McAfee VirusScan Professional 6.0

by McAfee

Product Details

• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces
• Shipping: This item is also available for shipping to select countries outside the U.S.
• ASIN: B00005MAFH
• Item model number: VSL-0001-NA-600
• Date first available at Amazon.com: May 10, 2002
• Average Customer Review: 2.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #30,514 in Software (See Top 100 in Software)
• Discontinued by manufacturer: Yes

Product Description

Amazon.com Review

With virus protection and management, plus a responsive firewall, McAfee VirusScan Professional 6.0 seems to offer powerful protection against dangers threatening your PC. However, while the shining attributes of VirusScan 6.0 are clear from its long list of handled tasks, the setup and installation issues attached to this software package may not be worth the blood, sweat, and tears.

The primary qualms that we had with VirusScan involved installing the software. The initial installation was fast and easy; VirusScan was up and running in under 10 minutes. However, the process of getting the available updates and upgrades for the package was nerve-racking, at best. The six available updates took close to 30 minutes to download and install (each used a different install utility) on a broadband connection. Then, even after restarting our computer, we still received a ton of error messages. After searching for technical help online, we finally found an upgrade (different than an "update") at an entirely different McAfee site that fixed all of the glitches. Total installation time, including research: about 90 minutes.

After installation McAfee performs very well. Setting up the firewall was easy: three options allow varying levels of protection, and the interface for monitoring your Internet activity is streamlined and attractive. The options for customization feel like the correct amount: you can manage the programs you trust for Internet access, configure how and when the firewall starts up, view your current Internet activity, and a few other tasks--all in one handy window.

Working with the antivirus component was equally attractive, although it did try our patience a bit. Scanning a complete hard drive took about 40 minutes (scanning over 70,000 files on a 40 GB hard drive with a 750 MHz processor) and it did detect a few infected files. However, these "infected" files were found in both legitimate spots and in places (like our computer's help files) where we doubted a virus would hide out. VirusScan provides a number of options for dealing with infected files and walks you through what to do with each. First it attempts to clean the file; then, if unsuccessful, it suggests deletion. If McAfee is unable to delete the file, you can quarantine it to a remote location on your hard drive where it can be dealt with in a more aggressive manner (i.e., be eliminated).

We found VirusScan's add-on applications to be impressive. The Auto Update feature checks for and downloads updates for the McAfee package (although, honestly, we were a bit leery considering earlier troubles). The Safe & Sound feature serves as a strong and simple backup utility that will make an image of your hard drive either in a safer location on the same drive or on removable media. And our favorite was QuickClean Lite, a quick and easy way to remove all those files and file fragments cluttering up your hard drive. This application looks through the recycle bin, deleted (and not-yet-removed) e-mail items, temporary Internet files, cookies--and then lets you decide which files you wish to keep or delete.

Aside from the early problems, we can't argue that the interface is friendly, the number of options and capabilities offered feel well-balanced, and the package overall brings a sense of security--for those with a fair amount of patience and persistence. --Emilie Herbst

Amazon.com Product Description

McAfee VirusScan Professional is the first integrated antivirus and personal firewall solution to ensure a computer is fully protected from all threats and attacks. The software protects anyone using a modem, cable modem, DSL, or other broadband connection to the Internet from attacks from viruses, Trojan horses, worms, malicious hackers, and more. VirusScan checks all entry points to the user's PC, including e-mail, Internet connections, and even PDAs. It constantly monitors and stops suspicious activity on the system to effectively block hackers and destroy viruses. VirusScan Pro also includes quick cleanup for the PC, complete shredding for privacy, and much more.

Integrated firewall protection prevents hackers from accessing the user's PC, ensuring system security. The Hostile Activity Watch Kernel (HAWK) detects suspicious activity and eliminates malicious threats, keeping the PC safe. PC cleanup ensures better system performance. Comprehensive Internet filtering provides maximum security while browsing. Secure data shredding keeps sensitive information private.

PDA-synchronization scanning reduces the sources of virus threats. Palm OS virus cleaning and detection is included for comprehensive Palm OS security. Easy updating for automatic virus definitions (DATs) keeps PCs safe from the latest virus threats. Diligent checks at all entry points, including e-mail and Internet downloads, provide superb protection while online. Intrusion detection system detects common attacks. Flexible scheduling options for automatic scanning save time. Quarantine of infected files provides full isolation and added security.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Disappointed in Dubuque, December 4, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: McAfee VirusScan Professional 6.0 (CD-ROM)

I just purchased Virus Scan Professional 6.0 for my home computer. After installing a new hard drive, I needed to get some virus protection. Things initially SEEMED to be going well, but after running the installation and the first virus scan, my computer will not reboot. I just get frozen on the Windows screen. So far, the McAfee support has seemed pretty worthless as well. Needless to say, I am not a happy camper. I may check back in when things look up...but beware! (FYI, I tried to install on a PII 266 running 98SE).

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars one star too much, December 8, 2001

By 

Matthew J. Scott (Los Angeles) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: McAfee VirusScan Professional 6.0 (CD-ROM)

i just got the 6.0 pro.after about four frustrating hours,i gave up.i've installed many programs and never had this much trouble.(...).will not reboot on win98.do not waste your time like i did.
i've since installed pc-cillin 2000 and no more problems.

10 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Poor software coupled with non-existent tech support - AVOID, December 31, 2001

By 

Gary (Michigan) - See all my reviews

A previous version of VirusScan came pre-loaded when I bought my PC. I thought it was time to upgrade to the latest version. After installing VS 6.0 Pro, all I got was repeated error messages about failure to locate needed DLLs. McAfee has 3 tech support options. Their Chat option locked up my PC. It took over 10 days to get a reply from their "Email Express". For a $2.95/min phone call, I finally learned that it was necessary to completely remove previous version of VirusScan before this version would run. This is not stated anywhere in the literature supplied with the product. Even after this, the software caused my PC to hang at the Win 98 screen. Tech support says there is an easy "work around" for that problem. Instead, I cleaned all McAfee and NAI products from the PC and sent this product back for a refund. I wouldn't buy anything from McAfee or NAI again. Avoid this product like the plague!!! I have since loaded Norton AntiVirus and love it.