I paid for a version of MacKeeper which may be a mistake. Their tech wants me to allow them to access my computer as in have access to my desktop files, etc. They say it is to fully license and engage the program . I have not done it as of yet.
Is this typical when activating? I'm not comfortable letting them have control of my computer
There are exactly zero reasons a tech, or anyone else for that matter, would need remote access to your computer to "fully license and engage a program."
That phrasing alone is more than enough to elicit a high degree of skepticism of the intention and/or competence of the "tech" who is looking to access your computer.
For just a brief (hypothetical) moment; giving the "tech" the benefit of the doubt and assuming his motives are genuine, how good can this software be that it needs special handling to activate?
Bottom line...
You don't need this software, avoid it.
MacKeeper IS Malware. Run MalwareBytes on your Mac and it will remove MacKeeper. Here's what you need to do:
secure, clean, protect and optimize your computer (Wikipedia), and it didn't because it was a scam. I wouldn't have any problem getting my money back any way I could. That being said, you might not have much luck with the credit card companies/banks because it might very well be a legitimate transaction, despite not being a legitimate product.
There is never - as in absolutely never ever until the sun boils and the earth burns - why an unsolicited request to access your computer from someone you don't know and haven't voluntarily asked (other than clearly genuine police and customs officials) should be anything except a scam.
No legitimate software needs it. No legitimate system you are likely to use (Mac, Windows, Linux, BSD, or anything else) ever needs or expects it. No legitimate software company (Apple, Microsoft, Google, Kaspersky, Adobe, or any other OS or software creator) ever asks or requests it. No legitimate ISP, firewall, security, networking, or landline/mobile/cable telecoms company ever phones or emails to ask for it. Nobody legitimate will ever telephone you "out of the blue" to advise that your computer has a problem or needs urgent attention due to a computer issue. No legitimate antivirus or anti-malware needs it.
The sun will die, Donald Trump will be married to Vladimir Putin, and protons will evaporate (estimated 10^34 ish years) before a request like the kind you describe is genuine and anything more than "can we persuade someone to let us access their data and install malware".
It doesn't matter what pretext or explanation they give, or how urgent it sounds - and the more jargon and urgency, the more likely that you're being called by a scammer. (Denying time to think by making it sound extremely important is a classic scammer trick)
If you want more information, it's a variant on this Microsoft service phone call scam, or this suspicious activity phone call scam, or this FTC page on tech support scams.
I don't know how to say it more directly :) But that's the bottom line.
Well done on pausing and not "diving in".
"No legitimate software company (Apple, Microsoft, Google, Kaspersky, Adobe, or any other OS or software creator) ever asks or requests it." -- Of course they never ask for it. They just plain do it: "To improve the quality of the services they offer to you", without asking or you knowing it:)
It may not even be MacKeeper. It could be scammers pretending to be MacKeeper, with the same end-goal as the Microsoft tech support scam: to gain control of your computer.
Why on earth would scammers pretend to be a known-awful product? To filter out the skeptical/savvy who will waste their time, so only the gullible get through. They know perfectly well that "Nigerian" is associated with "scam" to most people, so they intentionally claim to be Nigerian when they are not even running their scam from Africa. It's so anyone experienced goes 'Nope' and they only get responses from the very dumb.
So in this case, substitute MacKeeper for Nigeria.
Lots of other answers go on to rightfully focus on the scam-ish aspects of the MacKeeper world. And Harper points out you might not even have a legitimate copy of MacKeeper and how anyone demanding access via phone is a scammer. But there is a much simpler answer to this question that you yourself provided:
I paid for a version of MacKeeper which may be a mistake.
If you yourself are stating that something might be a mistake, it is a mistake. Go with your gut and trust your instincts on this one.
Now at this point, you already paid for MacKeeper. Which is one level of mistake. See how you can uninstall it and perhaps get a refund for the purchase. But don’t take the next step and dive deeper into this nonsense. They—whoever is on the other end of the phone—might be aggressive in trying to get you to give them access, but don’t fall for it.
And heck, if this is a fraudulent version of MacKeeper—which is questionable software itself—then try to uncover that. If it is indeed a fake piece of software, then you can contact your credit card company and claim a refund based on fraud.
But at the end of the day, you are experiencing a rightful fit of buyer’s remorse. Just be sure you don’t go any deeper into this nonsense.
