Pros

• Mcafee Virusscan has the new Site Advisor feature which protects your PC as you surf the net and warns you of potential threats
• One of the best antivirus programs which commits to protecting its users by supplying updates constantly
• It has a 98.7% detection rate of viruses and other threats. This is one of the highest in the industry

Cons

• Not one of the fastest antivirus programs at removing threats
• has lagged behind some of the major competitors in some essential features like scan speeds

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Mcafee antivirus is one of the big players in online protection and has gained a reputation for providing effective security all the time.It has a new suite of tools designed for maximum protection, and has improved considerably from last year’s version. Whilst it is not the fastest antivirus software by ranking, it is still a decent all-round Virusscan.

Installation

Installing Mcafee antivirus is a bit complicated and can take a considerably long time, with 20 minutes taken to download and install on a high speed internet connection. Compared to other high-powered antivirus packages this is extremely slow and a detriment to its reputation.

To begin with, you need to download an installation downloader tool, something which we found unnecessary. And then proceed with the rest of the installation which doesn’t allow you to install it were you want or an advanced option that allows you to choose which features to include.

On a positive note, it allows you to include the latest antivirus signatures to keep it up-to-date with the latest virus and malware definition updates.

Ease-of-use

Mcafee has a simpler interface than other antivirus packages like Norton Antivirus. The design is straightforward and well thought out and it offers basic and advanced options, although they are a bit similar to each other. Scheduling scans and navigating through it should be no trouble for most users and if you encounter any problems there is an easy access Help section at hand.

Most importantly, it is designed for little interference and with a few tweaks you can set it up the way you like and continue to browse the net and work on your PC.

Effectiveness

Here we found Mcafee up to the challenge and very effective at defeating not just viruses, worms and Trojans, but other deleterious threats like keyloggers, rootkits and spyware. It continues to receive certification from the Virus Bulletin, although this showed it slower than the competition at reactive and proactive detection rates. AV Comparatives has given it a 98.7% detection rate earning it an A (Advanced) rate, just short of the coveted A+ rating, because it mistook several files as malware, and recorded some high false positives.

Support

Technical support is an important feature of antivirus software, and Mcafee antivirus offers a number of contact options like online chat, email, phone and a forum should you fall into any troubles. Mcafee offers free forum and chat support and for basic customer support like registration and sales issues, there is free phone support. However, if you need actual technical support, they charge between $9.95 – $59.95 for phone support.

Overall, Mcafee antivirus has earned its place as one of the best antivirus programs and is one of the household names due to its commitment to providing total security. Hopefully, future versions will pay closer attention to its resource usage, spyware threats and other configuration issues.