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68 of 72 found the following review helpful:
 New and BetterOct 06, 2010
By sticks
During almost 30 years of computer experience I have used a lot of anti-virus/Internet security software. This includes Norton, BitDefender, Kaspersky, Panda, earlier versions of McAfee, and most recently AVG. None are ideal and a couple (BitDefender and Panda) caused me serious computer problems. McAfee was my choice for several years until it became cumbersome and excruciatingly slow as was Norton at that time. It was then that I began trying other products.
I always check user reviews of products, especially software, before making a purchase. I was unable to do so with McAfee Antivirus Plus 2011 because none were available. Reviews of McAfee products for 2010 were not favorable but because I was not pleased with other products I decided to give it a try nonetheless. I am not sorry that I did so. Boot time has decreased dramatically. McAfee Antivirus Plus 2011 doesn't impact computer operation. Scans can be done in the background without excessive slowing of other applications. (Most of my computer activity is working with video, photographs, and publication applications.)
I recommend McAfee Antivirus Plus 2011. To paraphrase an old Oldsmobile commercial "This is not your father's McAfee."
I didn't give McAfee Antivirus Plus 2011 five stars because nothing is perfect.
30 of 30 found the following review helpful:
 mcafee still works, no longer the compelling choiceNov 15, 2010
By Omar Siddique
I've used McAfee antivirus in various forms for many years, but have found the last two versions' behavior annoying (this 2011 version, and previous 2010, running on WinXP SP3) to the degree that I no longer run McAfee.
Versus McAfee 2009 and earlier, the interface is simplified, with many options gone, such as variable alerting levels. Although the installer still refers to the old SecurityCenter, there is no longer a program/option called that.
When I disable on-access scanning, VirusScan displays a prominent warning-window on every login (including resuming from screensaver), that must be clicked away. Very annoying since I normally leave on-access scan turned off for performance reasons during gaming and certain other applications, turning it on when needed. It's noteworthy that Microsoft's Security Essentials antivirus (free for download) doesn't have the annoying warnings.
Scheduled-scan can't be disabled, only rescheduled. Again an annoyance, Security Essentials allows disabling scheduled scans.
On install, a SiteWatch browser Add-On is installed into Mozilla Firefox, and can't be removed (just disabled). There's no option to skip installing it, indeed, there are virtually no options presented during installation. If you think to use Add/Remove Programs, the deinstaller does offer an option remove SiteWatch but with a foreboding but vaguely worded warning that bad things may happen. Antivirus should never modify your other software without asking you first, and the option should be presented up-front.
The McAfee installer also wants to remove "conflicting software" Spyboy Search&Destroy (a freeware anti-bot tool), yet Spybot isn't a persistent program, and so wouldn't be any conflict, except perhaps with McAfee's revenue model. 2010 and previous versions didn't complain about Spybot being already installed on the same machine.
McAfee starts up with their firewall installed and running, no option to skip installing it as in past versions. This is even though I have the Windows firewall running. Running multiple firewalls is a very bad idea for performance and stability, and should never be the default setting.
Mcafee throws an icon on the desktop (a pet peeve of mine, no option to skip)-- who runs AntiVirus from the desktop?? And most obnoxious, the product popped up a window trying to sell me a renewal of the McAfee subscription on the first day I ran it-- with 364 days remaining in my current subscription. I don't like paid-software to advertise to me (and this was with all "alerts" pop-ups unchecked).
Finally, the "Home Network" view is laughable, it shows the PC itself and the gateway-- not the 3 other devices attached to the same switch, nor 1-2 additional on the wireless part of the same network. Whatever they're doing is inadequate, and certainly doesn't add any security other than of the false variety.
These are too many quirks and issues for me in a product that needs to be stable and hassle-free. With the major fiasco with McAfee Enterprise AntiVirus less than a year ago still fresh in my memory, which left a huge number of corporate XP SP3 systems unable to boot (requiring manual intervention to repair each installation), it turns out, from a lack of testing an update on one of the most common corporate platforms. I find myself not confident in McAfee Antivirus.
On the positive: AntiVirus 2011 does start up faster than older versions. In the era of the multi-PC household, the three-user license is very convenient to protect all machines in the household without violating EULAs or feeling silly buying multiple VirusScan subscriptions every year. The disk "clean up" tool is handy, although it doesn't show either progress or results, though partial results are available via a separate screen, if you think to look there.
But these smalls strengths are not nearly enough for me to find McAfee compelling, when Microsoft's own Security Essentials antivirus is available for free, and doesn't have the same annoying behaviors.
The product barely earns 3 stars, only because I presume the the antivirus works as well as it has before. But I only suggest McAfee Antivirus 2011 for users who prefer the McAfee interface or want "other utilities" rolled into their antivirus. Otherwise, McAfee Antivirus Plus 2011 is Not Recommended.
18 of 18 found the following review helpful:
 Silent and worry freeOct 28, 2010
By Sam Archer
I've tried lots of different AntiVirus programs such as McAfee, Norton, Trend, and AVG.
I like this program because it's cheap and it comes with a firewall program with the antivirus.
3-users per disc is also great for those of us with multiple computers.
McAfee has improved the interface and those annoying pop up messages can now be disabled.
The program is easy to uninstall (unlike Norton) and the firewall seems to work very well.
The next step up version (Internet Security) has the parental controls which I don't need and the online backup which is a measly 1gb.
Also, when playing games this program does not interfere.
Overall, works great and does the job without the annoying pop up messages.
7 of 7 found the following review helpful:
 don't buy it if you have windows 7Feb 20, 2011
By mk
i installed the mcafee antivirus on 2 computers, the one with windows xp worked just fine, but the one with windows 7 was destroyed, after i installed it and restarted it, it never worked, all i see is a blue screen, and windows never goes up, i tried to search their website and i found that there is a conflict between mcafee and windows 7, then i tried to contact the technical support and they couldn't help me, they said they couldn't solve the problem and i should contact the computer manufacturer. i also tried system recovery but it didn't work too.
i feel i bought this antivirus to destroy my computer
5 of 5 found the following review helpful:
Not enough to make me come backNov 30, 2010
By Christina Paul
"Live like you MEAN it!!"
McAfee used to be the standard antivirus and spam protection software. After having lost a great deal of data through a security hole in McAfee five years ago, I went to other brands on the market with much better results. I did, however, decide to give McAfee just one more chance to redeem themselves.
While the installlation on my Windows XP and my Vista Machines were relatively easy, I didn't care for the interface on either of my systems. I want to have the option to disable automatic scanning, which I was unable to do with McAfee. I had popups almost immediately about renewing my license for a program that I just installed. This was rather perplexing. Users should never be seeing a renewal notice until at the most a month before the expiration date of the license. Apparently, locking users in for automatic renewal via credit card is standard practice these days. Thanks, but no thanks.
McAfee Antivirus Plus is a fairly good basic protection program. No doubt it is good for users who don't really have a great deal of computer saavy or who want their computer to automatically scan for them. What the makers of antivirus software that scans automatically usually do not tell you is that the automatic scanning can actually end up becoming a security hole itself. Some malware programs are able to disable this function and get in that way. In spite of how the program looks and feels, it was just not enough to make me want to stay with the product.
After trying this latest version of McAffee, I uninstalled it and went back to ESET Smart Security, which is what Microsoft Corporate uses at their own facilities. At least with that, I can manually scan and set my preferences to get the program to do what I want, rather than what the developers have decided that I should want or need.
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