Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
More capable, but slower, November 1, 2009
I tend to go back and forth between security products from time to time...like many, I have multiple computers, and somehow I think it's safer to use a mix of security products rather than standardize on the same product everywhere. I haven't used McAfee for a few years, but I decided to give it a try this time as it came preinstalled on my new laptop.
Compared to Norton and most of the others, the basic features are very similar. The product detects and removes viruses (more than 200,000 types, according to the vendor) and spyware, while also including anti-phishing and identity theft protection. One unique feature of McAfee is that it periodically makes copies of key system configuration files, enabling you to restore your system to a known good status should something bad happen. Another unique feature I liked was that the product evaluates the security of web links as they are displayed, highlighting suspicious links before you're tempted to follow them.
I also found the administration and policies more useful than the competing products - very much appreciated. It can be a little complex at first, but if you like to have fine-grained control of security policy, this is the best product I've seen.
I personally found a few of the features less useful, for instance, home network security. I tend to secure my system at my router (which acts as a firewall), and I generally leave the network inside my home relatively open. McAfee's home network protection didn't impress me as adding anything worthwhile to this mix.
The product installs easily on my Windows Vista system and I was up and running in under ten minutes.
Compared to the Norton (Symantec) product (which I run on another computer), McAfee seems slower overall, but less "spikey". The Norton product tends to be faster overall, but when it does something resource-intensive (like download signatures), it tends to be more noticeable. McAfee is sort of the opposite - it's slower generally, but performance seems more even and consistent. Still, the only time I'd say it was objectionable were times when I'd have a huge amount of incoming email, especially email with lots of attachments. These conditions slow down my PC, and a quick visit to Windows Task Manager reveals McAfee as the culprit.
Still, overall this is a fine product that's stable and capable of providing top quality security protection.
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
About 1 User in description., October 3, 2009
It says in product title 1User. If you look at the lower corner of the front of the box it says 1 PC. If you are one user - which I am - but have two PC's - which I do - this product will only cover one of the PC's. I had to pay for an additional subscription fee - $10.00 - for my second computer. I'm not unhappy though, and believe that the price was reasonable. 1User = 1PC.
Another glitch I ran into that I didn't before in the installation was on my older computer - the one I had the additional fee - I kept getting an error message saying I did not have enough memory to install the product. I think I corrected the problem, and was relatively ok to correct - but I have to wait and see if it works ok. So far so good.
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars
Never Again, December 29, 2009
Had McAfee previously on my computer but when I tried to install this product it would not install. But it did completely screw up my operating system. I could no longer access any programs or internet, not even system retore. I had to completely reinstall my operating system and all my programs. It took me a week just to get my computer running again. Even after reinstalling my entire operating system, it still would not install. Had to install a different antivirus all together. It would have been easier just to throw my $24 out the window. I will never use McAfee again.
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