McAfee Internet Security 2009 3-User [OLD VERSION]

Other products by McAfee

Product Features

• Enterprise-class Anti-spam--Powerful industry-grade spam protection helps keep your inbox free from unwanted, fraudulent, offensive, and phishing emails
• QuickScan--Checks for threats in the areas of your computer that are most often attacked
• Age Appropriate Searching--Sets the proper content filtering levels of search engines
• Anti-virus/Anti-spyware--Detects, blocks, and removes viruses, spyware, and adware
• Anti-phishing--Alerts you to web sites that may try to steal your identity

Product Details

• Product Dimensions: 1.5 x 7.7 x 5.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.4 ounces
• Shipping: This item is also available for shipping to select countries outside the U.S.
• ASIN: B001C33V4G
• Item model number: MIS09EMB3RAA
• Date first available at Amazon.com: July 3, 2008
• Average Customer Review: 3.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (153 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #882 in Software (See Bestsellers in Software)

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  #33 in	Software > Web Development > Internet Utilities
  #86 in	Software > Utilities

Product Description

Amazon.com

With the daily emergence of new and more sophisticated Internet threats that could disrupt your digital life, you need more than a simple anti-virus program to protect yourself, your computer, your identity and your family. You need McAfee Internet Security 2009--comprehensive, feature-rich, and simple-to-use security software.

Comprehensive, Easy-to-Use PC and Online Protection with Powerful Web Site Safety Advisor

When using popular search engines, McAfee SiteAdvisor's safety ratings appear next to your search results. To see more information about the web site, roll your mouse over any SiteAdvisor safety rating. Click to enlarge.

Easy-to-use, intuitive "security console." Click to enlarge.

New Product Features for 2009

New--Simplified Set-up
Installation is now easier and faster with improved detection and removal of malware that tries to halt the set-up

New--Enterprise-class Anti-spam
Powerful industry-grade spam protection helps keep your inbox free from unwanted, fraudulent, offensive, and phishing emails.

New--QuickScan
Checks for threats in the areas of your computer that are most often attacked

New--Friendly Alerts
Provides you with easy to understand alerts regarding your protection

New--Age Appropriate Searching
Automatically sets the proper content filtering levels of popular search engines

Key Product Highlights

Anti-virus/Anti-spyware
Detects, blocks, and removes viruses, spyware, and adware

Anti-phishing
Alerts you to web sites that may try to steal your identity

Identity Protection
Helps you to shop, bank, and trade online safely

Two-way Firewall Protection
Confidently use the Internet 24/7 knowing hackers can't get access to your PCs

McAfee SiteAdvisor
Warns with color-coded ratings about unsafe web sites

Other Product Features

McAfee SecurityCenter
Provides an easy-to-read security status screen and puts you in control with fully customizable options

McAfee SystemGuards
Warns you when your computer shows specific behaviors that may signal virus, spyware, or hacker activity

Stealth Mode
Makes your computer invisible to intruders from the Internet

Shredder
Allows you to effectively remove any and all traces of confidential files from your computer

Parental Controls
Allows your children to go online safely at times that you define

Data Backup
Automatically saves copies of your most valuable files on a CD/DVD, USB, external, or network drive

Protection without Interference
You can watch movies or play games uninterrupted as McAfee security service intelligently defers tasks, updates, and alerts when you're in full-screen mode

The McAfee Advantage
McAfee's security products use award-winning technology, are easy to install, and come with unlimited email and chat assistance. With continuous and automatic updates, McAfee helps ensure that you are always running the most current security to combat the ever-evolving threats on the Internet for the duration of your subscription.

Product Description

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

37 of 37 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Better than the previous version, September 25, 2008

By	Jerry Saperstein (Evanston, IL USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 100 REVIEWER)

Amazon Verified Purchase

I tried the previous version which I considered average, Internet Security 2009 seems to be improved in a number of areas,

Installation was trouble free. McAfee gives you the choice of installing the version on your CD or downloading the most current version. This is a sensible approach, I think. I chose the download it sent smoothly. Even with the downloading, the install went pretty quickly.

For my testing, I installed it on a system running Windows XP SP2 Media Center, having first uninstalled the free Comodo anti-virus and firewall applications running on the machine.

I could not complete the registration/activation process because McAfee's server did not respond. Thus, I was unable to learn if McAfee still forces you to give them a credit card number for automatic renewal of your anti-virus subscription. You weren't able to cancel this forced transaction online: you had to call McAfee. A poor way to do business in my opinion.

McAfee may have changed this policy somewhat. In combing through their Customer Support area, I learned that it may only be online purchasers who get nailed this way.

The problem with an ordinary person testing ant-virus programs is that unlike a formal lab, they may not have a bunch of viruses and malware lurking in their machines. I can tell you that the anti-virus scanning speed appears to be high and doesn't over burden the CPU, which is nice when compared with some other programs, like Norton's.

The Help file will leave most users pretty much in the dark with its brusque explanations. For example, an inexperienced user wanting to change the firewall settings for some reason may quickly be reduced to pulling their hair out.

McAfee, to its credit, does an excellent job of identifying the applications on your machine and setting the right firewall permissions for them. I don't know how it will do when you add new programs to your system.

McAfee has put a lot of features into Internet Security 2009 at a very reasonable price for three users. Some of them, such as the file shredder and file cleaner, aren't mentioned on the box. Neither is the back up program or the network manager. I didn't try any of these features.

Overall, I think Internet Security 2009 is an improved product over last year's version. It seems to execute faster and hog fewer system resources. Happily the number of inrusive pop-ups seems to have been substantialy reduced. For the money, it seems to be a good, solid product.

Jerry

26 of 27 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Surfing in the green zone, shredding the "wares", October 15, 2008

By	Amanda Richards "Modest to the extreme" (Georgetown, Guyana) - See all my reviews (TOP 50 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

This version of McAfee offers a whole bundle of features, including some cool stuff that isn't on previous versions. Installation is fast and easy, even though you have to remove your existing anti-virus software, and it doesn't cause application errors or slow down system performance. The single CD in the package can provide protection for up to three computers for one year, after which you need to shell out for the annual fee at the going rate. Installation also offers the option of installing from the CD provided and then updating from the web after installation is completed or downloading the application from the web and then installing.

It has a simple, user friendly appearance and a choice of two interfaces -basic and advanced. It should be noted that some of the options are only available to persons logged in as "administrators" and not to the other users on your computer with limited permissions. If you're the only user you can consider yourself promoted to Administrative level.

"So what does it DO?" enquiring minds want to know. Well, here goes.

1. It provides a firewall as your computer's first line of defense against identity theft, viruses, spyware, spam, hackers and other bad things that go "bump" in cyberspace. There's a "lockdown" feature that stops all internet access with one click.

2. It makes web-surfing safer by rating your search results, as well as the sites you visit, using a color code. Green = safe; Yellow = caution; Red = get the heck out of there NOW. (Works with Google, Yahoo! And MSN searches.)

3. Automatic updates and upgrades

4. Stops viruses in their tracks, as well as worms, Trojans and other slimy things, and then automatically cleans or quarantines the little boogers. The QuickScan feature patrols the vulnerable areas of your computer to check for threats.

5. Offers you a "stealth mode" that blocks incoming network connections so you can lurk on the internet without being detected by hackers.

6. Blocks spyware, adware, and other bad "wares" from stealing your log-ins and passwords, tracking your cookies, or filling your screen with pop-ups.

7. Keeps your computer uncluttered with a QuickClean system that takes out the trash, such as temporary files, cached files, lost file fragments, deleted e-mail messages and other undesirable junk.

8. It includes a "Shredder" for permanently deleting top secret documents such as love letters or romantic poems penned under the influence. To make it even cooler, there are three different shredding levels.

9. Automatically recognizes spam, phish and scams, fake virus messages and all that weird foreign language stuff, and stops it from filling your in-box

10. Provides different levels of blocking depending on the age or maturity level of your child. It has easy to understand settings like "young child", "child", "younger teen", "older teen" or "adult". Age appropriate searching makes sure that the safety filters of some popular search engines are enabled. It uses keyword filtering and even blocks offensive images.

11. Provides an automatic back-up feature which requires the installation of Microsoft.net Framework 1.1

12. Tactfully defers certain updates and alerts while you're watching movies or playing games in full-screen mode to prevent interruptions.


Recommended for PCs and small networks, families with internet-savvy kids and people who like to go into sites marked with 3 X's.



Amanda Richards, October 15, 2008

18 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars McAfee Internet Security - Improved, But Know Your Needs, March 26, 2009

By	Mark "Technology, Music and Movies" (East Coast) - See all my reviews (#1 REVIEWER)

McAfee Internet Security 2009 3-User is a very good product for general users. Both McAfee and Norton have gotten a reputation for gobbling up system memory and slowing performance with their anti-virus engines. Both of them have also rewritten the code behind their latest security suites. In addition to much more efficient anti-virus engines, each of them has added more functionality and loosened up their offerings to provide the option to secure your entire household with one license if you choose to purchase the 3-user version.

There is also a 1-User version for those looking for limited systems, but they are so close in price that it usually makes more sense to get the 3-user version. Keep in mind that once you install the 3-user version on one machine, the clock starts ticking. So you have to use it for 3 users concurrently. You cannot install it on the same machine for 3 years in a row. Like most anti-virus products, the license includes virus definition updates for only one year.

Unfortunately, there are still some shortcomings that make these programs less ideal for power users. As time goes on, more and more home users are starting to fall into that category.

Over the past year I have been testing a variety of security suites and anti-virus programs for a work-related project. This includes multiple versions of Norton for both home and business environments, McAfee, Trend Micro Antivirus + Antispyware 2009, Bitdefender Internet Security 2009 and others. I also continue to use some of the freeware alternatives on a few of my personal machines, including AVG and Avast. I do not want to outline or rank all the programs here. I only want to provide a context for how I came to some of these conclusions regarding McAfee's relative strengths and weaknesses. Some of the strengths make this a good program for hands-off home users, but more demanding users may want to look elsewhere.

The biggest improvement that McAfee has incorporated into their product is a much more efficient scanning engine that is more resource friendly than prior versions. In terms of *online* scanning of files, this program runs faster than most alternatives. It also uses less memory, at least for the anti-virus engine.

But in terms of system impact, there still appears to be a performance hit from using this product for certain situations. Certain types of internet applications just seem slower. It also adds a noticeable delay to the startup time. I tested clean install images with updated service packs before and after installing this program. I speculate that some of the other elements of the program, such as the anti-phishing and anti-spyware, may be using other processes in memory and slowing down performance only for applications that trigger them.

Ironically, it seems like those components do not work as well as the included alternatives in competing programs. Testing these out in a lab environment, the McAfee program was one of the slowest to detect spyware and phishing risks for known vulnerabilities. There are some additional features that can compensate for that on the enterprise version of the product, but on this one you just have to accept that it is slightly slower at detecting those things.

The "Total Protection" version of the product also includes a network aware component that may appeal to SMB customers. That program is supposed to detect rogue network devices and similar risks, but I have seen poor to mixed results with it. I suspect there is overhead in this program for those features included in Total Protection version of the product that haven't been activated here. I can't be 100% sure, but considering how much faster the anti-virus engine runs it is one possible reason why there is still a slowdown of system performance for certain situations.

One other thing that I noticed was that the newest version of Norton Internet Security has a much more detailed application firewall. For those that use many complex internet applications that require custom settings, that program offers more granular control for those willing to dig down into the settings. The basics are all covered here, but it is not as easily reconfigured. On the same token, the default setting of the program requires constant confirmation for the system to adjust security settings for your applications. It is possible to limit these warnings, but the configuration is not set ideally out of the box.

CONCLUSION

The strengths of the program are the improved easy to use interface and faster anti-virus scanning. This 2009 version will definitely use less system memory than prior versions, at least directly. It seems easy to punish McAfee and Norton for their past sins, but both products have improved slightly in that regard. But you still have to decide if you really need some of the cleaner interface and faster scanning of these products, since there are free products that will do the same job and save you the annual subscription cost. Also make sure that you know what features are most important to you. If you need more control of your application firewall settings, you may want to explore the alternatives.

Good luck with your software purchase.

Enjoy.