Product Description

With the wide variety of viruses, hackers and blended threats lurking on the Internet today, you need more than a simple anti-virus program to keep your PC and files secure. McAfee VirusScan Plus AntiVirus, Firewall & AntiSpyware provides the essential protection you need to surf the Web and download files safely. With McAfee VirusScan Plus powerful integrated technologies work together to combat and defeat even the most sophisticated multi-pronged attacks. McAfees trusted PC protection blocks and removes threats automatically, and identifies spyware and adware before they can run on your PC. Plus, to keep things extra simple, the new McAfee SecurityCenter gives you at-a-glance control over all your McAfee applications. Get the confidence you need to surf the Web, knowing McAfee is always on, always updating and always protecting you.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #5343 in Software
• Color: 3-user
• Brand: McAfee
• Model: VSF07EMB3RUA
• Released on: 2006-08-25
• Platform: Windows XP
• Format: CD-ROM
• Dimensions: 2.00 pounds

Customer Reviews

Will NOT play well with other programs you may want to keep
Pro: Buy this only if you need all 3 programs and do not already have any of them.
Those being:
1. anti-virus
2. firewall
3. anti spyware

CONS: several (read on)

My antispyware from mcafee expired sept 2006.
I contacted mcafee and found out that you cannot buy it separately anymore.

You have to buy a stupid "suite" of mcafee softwares in order to get the
antispyware program.

So I bought this particular mcafee "suite" .

[Remember now, I bought this ONLY for the antispyware program.
(maybe down the road, I'll use the mcafee firewall. But at present
my ZA6 is still good for 6 months).

Just the Antispyware program].

What mcafee did NOT tell me is that this "Suite" will want to install
what it thinks I should install, not what I tell it I want/need installed.


Surprise #1 !

The antispyware does not have it's own install program.
(probably tied in as part of the anti-virus)

Surprise #2 !
Tried to install as a CUSTOM install and once it sees that
zone alarm 6(my firewall) is loaded, it gives me the option to "Skip" this item, leaving the current installed program in place.

I did so and then it tells me:
a. it cannot load the virusscan due to the zone alarm being found????

[What kind of "CUSTOMIZED install" is this?
CUSTOMIZED means that the installer dictates what gets installed.
Not according to this software pkg].

b. What does the a competitor's firewall have to do with mcafee's virusscanner not installing ??
They are 2 different function programs.

What kind junk is this????

c. Who cares whether ZA6 firewall is found? It should NOT prevent the viruscan and anti-spyware from loading/installing.

Surprise #3
Looks like mcafee won and I lost.
I want the stinking ANTISPYWARE and only the antispyware.
They don't want to give it to me as a single program.

Good thing the box says they have a 30 day moneyback guarantee.

REMEMBER :
If you need all 3 programs because you got a new pc, or your old subscription for a whole "suite" of programs has expired,
This package MIGHT work for you.

If you are looking for ONLY the anti-spyware application;
FORGET IT!

Consider the Mcafee Antispyware application part of
"SUITE installation only" package.
It doesn't install by itself as a standalone program anymore.

Go get webroot's spysweeper or sunbelt's counterspy.
Both/either are good
--------------------

UPDATE 10-06-2006

I installed this onto a 2nd pc, since it is not worth my efforts and postage costs to return it to mcafee for a refund.

As a suite that exists by itself, without any other conflicting applications, it does a decent job.

I was testing it a bit more and it does give a nice display of my home network - router, modem, other pc's, and such. Active or disconnected network links on the home network,IP addresses and network names, ect.

For this 2nd pc that I installed it on, when it failed to install onto my primary pc, it works fine.

In that respect, I would give it 4 stars.


-----------------------------------

Sometimes You Get More than You Pay For - Unfortunately
I upgraded to this latest version of the McAfee product, wanting only the VirusScan, which has served me well over many years. Unfortunately, you must now accept a "suite" of solutions that McAfee deems in your best interest. If you need the functionality of the whole suite, you may be satisfied - or not. If you only want one component, you bought a truckload of trouble. It claims to be user-configurable. You will get a lot of practice at this because the product resets to McAfee's default configuration every few days. It requires considerable time and effort to drill down and disable each item in that configuration. But you have little choice. The program will nag you without mercy until you are "fully protected" - every time you boot up. One McAfee-dictated setting is a deep scan of your system every morning. You probably know that can pretty much tie up your processor for the rest of the day. McAfee Customer Service has been, well, politely quiet. In my view McAfee VirusScan has become a virus with an innovative Auto-nag feature.

This thing gets worse and worse with every ''upgrade''
No matter what the configuration screens say, you *CANNOT* get this software to stop using your network for anything it wants without your approval.

No matter what the configuration screens say, you *CANNOT* get this software to stop popping up those annoying-as-hell messages on the bottom right hand corner of your screen. Beyond being terribly annoying with their in-your-face display of how you don't have control of your own computer, these pop-up messages can mess up full-screen graphics software.

McAfee customer support is offensive. They treat you like you're an idiot, as if you don't know what you're talking about. Then after weeks of several people trying to explain the problem (this is in the McAfee message forums), once McAfee DOES understand the problem, they dismiss you like you're incompetent. Then in the next software update not only aren't these horrible, glaring, disgusting problems with the software not fixed, they're WORSE THAN EVER.

I gave this software/company/service a couple of years worth of the benefit of the doubt. But with every change to their software, especially the most recent one, it's worse than it was before.

I was tempted to give this product two stars in stead of one, but when the basic purpose of defensive software is to help the user defend their machine, and *NOT* to ignore the user, and open up MORE network ports and use even MORE of the user's network resources for stuff the user does NOT want, clearly the product is NOT doing what is wanted by the user. So no, this gets the lowest rating.

The other reviewers must not have any idea what resources this software is helping itself to when they give it an absolutely frightening five stars.

If I hired a security guard for my home, and every day when I came home I caught him going through my daughter's underwear drawer, I'd feel about the same way as I do about McAfee. Maybe he did keep OTHER people from breaking into our home, but the total creep-out cost is far, far, FAR too high!