McAfee Internet Security 2011 | 73.2McAfee is an established name in computer security, and their internet security suite is pretty good. McAfee Internet Security 2011 features multi-layer protection from viruses, spyware and other online threats.
McAfee Internet Security has proven itself time and time again against some of the most rigorous tests, including ICSA, West Coasts Labs Levels 1 & 2 and Virus Bulletin 100%. Each of these tests came to the same conclusion—McAfee Internet Security Suite is well equipped to protect your computer and your personal information from the dangers that lurk on the web, and performs well among the best internet security software.
However, McAfee Internet Security isn’t the best internet security suite, and needs a few more features to compete. Furthermore, the false positive debacle in April 2010 is reason enough to give pause and consider alternatives. In April McAfee security software falsely flagged and removed the crucial Windows file svchost.exe, causing millions of McAfee users running Windows XP to have serious issues. And while we’re confident McAfee has learned their lesson, it’s a mistake that’s hard to overlook.
Antispyware: 
The ISCA gave their approval for the antispyware function of the McAfee Internet Security suite. This software will detect spyware of all kinds including adware, keyloggers, Trojans, browser hijackers and more. Unfortunately, the scanner did miss many tracking cookies as well as some pre-installed spyware toolbars.
Antivirus:
McAfee is one of the few companies that submitted their internet security software to all three major testing labs: ICSA, Virus Bulletin and West Coast Labs, and passed all three tests. McAfee Internet Security suites software offers a variety of virus scanning options. You can scan files on demand, in real time or schedule system scans for predetermined times. We particularly like the Idle Timer feature which ensures that scans are only run when you’re not actively using the computer to minimize impact on performance. The timer also prevents automatic updates from interrupting your computer usage.
McAfee’s website provides current information on potentially harmful viruses and virus hoaxes to keep you safe and informed. It also has valuable information that you can use to help keep your family safe by being aware of current trends and usage behaviors.
Firewall: 
The McAfee firewall will keep intruders out and your personal information safe. It monitors your computer’s ports and all data that enters or leaves. With one click, you can lock down the firewall, which blocks all network traffic between your computer and the internet. It also stops remote connections from accessing your computer.
Setting up custom firewall rules and changing the firewall configuration is possible, but can be a bit confusing. The 2-way firewall settings are flexible, but you’ll need to know what you’re doing before you start tinkering with the settings.
Other Security/Features:
In addition to the main security functions listed above, McAfee Internet Security further protects your computer and personal information by scanning emails and instant message attachments. The internet security software will detect problems, filter spam and notify you of potential phishing schemes. Phishing is creating a fraudulent email or website that appears to be a legitimate company, like a bank, credit card company or government agency. The goal is to use the fake identity to collect personal information.
McAfee’s internet security suite also has extensive parental control features that will filter web content by keyword, by using a blacklist and even by image analysis. You are able to set up an account and customize web filters for each user. Filtering can be based on age ranges or specific content categories. In addition to controlling accessible content, the parental controls component also allows parents to determine what hours of the day children can access the internet. You may wish to check out our review of McAfee Family Protection for even more extensive parental control capabilities and features.
McAfee Internet Security also includes a few PC utilities, including the QuickClean tool, defragmenter and file shredder. McAfee QuickClean is a clean-up utility that helps you remove junk files and other clutter on your computer that can cause slowdown. The secure file shredder lets you permanently delete sensitive files in a manner that they can’t be recovered.
McAfee Internet Security also has the impressive link scanning tool for even more internet security. McAfee SiteAdvisor was introduced long before other security vendors caught on, and remains a useful tool to help you steer clear of online threats in the moment. SiteAdvisor displays color-coded security ratings on search results using search engines. Not only are they quick and fairly unobtrusive, these security icons gives you proactive intel on websites before you click on them, so you can avoid malicious websites. SiteAdvisor is a great utility, especially useful for protection from socially engineered threats that continue to infiltrate the first page of Google on otherwise safe search terms.
McAfee’s internet security suite also includes online backup, a feature often only included in the higher-priced premium security suites. Unfortunately, the 1GB of online backup seems pretty meager, especially when you consider that you can get 2GB for free from McAfee’s data backup provider, Mozy.com.
Ease of Use: 
McAfee’s main user interface is well organized so you can quickly access and configure the firewall, antivirus and parental controls. You can also access reports and logs so you can see exactly what functions have taken place and what the results are.
We didn’t have any problems while installing this software. The initial setup is simple and the software has default settings so you don’t have to do any extensive configuring. The first update might take a little while, but subsequent updates are quick and easy. McAfee integrates well with other programs like Internet Explorer and Microsoft Outlook.
Uninstalling McAfee Internet Security seemed to go well until we searched for things that it might have left behind. Many registry keys as well as several directories were still present after a forced reboot.
Help & Support:
McAfee provides tutorials, a user manual and FAQs. You can also contact customer support by phone, online chat and email.
Summary:
McAfee Internet Security provides the security you need to safely navigate the web, though we found it little bit lacking in some areas. The idle timer has greatly reduced the potential to slow your computer down while the realtime scanner is functioning. McAfee Internet Security has a unique combination of features and pretty good security, but it can’t quite compete with the best internet security software.
Download McAfee Internet Security 2011
0 comments:
Post a Comment