member
    bonobob said:
    How does the first amendment of the US Constitution apply to Norwegian law?
    When YouTube is under US jurisdiction.
    But the kid is in Norway, and MacKeeper is threatening to sue him in Norwegian court.  Explain how Norwegian judges apply the US Constitution in their rulings.
    Deelronstevehronn
  • Reply 19 of 47
    mnbob1mnbob1 Posts: 269member
    YouTube and Apple should defend Luqman Wadood for telling the truth!
    I missed your /s mark heres my two cents on your comment:

    If YouTube jumped into defending every lawsuit defending, or prosecuting for that matter, concerning videos posted to their website they would have to create a huge non-profit department strictly for that purpose. This article is pure click bait because it involves a teenager.

    Apple doesn't control third party software that makes false claims via advertising. "There's a sucker born every minute." Customers who purchase software other than mainstream without doing research based solely on the scare tactics provided by the bogus software. Again Apple would spend all their time in defense and prosecution cases involving software in one way or another.


    luwadoronn
  • Reply 20 of 47
    tallest skiltallest skil Posts: 43,388member
    bonobob said:
    But the kid is in Norway, and MacKeeper is threatening to sue him in Norwegian court.
    So they could, at best, block the content from view in Norway. 
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