McAfee VirusScan Plus 2008
Manufacturer: McAfee Part number: VSF08EMB3RUA
- More product information:
- Editors' review
- User reviews
- Specifications
- Manufacturer info
- Bottom Line:
- McAfee VirusScan Plus 2008's protection keeps up with the changing threats on the Internet, but the product itself doesn't excel.
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CNET editors' review
McAfee VirusScan Plus 2008 price range: $7.95 - $20.59
- Reviewed by: Robert Vamosi
- Reviewed on: 10/10/2007
- Released on: 10/01/2007
The good: McAfee VirusScan Plus 2008 offers more than three user licenses at $10 per seat, the ability to scan links in IM messages, and the ability to watch movies or play games uninterrupted.
The bad: McAfee VirusScan Plus 2008 uses the same interface as last year, lacks hourly updates, and remains somewhere in the middle of pack in our 2008 testing results.
The bottom line: McAfee VirusScan Plus 2008's protection keeps up with the changing threats on the Internet, but the product itself doesn't excel.
Editors' note: On March 5, 2008, CNET revised its antispyware review ratings to emphasize a product's ability to remove spyware. The new ratings are based on the following formula: Installation (20 percent), Features (20 percent), Performance (50 percent), and Support (10 percent). In most cases a product's rating went down, expanding the range between highest and lowest rated.
Many of improvements within McAfee VirusScan Plus 2008 are in the code, which is where you want them to be. McAfee has gone ahead with a silly marketing campaign emphasizing that it alone will protect your desktop, protect your Web browsing with Site Advisor, and will also protect your mobile phone for one price. Which makes us suspicious--why tack on the extras? Two of three "triple play" protections were actually offered last year, and, at the time of this writing, the mobile component still wasn't available for testing. Instead of repackaging itself, McAfee should have pared down the system resources it uses, enhanced its firewall more, tweaked last year's interface, and switched to a more streamlined download and installation process. As it stands Mcafee VirusScan 2008 looks and feels like warmed-over last year's product, with too few "must haves." Bottom line, for solid, award-winning antivirus protection, without the gimmicks and the ever present up sale to more expensive suites, Kaspersky Anti-Virus 2008 remains our Editors' Choice for 2007.
Setup
McAfee VirusScan Plus 2008 includes one PC license at $39.95, but McAfee also offers three-user licenses for $59.95, and additional licenses for a mere $10 each. By comparison, BitDefender Antivirus offers its three-user license for $29.95. Kaspersky offers its single license at $49.95, but matches McAfee on its three-user price. McAfee VirusScan 2008 runs on Windows 2000, XP, and Vista, while Norton AntiVirus 2008 only works on XP and Vista.
McAfee continues to use a bootstrap method of downloading code to your machine, and then installing it module by module. This year the process was much faster in our informal tests. There's the security center, which you download first, then, depending on the product you purchased, the product itself is downloaded from McAfee to your computer. McAfee claims it can offer the latest build; the alternative is to install the product, then immediately update. What's curious is that McAfee didn't scan our computer (which other AV products have also stopped doing) yet VirusScan Plus insisted our computer was secure on first load (other AV products prompted us to initiate a scan right away). This may be an interface bug or perhaps reflect McAfee's overenthusiasm for its proactive, real-time anti-malware heuristics. It would be nice if it prompted us to run a scan.
Should you want to remove McAfee VirusScan Plus, unlike most antivirus products we've seen this year, there is no uninstall option for McAfee in the Windows All Programs listing. Instead, you'll need to use the Windows Control Panel Add/Remove Software option. Unlike last year--when McAfee left a mess--after our reboot, we were pleased to find no evidence left on our machine. In comparison, Norton AntiVirus 2008 leaves behind registry files and some system files.
Interface
The McAfee Protection Center interface has not changed since last year. It still offers a left-hand navigation for all tools, with a right-hand window pane for system status. Unlike Norton, which uses individual tabs for products such as Norton AntiVirus, McAfee's has fully integrated its Security Center. We like this better. There are two tables of contents: One lists basic features while a second lists more advanced tools.
We do like that McAfee has blended its various tools--security, utility, networking--together so that the overall product feels more integrated and whole. Norton still feels like several standalone applications repackaged. This year McAfee VirusScan Plus appears to have rewritten some of its code; it doesn't feel as heavy and clunky as last year's edition. That said, in our performance testing, McAfee remains in the middle of this year's pack of products in terms of overall performance.
One additional quibble is that by using the same interface for all its products, McAfee will list Attention under some of the nonused subheadings such as Parental Controls. To turn on Content Blocking, for example, we're told we'll need to buy McAfee Internet Security or McAfee Total Protection. This kind of up sale is unnecessary, and somewhat deceptive (maybe we don't want content blocking, or have it from another product). If you just want an antivirus product, you should be able to buy just an antivirus product.
Features
McAfee bills VirusScan Plus 2008 as its six-in-one security solution. Included within are many interesting tools such as the system diagnostic tools to shred deleted files and defragment your hard drive; various network monitoring tools; and McAfee's own antisphishing tool, SiteAdvisor. Although SiteAdvisor was included last year, it lacked the antiphishing component.
New this year is a free McAfee Virtual Technician an optional plug-in which, when downloaded, will diagnose the state of your McAfee product and computer health and then make recommendations how to fix it--for free. It seems unnecessary, but then again you can't argue with the price. Symantec offers a Norton equivalent, but it'll cost you $69.95 per use.
New is the ability for McAfee to scan links within IM messages and rate them. We found that this feature works with latest versions of AOL IM and Yahoo Messenger, two of the most popular IMs today; Norton offers similar protection but only for older builds of Yahoo and AOL.
Also new is a feature McAfee calls "State Aware," in which movies, slide shows, and even games play uninterrupted by security alerts or scans whenever you're in full-screen mode. It's a feature we've seen in other antivirus products this year; Norton doesn't offer this.
Enhanced over last year is the integration of antivirus, antispyware, firewall, and antiphishing. The heuristics, or System Guards, have also been improved.
Missing are more frequent updates of signature files and programs. Kaspersky updates hourly, while McAfee promises only daily updates (although it might, in an emergency, deliver more frequently).
Performance
McAfee VirusScan Plus stays in the middle of the pack, sometimes trending toward the upper end of the middle. On our iTunes test, VirusScan Plus placed solidly in the middle of the pack at 271 seconds. In our Microsoft Office test, VirusScan Plus trended toward the high end, taking home the second-longest score at 1,519 seconds. In a test scanning a single folder with compressed and media files, McAfee scored 446 seconds, again, toward the high end of our middle group. And in terms of boot speed, McAfee was third-longest at 38 seconds. To find out how we test antivirus software, see CNET Labs' How we test: Antivirus software page.
In terms of whether or not McAfee VirusScan Plus 2008 will protect your PC, we cite results from two leading independent antivirus testing organizations. In the latest test results from AV-Comparatives.org, for on-demand scans McAfee VirusScan Plus 2008 earned an Advanced (second-highest) rating, catching 93 percent of all malware tested and tying with Norton AntiVirus 2007. For the Retrospective/Proactive test, McAfee VirusScan Plus 2008 also earned an Advanced (second-highest) rating (PDF). From CheckVir.com, McAfee VirusScan Enterprisewas earned an Advanced rating, which includes both search and antivirus removal.
For antispyware protection, McAfee remains solidly in the middle of the pack in our latest CNET antispyware tests. CNET labs conducts three separate tests using spyware found to be bundled within free applications rejected by CNET Download.com (as part of its software policies, Download.com does not host applications containing known spyware). In the first test, active detection, McAfee discovered about 60 percent of the spyware; in the second, on demand test, McAfee detected about 55 percent of the spyware; and in the final, removal test, McAfee removed about 60 percent of the spyware placed on our infected machine.
Support
McAfee has improved its technical support over last year but still doesn't offer context-sensitive help like Kaspersky or Trend Micro, meaning you will have to search for specific help. McAfee does, however, provide an exhaustive 217-page manual. By comparison, only Kaspersky offers a complete 321-page manual; none of the other major AV companies provide these any more. McAfee Virtual Technician is the product's first line of defense. If it can't help, then you'll be directed toward the online FAQ, and, finally, chat or e-mail. If you try to jump ahead to chat or e-mail, you'll be directed back to the Virtual Technician first. It's as though McAfee doesn't want you to contact it directly. Missing is telephone support. Or, rather, telephone support is listed under Fee Based Support, with a variety of per-minute or per-incident plans starting at $2.95 a minute or $39 per incident. a robust user forum, and toll-free telephone support. There is an active community forum as well.
Conclusion
McAfee VirusScan 2008 and other McAfee products are bundled with various hardware systems; for the purposes of protecting your PC, they'll do just that. Plus you'll get the manufacturer's technical support. But for the discerning user looking to get the best protection, we suggest you try another product. The lack of a quality technical support from McAfee is stunning given that smaller antivirus companies do a much better job supporting their customers than this venerable giant in the industry. Rather than putting its energy into marketing gimmicks like "triple play," it would be nice to see McAfee take the lead next year and offer a truly solid antivirus product like Kaspersky or even Norton.
User reviews
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Technical support nightmare
by flyakyt on October 29, 2007
Pros: Never worked consistently enough to observe any pros
Cons: Uncorrectable error message about every 30-40 days which required uninstalling & re-installing each time. Thech support is terrible!
Summary: My new Toshiba Satellite laptop came with McAfee. I had problems with it out of the box, getting an error message that couldn't be fixed, so I had to ...
Summary: My new Toshiba Satellite laptop came with McAfee. I had problems with it out of the box, getting an error message that couldn't be fixed, so I had to uninstall & re-install. I went ahead and ordered the McAfee product online & re-installed hoping it would fix the problem. It worked for about a month and then I got the same error. The website claims that they are aware of the error and it referred me to a patch. The patch didn't work, so I had to re-install again. Both times I tried to call customer service (finding the phone number is an arduous task in itself), I was on hold for more than an hour before giving up. The re-install work for about a month, but again I received the same error message. This time I removed it, went out and bought Norton 360 and so far, so good. McAfee may fix this glitch, but I will never go back because the customer service is absolutely unacceptable!
3 out of 3 users found this user opinion helpful.
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Difficult to trust this product.
by x42384 on December 21, 2007
Pros: Free after rebates; Firewall seems to work;e-chat with tech support
Cons: Updater fails to tell you that it failed to update
Summary: Just recently installed McAfee 2008 Virus Scan Plus. Hit the UPDATE button to automatically download latest virus definition files. It pops up a box and says "it is checking for ...
Summary: Just recently installed McAfee 2008 Virus Scan Plus. Hit the UPDATE button to automatically download latest virus definition files. It pops up a box and says "it is checking for updates, please continue working". It makes you feel comfortable like it is updating. It doesn't even come back to say it is complete or successful. The box just goes away after a few minutes, so you think it is done. I do this routine daily. The update status indicator also increments the date you hit the UPDATE button. After several weeks of using the product, I get a warning indicator that says my virus defintion files are 8-29 days old. This was a surprise being that I update it everyday. Chatted with tech support, they had me download a "fix", but this did not fix the problem. Contacted them again, and they told me that my installation CD did not support downloading updates thru the web. - this was insane. Then they told me to uninstall the product, and instead of installing from the CD, install the entire product via the internet. I did this, and I assume that the internet method has the latest virus def files. After the new install, same problem, the UPDATE button doesn't tell you it updated any files or if the connection failed. Til this day, I have no idea if it is updating my def files.
Last year when I had problems, it was due to Ad-Aware software already on the system. Because of this, the McAfee Updater service never got installed. McAfee 2008 was not compatible with Ad-Aware. Once you removed Ad-Aware, McAfee installed correctly - Shame that their tech support did not know this until I had spoken to the 10th support rep. What also bothered me at that time was that the McAfee install process did not check for AdAware already on the system - should have warned you about incompatible programs. What really troubled me was that, the McAfee installation continues "successfully" but yet you have a hole in which the updater service never got installed and the McAfee software did not even catch it's own mistake of not installing a service. - wow. Anyhow, a year later, I am trying 2009 version. A quick installation of this shows that the McAfee 2009 install process now "checks" for incompatible programs. Will write a separate review for Total Protection 2009.
Tech support kept telling me that my proxy server was the problem, but I do not have any proxy server- i am just a home user.
What really bothers me is that in my scenario, the product does NOT even tell you that the update process failed. Poor product design.
If you have ever used Norton Antivirus product, they had a solid update process. It tell you which updates are available and shows you the install process.
Bottomline, my first experience was very bad and still unresolved. They have a 30-day money back return policy.
Updated on Dec 24, 20082 out of 2 users found this user opinion helpful.
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Does not protect against all viruses
by AXG on October 16, 2007
Pros: Can't think of any
Cons: Not effective in detecting all viruses
Summary: Recently, a friend gave me his laptop where he suspected some viruses. His IE opened strange windows and the laptop was slow. He had McAfee installed on the laptop (not ...
Summary: Recently, a friend gave me his laptop where he suspected some viruses. His IE opened strange windows and the laptop was slow. He had McAfee installed on the laptop (not the security center but a console version). I checked and all the signature files were up to date. I scanned the laptop several times and no viruses were reported. Then I scanned the laptop with security center version of Mcfee (security center 2007) which revealed many viruses, trojans, spyware and adware. After removal, the IE was still behaving funny. Then I scanned the laptop with Adaware SE personal edition and it detected around 300 different types of malware. After removing these, the laptop worked much better and IE no longer misbehaved. Then I uninstalled McAfee and downloaded Comodo anti-virus. A scan revealed many more viruses. The point is that McAfee was unable to protect the laptop.
The second problem I have with McAfee is that I cannot schedule a virus scan via Windows Task Scheduler. The McAfee built-in scheduler will start a scheduled scan even when the laptop is running on batteries. This will drain out batteries fairly quickly. The Windows scheduler allows me to stop virus scan from starting if laptop is on batteries. I contacted support and they said "sorry but this feature is not available in consumer versions of McAfee". How stupid.
After installing McAfee Security center and turning on all protections, I happened to look at the process manager. I was amazed to see at least 10 processes started by McAfee. Maybe that is how it works. I am looking for another AV solution but the CNET reviews fail to tell me which AV is most effective in detecting and removing viruses, adware, spyware and trojans.3 out of 5 users found this user opinion helpful.
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Rating 9 - Editor's Review in error
by Ex_Brit on October 16, 2007
Pros: 2008 product less resource hungry
Cons: Tutorial would be nice
Summary: The Editor's review states: "There is no tutorial, online manual, or user forums with McAfee",
Whilst a tutorial would be nice for each product, there are indeed online manuals ...Summary: The Editor's review states: "There is no tutorial, online manual, or user forums with McAfee",
Whilst a tutorial would be nice for each product, there are indeed online manuals and most definitely a Forum, which has been around for years and recently "moved house" to http://community.mcafee.com3 out of 5 users found this user opinion helpful.
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Its value is proportional to the price & it's cheap.
by ABall72 on June 15, 2009
Pros: It is inexpensive and helps keep some of the spyware off.
Cons: It has let several viruses past it, and can't remove them. For an additional $85 fee McAfee says that they will remove them. At this point I don't trust them to do anything.
Summary: Try another brand.
Summary: Try another brand.
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Don,t buy this product
by guy_garofalo on March 13, 2009
Pros: none could be found
Cons: killed my hard drive and I had to buy another one, computer never worked right again needed support from dell, microsoft just to save my documents and pictures. There wasn't any problem with my computer I just want to update it virus software
Summary: The mcafee support likes to tell you to contact dell and or microsoft and after they fix the problem mcagee will try to help you. don't be fooled by ...
Summary: The mcafee support likes to tell you to contact dell and or microsoft and after they fix the problem mcagee will try to help you. don't be fooled by the price you get what you pay for.
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McAfee never worked.
by redwood116 on March 12, 2009
Pros: It was awful! Repeated calls to their "service" center did not resolve the problem, and I ended up purchasing Norton (after only4 months).
Cons: I liked nothing about this product; it certainly didn't do the job that I purchased it for.
Summary: I received almost daily warnings that my computer wasn't protected. I took the time (long time on hold) to their service center, only to have warnings immediately thereafter.
Summary: I received almost daily warnings that my computer wasn't protected. I took the time (long time on hold) to their service center, only to have warnings immediately thereafter.
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ABSOLUTE GARBAGE
by Joe343334 on December 21, 2008
Pros: NOTHING GOOD.
Cons: The new version of Mcafee is a joke!!! Completely seizes up your processor & downloads when you don't want it to. Someone needs to be fired for this pathetic program. I've used it for several years but no more!!!
Summary: No product should seize up your CPU to this extent if properly written. Always when you're doing something else you lose control as it takes its sweet time downloading. ...
Summary: No product should seize up your CPU to this extent if properly written. Always when you're doing something else you lose control as it takes its sweet time downloading. It is a terrible program & whoever designed this latest version obviously has no computer programming skills whatsoever. Everyone who has this latest version has the same complaints. Does McAfee even care? Doubtful. Heads need to roll at McAfee.
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Protection good, but user interface and control bad
by tripap on September 5, 2008
Pros: Product appears to do an adequate job of scanning for viruses, worms, trojan horses and whatever, and updates are daily.
Cons: It's difficult to use the Security Center to set options. Things are not arranged in an intuitive way, and, although McAfee provides a way to choose which drives to scan for manual scans, but scheduled scans always scan everything in My Computer.
Summary: If you have a large backup drive such as a 1TB USB external hard drive, and want to have scheduled scans of certain types of files, you cannot prevent the ...
Summary: If you have a large backup drive such as a 1TB USB external hard drive, and want to have scheduled scans of certain types of files, you cannot prevent the scan program from scanning all of the the content on the external 1TB USB drive, because it appears in My Computer as a hard drive. That makes scans take many more hours that should be required. The user is allowed to choose which drives to scan on manual scans, but McAfee has not extended that level of control to the automatic scheduled ones, and it's been an issue for many years. This "feature" is a fatal flaw to me, as I need to keep my backup drive online all the time to allow for scheduled backups, but can't put up with the McAfee scheduled scan running for a day at a time. I'll try Kaspersky or some other product that provides better control.
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This new version is a resource hog...
by rwilson on August 30, 2008
Pros: It has done it's job as far as being a virus protection...but other than that I can't think of anything positive.
Cons: Slows everything down something terrible.
Summary: Terribe product upgrade. No problem with the earlier and older version. I used the older McAfee version and it was just fine. Then in July 2008 McAfee would not let ...
Summary: Terribe product upgrade. No problem with the earlier and older version. I used the older McAfee version and it was just fine. Then in July 2008 McAfee would not let me renew the older version and I had to upgrade to the 2008 version. I had speed problems immediately. I use google and it popped right up under the older version but not anymore. It takes forever to come up now. Even websites come up slow. Just about everything comes up slow now. Sometimes during the day the computer completely slows to a crawl. I've gone thru the program to try and reschedule any scans and close anything on the program and it hasn't helped. It started out bad when it would not allow me to use my Zone alarm, which I really enjoyed. I'm going to have to use something else, if I can get it uninstalled...and after paying for the upgrade.
Specifications
- Manufacturer: McAfee
- Part number: VSF08EMB3RUA
- Description: With the wide variety of viruses, hackers and blended threats lurking on the Internet today, you need more than a simple anti-virus program to keep your PC and files secure. McAfee VirusScan Plus AntiVirus, Firewall and AntiSpyware provide the essential protection you need to surf the Web and download files safely. With McAfee VirusScan Plus powerful integrated technologies work together to combat and defeat even the most sophisticated multi-pronged attacks. McAfee's trusted PC protection blocks and removes threats automatically, and identifies spyware and adware before they can run on your PC. Plus, to keep things extra simple, the McAfee SecurityCenter gives you at-a-glance control over all your McAfee applications. Get the confidence you need to surf the Web, knowing McAfee is always on, always updating and always protecting you.
General
- Category Security applications
- Subcategory Security - desktop firewall ,
Security - desktop antivirus - Language(s) English
- License pricing Standard
- Localization English
Software
- License Type Complete package
- License Qty 3 users
- License Pricing Standard
- Platform Windows
- Distribution Media CD-ROM ( Mini-box )
- Package Type Retail
Manufacturer info
- Manufacturer profile
- Browse McAfee products on Shopper.com
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- Manufacturer:McAfee
- Address:
3965 Freedom Circle, Santa Clara, CA 95054 - Phone: (408) 988-3832
