Pros

• Mcafee Total Protection is above average in ease-of-use and technical support
• All its features are rolled into one interface for easy access
• It comes with SiteAdvisor Plus which assesses each website to determine whether it’s safe or not

Cons

• Its security options are average and you can find a more effective premium security software suite out there
• Mcafee Total Protection can be heavy on system resources causing PC slowdown during scans

View side-by-side comparison of Premium Security Suites

Mcafee Total Protection 2012 is a premium security suite that provides all the traditional internet security features plus PC Utility Tools. Its major rivals are Norton 360 and BitDefender Total Security, and from our review, we were impressed with Mcafee’s performance.

It has the ability to stop all forms of malware (malicious software) threats and has the tools to prevent you falling into the hands of cybercriminals.

Antivirus/Antispyware Protection

Mcafee Total Protection has a good antivirus and antispyware protection combination which ensures your PC is protected from malicious programs. It gives you the option to scan your PC manually in real-time or at a time of your choosing. These scans are effective but still have the same problems that are evident in other Mcafee software products.

PC slowdown is common, making it impossible to use your PC as its being scanned. So it’s best to leave it while the scan is operating because you’ll find programs very slow during use.

Firewall Security

The function of firewall security is to stop malware from infecting your computer. Windows comes with a standard firewall which is capable of stopping many threats, but falls short of providing total online protection.

Mcafee’s firewall program doesn’t disappoint. It still has a few of the problems that plagued it in the past, but this new version has improved significantly and is sufficient to protect your PC from all viruses, worms and Trojans.

My Home Network complements the firewall and monitors the network for any malicious threats. You won’t have any electronic crooks trying to get into your network without your knowledge.

Internet Security

Antivirus software alone is not sufficient to protect you as you surf the internet. You need an internet security package that will notify you of dangerous websites. Mcafee Total Protection has the Site Advisor Plus feature which analyzes each website you visit to determine if they are dangerous. It also notifies you if you reach a malicious site and blocks it from infecting your PC.

Mcafee also has an anti-spam feature which protects your email communications. It eliminates harmful messages before they get to your inbox.

PC Utility Tools

Quickclean is the only PC Utility Tool in Mcafee Total Protection 2011. It wipes out all threats in your PC and keeps it clean from unnecessary files that have a way of slowing down your PC. It’s not the best cleaner we’ve seen in premium security suites, but it definitely does the job of keeping your computer clean.

Ease of Use

Mcafee Total Protection has a simple and straightforward interface that allows you to adjust it to your needs. All the features and buttons are well arranged and even a novice user won’t have any problems using it for the first time.

The only downside with the software is the PC slowdown it causes during scans. It has a habit of slowing down the PC considerably and making it nearly impossible to use during a scan.

Support

Mcafee charge for telephone support and it ranges from $9.95 to $59.95 per incident. If you aren’t up to using a paid service, you can consult their self-help features like FAQs for more information.

Summary

Overall, Mcafee Total Protection is a quality premium security suite. It’s not one of the best we’ve seen, but it will provide a high level of protection for your PC.