Customer Reviews

McAfee Internet Security 5.0

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(19)

 

 

Worst software product ever. Here are the problems McAfee Internet Security has created for me: Internet Explorer windows I close remain in task bar and won't disappear unless I hit control, alt, delete (not once but twice, pausing so I don't accidentally send my computer into a reboot). My computer also won't shut down properly anymore. I used to be able to walk away after hitting "shut down" and it would automatically shut down and turn off, but now I have to sit there and watch for a McAfee error screen to pop up so I can once again click on "shut down". Virus scan ties up the computer for hours because of constant pop-ups that require a "yes" or "no" response. So you must SIT THERE AND WATCH IT DO ITS VIRUS SCAN FOR HOURS. McAfee support...what support? Their live-chat help link doesn't work. And when I emailed them a list of my problems, then sent me to their website's FAQ list which didn't list my particular questions. Since I'm not about to spend $2.95 per minute to call them for help, I will simply uninstall this program and never buy another McAfee product. Don't be enticed by McAfee's big rebates like I was, check out Innoculate It and Zonelabs products instead.

I've used Zone Alarm, Norton Internet Security and now [regretfully] McAfee Internet Security. McAfee Internet Security is cripled by its lack of information and capabilities. Norton's product is by far superior.

The alert boxes nor activity log tell you the full details of the remote IP address or ports not anything about the local communication. This becomes important, because, you might be perfectly comfortable having Internet Explorer access a web site on port 80, but freak out if Internet Explorer was allowed to share you files with "web folders" on a different TCP/UDP port.

In addition, data is displayed in hexadecimal format with no interpretation. Even as network professional, I don't have the binary format of IP packets memorized.

My advice is to skip this product and go directly for Norton Internet Security.

I bought this off the web when the "Yaha" virus somehow got through my Norton Antivirus and Internet Security suite, because the McAfee site had a "stinger" program to root out the "Yaha" virus. However, since downloading it on my Dell Pentium IV desktop running Windows XP, it has become instable, freezing up. Now, whether this is a McAfee problem, a Microsoft Problem, or a Netscape Problem (I started getting errors indicating Netscape 7.01 problems soon after installing McAfee Internet Security and updating Netscape to 7.01. Who knows where the fault lies, but McAfee seems to be part of the problem. Admittedly, if Windows XP was doing its job right as the operating system, it wouldn't allow this kind of thing, now matter how problematically applications might be coded. That said, the McAfee interface was more user friendly when installing, and made different degrees of access easier than Norton had. It also did appear to catch the Yaha virus when Norton apparently didn't, so it does appear to have some positive features, if only my PC wasn't unstable now.

Whenever I install a new, untested firewall I got to the Shields Up! website to test for vulnerabilities and open ports:

https://grc.com/x/ne.dll?bh0bkyd2

I also do this on a monthly basis as a security measure for my PC. When testing this product AFTER configuring the firewall for maximum security and ensuring I had no applications using any open ports, McAfee had 3 PORTS that were shown as OPEN when tested by Shields Up!, not as stealthed, not as even closed. According to the Shields Up! website, the firewall at the very least should have notiifed me of open port(s). It didn't. Also, I setup the antirvirus for real-time protection and automatic updating. Yet, whenever I did a weekly virus scan, it found new viruses. These viruses were not discovered AS they were introduced to my system, only after the fact in a routine scan, during which time they could have attached themselves to emails or damaged important files. I have since installed a FREE firewall, now all of my ports are now fully stealthed. Another antivirus program found TWO undiscovered viruses after I uninstalled McAfee. I went to the store and got my money back.

We purchased this product after we subscribed to a DSL service and were flooded with pop-up adds even when our browser was closed. While this product certainly stopped that, it has been a complete pain in the arse to browse the internet with. It prevents us from accessing our e-mail account with SBC unless we turn off both the security and the firewall (what's the point then?!) and it prevents us from accessing web sites that we want to access. Supposedly, we should be able to add those sites to a safe list, but even after doing so, we're unable to access the sites unless we disable the product in its entirety.

I've spent more time trying to adjust our personal settings with McAfee than I spent dealing with pop-up adds. As much as it kills me that we wasted $75.00, I am going out today to buy Norton's product. We just can't handle this product any more.

In all fairness to McAfee, from an installation standpoint, the product worked great. We had no problems with Windows XP, nor did we experience any slow-down with our laptop.

I've used McAfee for years. Both as a network administrator and at home. I'm now giving up on McAfee. I'm tired of lock ups, reboots, etc. etc. I could go on and on. Currently using Zone Labs trial version and a trial version of Norton. I'm very please so far. Probably will not use Norton Firewall due to other opinions here.
Maybe McAfee will get it right one day. I've been too patient. I'm trying something else. I suggest you consider the same.

I bought this after my 90 day free trial to Virus Scan and Firewall ended from Dell. I figured it also included the Privacy Service, but shouldn't be that much different than it's component programs. WRONG! It has been an absolute nightmare for the past 2 weeks. Every time you try to go to a website (Yahoo as the most notable example), it keeps popping up windows saying Yahoo is placing a direct cookie on your system, do you wish to allow? Even after selecting to allow direct cookies from the site, and that I recognize the site and not to ask again, I continue to get at least 7-12 more pop-ups asking the exact same question for the site! This happens for most retail sites as well. (Just trying to get to the product page here on Amazon has been a nightmare!) It has also twice since installation said that the Virus Scan files were corrupt and had to be reinstalled, which would not work automatically from the setup program. This program is much more trouble than it is worth. Stick with Norton AntiVirus!

This is an all in one. Firewall (with Visual Trace..very cool- shows where packets are coming from), VirusScan, Internet Security with ad blocking, pop-up blocking, parental controls, cookie blocking...I am running it on WinXP (P4 @2ghz., 512mb ram, 80g hd.) with a Verizon DSL line. I highly recommend checking the McAfee forum prior to installing for installation and troubleshooting tips. As it is a complex program, you should prepare your computer for its installation by removing any remnants of prior McAfee VirusScan/Firewall installations or any other virus scan/firewall products. The McAfee website will give you instructions. Highly recommended!

Extremely complicated...... Ineffective..... Made my XP system very unstable......Some pop-ups still get through.....System choked to a crawl while stopping other pop-ups.......Just plain awful. GARBAGE.

Nightmare! My computer took over, didn't let me logon as adminstrator - wouldn't even prompt for password. Couldn't update or even uninstall the damn thing. After digging through the adminstrator functions in windows, I was finally able to turn "hal" off and free up my computer.

Naturally, the techinical service area was closed... and then I got directed to the web-site. Which HAL had closed off all internet access... arrgh!