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McAfee Total Protection 2012 Review: Internet Security Software |
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| Standard PC security with a few new features that could turn heads; exclusive $20 discount | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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[Editor's Note: McAfee is offering 50% off Total Protection to NextAdvisor visitors, no coupon code required. Just follow any link to McAfee from NextAdvisor to receive the discount.]
Introduction While other security software companies are adding a range of features and pulling out all the stops for their interface design, McAfee 2012 is sticking to its no-frills way of protecting your computer — with a few cool new features sprinkled in. Installation At first, McAfee butted heads with old security software we still had installed, but once that was gone, it was a smooth and easy installation process. The best part about the process: Like Norton, you don't need a confirmation or registration email to download the software. You can download it from your online account on the McAfee website. New to McAfee this year is a pre-installation scan, which is much quicker and less invasive than some of the other security software's pre-installation scans. Interface McAfee has stuck with their basic look for the 2012 version of Total Security, which mostly looks like an all-text-based website, complete with blue underlined links that take you to the different features the software offers. Is it still effective? Yes. Can it be a bit confusing? Definitely. But McAfee does their best to explain as much as they can without being complicated. Antivirus and Antimalware/Performance Although McAfee has always done well with independent testing — most impressively in the last couple of tests — the software ended up faltering in the most recent round of tests from AV-Comparatives, an independent antivirus testing organization. In the Whole Product Dynamic Test, which looks at how the different components work together against viruses, McAfee scored 0 out of 3 stars, a first for McAfee. Part of why it was ranked so low was because the software is designed to warn you about malicious web addresses that you might be visiting, not block them, which is one of the key components to the test. The software also historically tends to be sensitive and blocks several safe sites or files. In our own test of the software, it performed exactly as it should. It blocked every test virus we threw at it, as well as some safe software already on our computer. As far as performance is concerned, the software still performs at the quick speeds it is known for, without slowing down your computer. New Features Despite its simplicity, McAfee does offer a few cool new features this year. The most interesting is the Safe URL Sharing, which will warn your Facebook friends if they try to click on a spam link that you've posted. Along with this feature is a URL shortening feature, which will also check to make sure the URL is safe. Another cool feature is the USB and Removable Drive Scan, which will check out your portable drives before any malware can transfer from the disk to your system. Conclusion McAfee is not concerned with the flashiness that can make the top security software suites so enticing. But they still have a proven track record of blocking threats to your computer and protecting you from viruses and malware. And for only $44.99, with the NextAdvisor discount, the price is right for an effective security suite with a few shiny new features that some of the other suites don't have. System Requirements: Microsoft Windows 2000, Windows XP, Windows Vista, or Windows 7 AV-Comparatives ratings on a variety of tasks related to the antivirus and anti-malware product. "Known Malware" refers to a product's ability to catch pre-identified viruses, while "Unknown Malware" refers to its ability to detect brand new viruses. Older scores may reflect previous software versions.
Visit McAfee Total Protection 2012 Website | Compare to Other Internet Security Software |
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**Score indicates impact of antivirus product on system performance. August 2010 test by AV-Comparatives. 
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