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One of the big selling points with McAfee Virusscan 9, along with the remainder of the programs in the new 2005 lineup, is that they are relatively small files. Avoiding bloatware like the plague, Mcafee has wisely kept the programs slight. Clearly an attempt to make downloading easier and more efficient, McAfee is really promoting the idea of software as a service, and moving away from the physical box. Certainly boxed software is not dead. You can still purchase these programs in the nicely designed red box. But clearly, McAfee is putting some effort into making the Internet downloading process a much better experience.
Considering the small footprint of their programs, and their adaptability online, McAfee may very well be moving closer to the idea of software as an online service. For broadband users, the download of a 10 MB or 12 MB file is not a big issue. With Viruscan measuring a meager 8.x MB, dialup users on faster connections should have no problem negotiating the downloaded version.
For loyal existing users, version 9 does not bring radical change. Even the interface bears a marked resemblance to its predecessor. More incremental than revolutionary, McAfee has kept the programs key strong features, faster scanning, smaller sized program and a scanner that does not take up every system resource you have around while scanning.
Beefed up scanning of email and large email attachments, the program works well within Outlook and Outlook Express. Other supported applications include Eudora and Pegasus. The inline filtering only works with POP/SMTP accounts, but other account types can be scanned upon access. Considering that the target market for the program is end users with POP accounts, this not a big problem.
Like any good virus scanner, this one immediately alerts you if a slew of emails are being sent at one time or if someone is sending more than five emails in less than 30 seconds. As protection against new or not yet discovered viruses, this is always handy, if not a bit irritating at times.
Not unlike its Firewall program, Virusscan has plenty of online help to aid you in tracking found viruses and the like. As was the case with the last version, this one does not log cleaned viruses or keep a log history.
Another, but very small issue, is that once the program is open, one has to return to the little "M" that rests in the far right corner of the task bar to make any real changes or select options. The fact that you cannot do that with the open interface of virus scan is unusual. While this does keep the scanner interface clean, it would be nice to be able to easily access them within the program itself.
McAfee has once again created a strong able virus scanner. Small in size, modest in system requirements while running, there is precious little to find fault with in this update. Working with Windows 98 through XP, and relatively fast, McAfee is still keeping pace with their rival Symantec.
Resting at the high end of the virus scanning universe, for most pros virus scanning has been pretty much a McAfee and Symantec world with everyone else slugging out second place, the gaps between the programs are closing fast. In an ideal world, end users could very well use both. However, one can only install one at a time.
For existing users who have already bought into the McAfee suites, upgrading is really a no brainer. For those that want full protection and do not want to overload their system, this is about as efficient as virus scanning will probably ever get.
While you can buy subscriptions, my only advice is just go out and get a totally new virus program every year. With viruses becoming more sophisticated, software more complex, it just makes sense to simply buy new software.
Many people, myself included, were not aware of the fact that McAfee.com existed as an independent company from the boxed McAfee product line. Realizing a convergence was needed, the boxed versions and the online versions are now identical. Making the process easier and the software easier to use, McAfee has continued in creating software that is much more user friendly than the competition.
For those familiar with McAfee Personal Firewall, the program has had some slight changes, but not overwhelming ones. The strong points for the program have always been easy installation, easy set up and of course a small footprint. With convenience in mind, McAfee Firewall remains one of the easiest firewalls to configure and arguable the least intrusive.
Set up is easy and the program conveniently adapts to your needs. As a personal firewall for stand alone use, this is about as easy as it gets. The program automatically configures itself to the network you are using and quickly adjusts to learn which programs should have Net access and which should not.
A side screen on the right side of your monitor immediately flashes to show you what is taking place and discreetly asks for permission for the given program to access the Net. Of all of the various firewalls, McAfee is the rare one that has an easy to manage user interface. As solid as Zone Alarm is, adjusting a setting demands navigating a sea of menus and tabs. McAfee has a much more intuitive menu system.
Stats, programs granted access, Net work activity, most if not all of the useful information about your firewall protection is available in an easy to use visually attractive interface. There is little that is intimidating here even for those new to Firewall protection.
Integration with Hackerwatch, an online site with information about security attacks is still present and the world map of tracker activity is still around as well. Both are interesting, but neither will point you the culprit responsible for hacking your system. But they are interesting and information and if nothing else great to look at on your monitor.
Where McAfee excels with their Firewall protection is the ease of set up and the accessibility of the program. For those new to all of this and just want to get online and stay safe from attack, this program has been a strong contender in an arena dominated by Zonealarm.
Microsoft recently added improved firewall protection with their recent update SP2 for Windows XP. The only problem is that it is not complete. It only tracks attacks from the outside in and not programs already on your PC calling outward.
The need for increased firewall protection is just as important as an anti virus program. With users online longer and broadband access making more systems vulnerable, now more than ever, we all need to be more alert. Keeping this in mind, McAfee has come up with a system friendly program that should keep you safe from the vast majority of what is out there online.
For those new too all of this, McAfee's firewall is not a bad starting place.
Spam, the electronic equivalent of junk mail, is one of the biggest problems going. Even if you only give your email address to a few trusted people and sites, that is no guarantee you are not at some point going to get flooded with ads from Viagra to porn. There is no real way around the problem, provided you obtain a spam blocker.
There are two ways spam protection works. One is to operate as a stand alone email client that filters email before it hits your email box. The second method is to act as a plug-in for an email program like Outlook, Outlook Express or Eudora.
McAfee has taken the path of offering a spam filter that operates as an independent program. While it works in concert with email programs, it does not filter within them. The advantage here is that nothing bad gets into your inbox.
The first incarnation of Spamkiller demonstrated promise. It also showed a number of very irritating bugs. It often stalled opening, crashed or made your little spinning hourglass into a Windows fixture. If that was not bad enough, the accuracy rate left something to be desired.
No doubt the feedback indicated that a program this buggy needed an overhaul. So McAfee is back with the new version, Spamkiller 2005 up and ready to go.
Interface wise and feature wise, a few new additions have been made. The program does operate a little smoother than before, but there are still minor problems.
Like the original one, this one can be slow at times. Although it is not nearly as slow as the previous rendition, it can be slow in allowing you to delete email, or delete en masse. Moving blocked email into acceptable email can be time consuming. Opening the program is something akin to a jack in the box. You crank and crank and nothing happens, or you crank once and things fly out with ease.
There was one time during my informal test where every email, blocked and not blocked simply vanished. After a reboot the emails were intact. Granted this was an informal test, but it was a bit disconcerting to see emails you needed to respond to vanish.
Even in my environment the program did not freeze or lock up as it once did. Even in its much improved state, the program seems a tad buggy. I also felt that certain features in the program needed to be easier to access.
The big selling point with Spamkiller is that it does filter Hotmail accounts, something of a rarity still. For online email like Yahoo and others, it does not filter those browser based clients.
For those that need Hotmail blocking and want a stand alone client, McAfee is one of the few products that is out there ready to take on the job.
With programs like Lockspam and the new Antispam from Symantec out there, competition here is fierce. There is much to like about the standalone concept. From a security point it makes logical sense. Your emails are kept in a safe place away from the email client that allows in and out transmissions. The only problem here is that reading email becomes a multi process multi program procedure. You download to the filtering client, sort the email and then read them in your email client in order to respond. If you don't mind the extra steps, there is nothing wrong with going this route. The big point here is that it does filter out Hotmail garbage, a skill that Lockspam has yet to manage.
My only complaint is that McAfee's product still feels a bit "buggy." The system that I use was a "dirty" one. This means that it has programs that are here, some erased, in short it is in the same condition that most users have. While my tests are very very informal, if I see a problem, or even the potential for one, I pass it on to you. Here I lost email and had to reboot to get them back.
As for speed, this program can come to a crawl when you delete email or pass it on to your email client. I found that very frustrating. Depending on your system and configuration, your experiences may differ. I do suggest that you try this program before making a purchase.
McAfee is one of the few spam killers going this way with an independent email client.
If that is what you are seeking, this is not a bad way to go, but I strongly suggest you try before buying to make sure you have no issues.
When it comes to spyware, that is the most irritating of all software invasions. Seemingly innocuous programs can just crawl into your PC and cause damage. Even experienced users can be a victom. Stealth like in their precision, the only way to keep these invaders away is via a program that can effectively eliminate them, or better still prevent them from finding their way to you.
McAfee has come up with a solution that makes sense. As a program able to be simply downloaded and updated, this small footprint software makes sense as a subscription.
When it comes to removing spyware, McAfee's solution is able. In my informal tests it compared favorably to Webroot's Spysweeper. While Webroot, in my opinion remains the champ in this department, McAfee does not do a bad job getting the junk off of your system.
Unlike some parts of the McAfee software solution, this one features easily accessible features from the application. As an easy way to break down stats, this program features one of the best interfaces I have ever encountered with spyware software.
For existing users, McAfee completes their offering with an able trouble free application that is much more effective than a great deal of the other programs on the market.
Exclusive! Advanced "Auto-Protect" Technology alerts users when potentially hostile applications attempt to install and run, providing options to block the threat at the gateway.
Multiple Scanning Options (On-Demand and On-Execution) allow users to perform thorough or custom scans depending on their need. The default setting performs a full system scan.
One Year of Automatic Updates prompts users to download and install the most up-to-date protection against spying and tracking programs.
Extensive Detection Database provides a thorough database of adware, spyware and keylogging programs. This database is continuously updated to keep up with the plethora of programs created daily by hackers.
Uninstall Flexibility allows you the choice to uninstall tracking programs using that program's uninstaller (if available), or McAfee AntiSpyware's removal technique, which removes all traces of the program.
"One-Stop-Shop" Identification and Removal of all components and files associated with spyware; allowing users to remove any and all associated files in one click.
As part of the McAfee product line, existing users will want to consider this program seriously. It is small, fast unobtrusive and not bloated. Thankfully McAfee has not loaded the program with a slew of functions it neither needs nor wants. By keeping the file size small and the program free of bloatware, there is more to like here than in some of the other products on the market.
Uninstallers have gone past being just uninstallers. Equipped with preventative tools and frequently tools to remove clutter from a hard drive, many programs incorporate these functions into their suites, or have them as stand alone programs.
For those that like to create system support by taking the best of this program and the best of that without having to buy into an entire system, Quickclean offers itself as stand alone to make disk housekeeping that much easier.
In the past this was hands down the best program around for cleaning up clutter. It is one of the few that can perform the clean up function by actually removing files via shutting down your PC and removing them without the OS running in full mode.
As a way to remove pesky programs, McAfee Quickclean has been a stand out.
Taking up a bit more space than other programs in the McAfee line up, this is still one of the safest ways of removing files.
As with nearly every uninstaller I have ever used, the promises of being able to remove programs that have faulty uninstall programs of their own is still a hit or miss operation. From what I have seen, I have yet to see anyone's uninstaller remove a program that has a corrupted uninstall.
That aside, this program digs deep and fast at finding the clutter on your hard drive.
As disk sizes become larger, clutter is still a problem. Sure you may have room galore, I have seen left over files actually cause issues. Plus it just makes sense to see that your hard drive is no larger than it needs to be.
Clearing out more than hard drive clutter, it can remove cookies from your browser as well as other types of sometimes difficult to find temp files. Much like the firewall from McAfee stats are accessible from the program along with adjusting system settings too.
As far as the better deal, a one year subscription is the best way to go. Seeing where computing is going is hard. I would suggest never committing yourself to one program for more than a year. Clearly, McAfee is working hard at encouraging users to take the download path. Offering price as a strong incentive, McAfee is pushing towards software as a service and less a physical commodity. While you can still buy the boxed version, for online users with broadband and even dial up users, there is little incentive to go that path.
Now that the online version is identical to the boxed one, downloading truly makes sense. The only issue at this point is figuring out how long to purchase a subscription. Of the many types of programs that one can think of as a service of sorts, this one makes a lot of sense.
When it comes to cleaning up without harming your system, McAfee has a winner here.
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