diff --git a/src/plasma/private/effectwatcher.cpp b/src/plasma/private/effectwatcher.cpp
index 25b48e2d9..82c1c0d0c 100644
--- a/src/plasma/private/effectwatcher.cpp
+++ b/src/plasma/private/effectwatcher.cpp
@@ -1,105 +1,109 @@
 /*
  *   Copyright 2011 Marco Martin <mart@kde.org>
  *
  *   This program is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify
  *   it under the terms of the GNU Library General Public License as
  *   published by the Free Software Foundation; either version 2, or
  *   (at your option) any later version.
  *
  *   This program is distributed in the hope that it will be useful,
  *   but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of
  *   MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.  See the
  *   GNU General Public License for more details
  *
  *   You should have received a copy of the GNU Library General Public
  *   License along with this program; if not, write to the
  *   Free Software Foundation, Inc.,
  *   51 Franklin Street, Fifth Floor, Boston, MA  02110-1301, USA.
  */
 
 #include "effectwatcher_p.h"
 
 #include <QCoreApplication>
 
 #include <QtX11Extras/QX11Info>
 
 namespace Plasma
 {
 
 EffectWatcher::EffectWatcher(const QString &property, QObject *parent)
     : QObject(parent),
       m_property(XCB_ATOM_NONE),
       m_isX11(QX11Info::isPlatformX11())
 {
     init(property);
 }
 
 void EffectWatcher::init(const QString &property)
 {
     if (!m_isX11) {
         return;
     }
     QCoreApplication::instance()->installNativeEventFilter(this);
 
     xcb_connection_t *c = QX11Info::connection();
     const QByteArray propertyName = property.toLatin1();
     xcb_intern_atom_cookie_t atomCookie = xcb_intern_atom_unchecked(c, false, propertyName.length(), propertyName.constData());
     xcb_get_window_attributes_cookie_t winAttrCookie = xcb_get_window_attributes_unchecked(c, QX11Info::appRootWindow());
 
     QScopedPointer<xcb_intern_atom_reply_t, QScopedPointerPodDeleter> atom(xcb_intern_atom_reply(c, atomCookie, nullptr));
     if (!atom.isNull()) {
         m_property = atom->atom;
     }
     m_effectActive = isEffectActive();
 
     QScopedPointer<xcb_get_window_attributes_reply_t, QScopedPointerPodDeleter> attrs(xcb_get_window_attributes_reply(c, winAttrCookie, nullptr));
     if (!attrs.isNull()) {
         uint32_t events = attrs->your_event_mask | XCB_EVENT_MASK_PROPERTY_CHANGE;
         xcb_change_window_attributes(c, QX11Info::appRootWindow(), XCB_CW_EVENT_MASK, &events);
     }
 }
 
 bool EffectWatcher::nativeEventFilter(const QByteArray &eventType, void *message, long *result)
 {
     Q_UNUSED(result);
-    if (eventType != "xcb_generic_event_t") {
+    // A faster comparison than eventType != "xcb_generic_event_t"
+    // given that eventType can only have the following values:
+    // "xcb_generic_event_t", "windows_generic_MSG" and "mac_generic_NSEvent"
+    // According to http://doc.qt.io/qt-5/qabstractnativeeventfilter.html
+    if (eventType[0] != 'x') {
         return false;
     }
     xcb_generic_event_t *event = reinterpret_cast<xcb_generic_event_t *>(message);
     uint response_type = event->response_type & ~0x80;
     if (response_type != XCB_PROPERTY_NOTIFY || m_property == XCB_ATOM_NONE) {
         return false;
     }
 
     xcb_property_notify_event_t *prop_event = reinterpret_cast<xcb_property_notify_event_t *>(event);
     if (prop_event->atom == m_property) {
         bool nowEffectActive = isEffectActive();
         if (m_effectActive != nowEffectActive) {
             m_effectActive = nowEffectActive;
             emit effectChanged(m_effectActive);
         }
     }
     return false;
 }
 
 bool EffectWatcher::isEffectActive() const
 {
     if (m_property == XCB_ATOM_NONE || !m_isX11) {
         return false;
     }
     xcb_connection_t *c = QX11Info::connection();
     xcb_list_properties_cookie_t propsCookie = xcb_list_properties_unchecked(c, QX11Info::appRootWindow());
     QScopedPointer<xcb_list_properties_reply_t, QScopedPointerPodDeleter> props(xcb_list_properties_reply(c, propsCookie, nullptr));
     if (props.isNull()) {
         return false;
     }
     xcb_atom_t *atoms = xcb_list_properties_atoms(props.data());
     for (int i = 0; i < props->atoms_len; ++i) {
         if (atoms[i] == m_property) {
             return true;
         }
     }
     return false;
 }
 
 } // namespace Plasma