McAfee has parted ways with former owner Intel – and found a fresh new look. Gone is the clunky grey and green interface of yore, replaced by a more tasteful, modern design.
The main functions now lurk at the bottom of the homescreen: from here you can scan for viruses, check your system for vulnerabilities and outdated apps, and clean up cookies and junk files. You can also set up True Key – an advanced password manager that supports face and fingerprint recognition alongside regular passwords, and works across Windows, macOS, Android and iOS. The free version lets you store up to 15 passwords, but your McAfee subscription comes with unlimited access for up to five users – a nice touch that others could learn from.
Reliability & Security
Obviously, the #1 concern when it comes to antiviruses is security. As a general rule, there are two areas where they need to prove their worth. Those include the regular routine of scanning for viruses and the much more advanced and complicated process of real-time protection while data is being copied to your operating system.
So, does McAfee impress or disappoint? According to several well-respected third-party companies that specialize in testing various antivirus packages, McAfee security is in the top league for traditional virus detection (that’s true for every single package).
McAfee Performance
Detection rates are critical, no doubt there, but the overall performance also plays a key role. And with McAfee running on your device, you won’t feel a significant drop in performance. The Task Manager shows that even though there can be as much as 20 background process working when McAfee is active, they require very little resources to operate.
Overall, they use up to 200 Mb of RAM, which is quite alright. As far as CPU and hard drive usage go, McAfee is one of the least demanding engines on the market. Again: there is almost no impact on performance with this one.
Malware Protection & Ransomware Detection
According to the experts, you’ll never have a complete picture unless you run a ransomware simulator on your device and see how the antivirus behaves. Ransomware is an app/small program that infests your computer/gadget and encrypts any images, documents, and MP3 files it can get to. And a good antivirus should be able to find it and kill it.
Ease Of Use
We can say with certainty that McAfee is among the friendliest antiviruses available right now. The main window is very informative and shows all the necessary information, keeping the users up to date on the current state of things. By the way, you won’t have to reboot the antivirus or the device after installation – it will start to work as soon as it’s successfully installed.
The user interface allows you to get access to parental control, tune the anti-spam settings, configure the firewall, and schedule future virus scans that will automatically launch when the time comes. Navigation is fast and intuitive.
Available Packages and Pricing
There are also free mobile versions of the antivirus for Android and iOS. Here is what you get with McAfee Total Protection:
- Antimalware, antispam and ransomware protection;
- Secure Encrypted Storage
- Secure Payments
- PC Optimization tools (file shredder, quick clean)
- PC Boost
- Identity Theft Protection (comes with 5 and 10-devices licenses)
- Parental control (only available with 10-devices license)
The antivirus is compatible with Windows, Mac, iOS and Android devices. There are packages for 1, 5 and 10 devices.
As one of the leading antivirus solutions on the market, McAfee offers competitive pricing. McAfee currently offers discounts for Total Protection package:
- 1 Device – $29.99 ($50 off)
- 5 Devices – $34.99 ($65 off)
- 10 Devices – $39.99 ($75 off)
McAfee Support and Customer Service
On the official website, you’ll find a FAQ section along with an extensive knowledge base. It will help you solve most problems on your own without reaching out to customer support. The online chat system is excellent; you can also go old-school and call support or send an email.
Tech support is available 24/7 (the phone number is toll-free, of course). McAfee customer service is highly professional, friendly, and the staff is always ready to lend that helping hand. Furthermore, users can buy all kinds of support packages.
PC Tune-up is a service for the computers that are too slow and freeze all the time. The experts at McAfee can help you improve your device’s performance by removing unnecessary apps/programs, stop non-essential apps from taking up precious CPU and RAM resources, and remove “junk” to free hard drive space.
