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68 of 68 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars
Unethical billing for online purchases -- BEWARE!, April 1, 2009
Unethical billing for online purchases -- BEWARE!
Let me say right up front if you DO NOT USE the online download and payment process which McAfee offers, then you should not be subjected to their unethical practices (unless/until you renew online.)
I've used McAfee for several years now, and the product, once paid for and installed, in my experience, has been fine. Yes, it gets annoying at times, with its checks and confirmations, but that's what we want: software to protect us, and that comes with some caveats.
But McAfee has finally LOST me as a customer, with their insidious and unethical billing practices. These practices are so awful that the product absolutely deserves zero stars, regardless of its functionality.
My 1-year subscription to VirusScan ended a few days ago. This was a 3-user subscription, which I had obtained for free from a financial services company with whom I do business. It was a one-time deal, so now I need to pay to renew. This was my experience:
First, the renewal price was discounted through the financial services company, to around forty bucks, which was less than I saw online elsewhere. I proceeded to pay with PayPal. Just BEFORE I pressed the "return to McAfee" button, Paypal told me that I could review the "billing agreement" (what billing agreement?) by logging back into Paypal, going to "Profile," and kicking "Pay List" (what Pay List?) I did so, and found that McAfee, WITHOUT ANY NOTICE, AND WITHOUT MY PERMISSION had set up an automatic billing allowance on my PayPal account for one hundred twenty dollars per month! Here is the exact text: "Billing Limit: $119.97 USD (per month)" Needless to say, I immediately canceled that authorization, before "returning to McAfee." McAfee of course complained that there was an "error," but I simply proceeded to pay with credit card.
That's when I saw the very small type, in GRAY (hard-to-read) coloring, saying that my credit card would be billed automatically, upon expiration of the license, at the full renewal rate at that time.
That's enough, McAfee! You stop these unethical billing practices right now! You've lost another customer, and hopefully many more with this review.
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36 of 41 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Much Better Version, October 3, 2008
Not only did I check with Consumer Reports, but I called family and friends before I bought McAfee. I had previously used "Windows Live One Care" with no problems, but it is not even listed in the "top ten" of anti-virus protection. Norton was placed second best, but I heard too many horror stories. This 2009 version was very easy, easy, easy to install. Immediately, I noticed that on every website listed (after a GOOGLE search), there were colored check marks indicating which sites were `safe' and which sites were `risky' to open. Holding your cursor over the checked mark gives you more detailed information. When you click on that marker, detailed information about that website appears. It is a very nice safeguard. Obviously, green means the site has been RESEARCHED by McAfee and is okay. Yellow means it is a site that McAfee has yet to research. Red means `don't even think about going there unless you are willing to gamble'. McAfee actually checked all these sites BEFORE they made this program.
Some of the basics are: Virus protection (which updates itself), Spyware protection, Firewall protection, Email protection for virus and spyware and lots of other things I have yet to really explore. The menu box gives you your own opportunity to perform specific tasks. There is the QUICKCLEAN, which removes your Internet cache, temporary files, lost fragment files, old registry keys, deleted Email messages and other non-essential files that take up space. You can also DEFRAGMENT your hard drive whenever you want to speed up your computer. The TASK SCHEDULER allows you to create Windows scheduled tasks that clean your computer routinely.
That is the most important stuff, but there are about a dozen more accessories you can use to protect and optimize your computer. I do suggest you schedule your tasks for the middle of the night, as when McAfee was running in the background, everything slowed down significantly. If you have more than one computer, you might want to check out the "3-User" version to save money.
NEWS UPDATE!!! My subscription was due this year and for the past few weeks, I kept getting warnings about renewal. These 'pop-ups' changed to, "Your subsription will end on June 30, 2009". So naturally, I panicked and renewed. When I had time, I realized this was wrong. I called some dim-wit at McAfee who had no idea what I was talking about and confirmed my renewal date was in October of 2009. So I got my refund and believe me, I am going to get another anti-virus, simply out of irritation and feeling like I was being scammed. Take notice!
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39 of 46 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars
Stay away if you can, October 21, 2008
This review is from: McAfee VirusScan Plus 2009 3-User [OLD VERSION] (CD-ROM)
I bought this product to update my 2008 McAfee security center. Installation went flawlessly and then I was prompted to register the product. The registration program rightfully detected I already have an account and updated my account information. I was thrilled.
Then suddenly the McAfee Security Center prompts me to renew my licence, telling me my subscription has expired... Called customer service. They told me I MUST un-install my previous McAfee Security Center using a special exe file I need to download from their web site(???). Needless to say the McAfee installation program never asked me to un-install anything... So now I have to remove all McAfee programs from my computer, download a special exe file and run it to clean their own mess, just to re-install all again. Now when you do so, you loose all previously installed McAfee applications (like backup/restore in my case) which you have legally purchased before. They will not be reinstalled with the new bundle.
Searched the box and the web site for warnings about this infuriating update process, no mention anywhere.
Bottom line - Stay away from this product.
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