Is McAfee Virus by AOL any good?

[acr45]

Is anybody using the new mcafee virus program by AOL? and if so is it any good? I'm using Avira right now but the updates are not working and if I can't troubleshoot this I was thinking about switching to this instead.

[acr1965]

From what I understand the AOL version is some sort of slimmed down McAfee. Although someone else may be able to give more details of that. If you are set on McAfee, there was a link that gave away a 1-year free subscription to McAfee VirusScan Plus.

http://www.natwest.com/microsites/personal/latest_deals/index.asp?referrer=online

[The One]

It is ok and will keep you safe. I would suggest using another free AV such as Avira

[Sjoeii]

AOL was better when it used the Kaspersky engine.
Just try and see what it does for you

[solcroft]

My first impression of it that it was noticeably slower than any other product I've tried. The program startup is slow, and the UI response generally feels sluggish. Though to be fair, the machine I was trialing it on only had 256MB RAM, so your mileage may vary. There are some irritating flaws in the product as well, most notably the lack of a command to empty the quarantine and event logs, and the inability to manually quarantine a file.

On the good side, the product comes with a decent firewall for a suite, has some system hardening features called SystemGuards (which monitor for changes to critical system areas and offer to block or allow said changes), and is overall the whole McAfee package minus some parental controls or some such that I'd rather do without anyway. Not at all bad for a free product, if you've got the system specs to handle it.

[Mrkvonic]

Hello,

Any anti-virus is ok, the only question is what the price is:

- How annoying it is.
- How many services it installs.
- How much memory and cpu it eats.
- How it interferes with work, games, scripting etc.
- Who makes it - I wouldn't touch anything AOL.

Mrk

[C.S.J]

mcafee is fine, i dont know why it gets slagged-off so much.

they have surely improved, and latest results show this, their software is not as heavy as it once was either, they are a big player and things are improving.

its not kaspersky?... pfft, not every AV has to be a kaspersky clone to be any good at protecting its users.

[Diver]

Over the last year, or so, McAfee has dropped out of the top tier in terms of detection. You can see this at AV-Comparatives, or just about any other test.

[C.S.J]

since when has 93% or whatever not been a top tier antivirus?

these are the dangers of IBK's tests, as they label the good vs the bad, anything lower than the highest scores are considered to be not a top tier antivirus.

[Bluenile]

The firewall is not stealthed with default settings. It needs turning up before it passes...

On the first scan it found a false positive as well. Not impressed overall, best to stick with Avast/Avira + Comodo etc in my opinion..

[acr45]

I guess my real question altogether was is McAfee BETTER than the free AntiVir. I'm guessing it's not but is it a pretty good alternative? and about the firewall that comes with it.......I really don't care about that since I'm using Comodo, I'm just interested in how well their anti-virus performs.

[trjam]

Look here (http://www.av-comparatives.org/seiten/ergebnisse_2007_08.php) any rated standard or above are good AVs, and as you can see McAfee did very well. Click on Comparatives and the August report.

[acr45]

I see that AVG is better than McAfee. Wouldn't AVG be a better choice? Does the free version of their anti-virus have a same effectiveness as their paid version?

[C.S.J]

the fact is,

'which is better' is not allowed.

and IBK's tests welcome these posts....

really nasty angry annoying comments deleted*

[IBK]

why "IBK's tests"?
you could also argue that McAfee passed more VB tests than Grisoft or that AVG scored in AV-Test.de tests higher than McAfee.

*really nasty angry annoying comments deleted

[C.S.J]

ok, all tests.... dont get bitchy with me sunny jim :)

they do welcome these sort of posts, and then they all just get deleted. :wacko:

[IBK]

{QUOTE-> I see that AVG is better than McAfee. <-QUOTE}

what you see is just that AVG Anti-Malware scored one level higher than McAfee in one on-demand test.

{QUOTE-> Wouldn't AVG be a better choice? <-QUOTE}

only you can answer this question after trying the product by yourself on your PC and evaluating the various aspects on your "list".

{QUOTE-> Does the free version of their anti-virus have a same effectiveness as their paid version? <-QUOTE}
In most tests you see AVG Anti-Malware tested. AVG Anti-Malware scores much better than AVG Free or AVG Pro. So, no the free version is not as good as the paid version regarding malware detection.

[interstate ron]

{QUOTE-> what you see is just that AVG Anti-Malware scored one level higher than McAfee in one on-demand test.



only you can answer this question after trying the product by yourself on your PC and evaluating the various aspects on your "list".


In most tests you see AVG Anti-Malware tested. AVG Anti-Malware scores much better than AVG Free or AVG Pro. So, no the free version is not as good as the paid version regarding malware detection. <-QUOTE}
Artfully answered!

[lucas1985]

{QUOTE-> Does the free version of their anti-virus have a same effectiveness as their paid version? <-QUOTE}
AVG Free lacks ad/spyware detection and the Ewido engine (better detection of backdoors, zombies, etc)

[trjam]

{QUOTE-> Is anybody using the new mcafee virus program by AOL? and if so is it any good? I'm using Avira right now but the updates are not working and if I can't troubleshoot this I was thinking about switching to this instead. <-QUOTE}
here is the answer to your question. Yes, Avira has update problems, that is a gimme. I do use McAfee and it is very good, so good that it is certified for, not only detecting, but cleaning to by the Icsa labs. And some may discount that validity of certification, but it is a biggy for me. That is why I left other vendors. So go trial it and see for yourself.

[ccsito]

{QUOTE-> My first impression of it that it was noticeably slower than any other product I've tried. The program startup is slow, and the UI response generally feels sluggish. Though to be fair, the machine I was trialing it on only had 256MB RAM, so your mileage may vary. There are some irritating flaws in the product as well, most notably the lack of a command to empty the quarantine and event logs, and the inability to manually quarantine a file.
<-QUOTE}

I also noticed that when I used an older version of VirusScan for many years on a 333 MHz system with 160MB. The AV icon usually was the last thing to pop into the system tray and I ALWAYS had to wait until it showed up or risk freezing my system if I tried to do something before it did. :gack:

[Perman]

Hi, folks: I used VirusScan personal edition before and now using enterprise edition. I do feel that there is an remarkable difference between these two. Enterprise one would give users much less problems. In addition to that, I have a same feeling towards McAfee's firewall as well (personal firewall vs. enterprise desktop firewall). If this is true, why ?

[trjam]

the thing with me was the install. Now it did seem a lifetime to get it to set up, configure and reboot. But once I did and did a defrag, it ran pretty smooth. But the install was like giving birth.

Err, ahem, not that I know what it is like to give birth. Ahem.

[ggf31416]

Avast had better detection than mcaffe in recent tests:
http://www.av-comparatives.org/ (August 2007 test)
http://blog.chip.de/0-security-blog/microsoft-verbessert-seinen-virenscanner-20070821

[trjam]

True, but remember what our good friend Dr. Web says, err, I mean CSJ, tests dont tell all. They tell alot, but they really are not the final word for YOUR pc. I personally, would take the lowest scoring AV with Sandboxie, before I would take the top rating AV anywhere.

[Graystoke]

Comcast is my ISP and it offers McAfee VS and firewall free to its customers. I've used it, and there's nothing wrong with it as far as I'm concerned. I just keep trying others to see what's out there. The grass is always greener you know. ;) :) I'm getting closer to sticking with McAfee though.

[mercurie]

{QUOTE-> The firewall is not stealthed with default settings. It needs turning up before it passes... <-QUOTE} I noted this the other day...:o why on earth wouldn't the default at least be "tight" is beyond me.

[mercurie]

{QUOTE-> AVG Free lacks ad/spyware detection and the Ewido engine (better detection of backdoors, zombies, etc) <-QUOTE}I agree. My thoughts exactly. ;)

On my machine - pc 1. I have same set up as Graystoke. For free it provides good all around protection. Please note the low horse power of this machine and I notice almost no slow downs. Also note that i do not have anything else in the real time security department pulling on these few horses.

And finally yes the install as was stated made me think something went wrong and it was hung but it was not...yes like giving birth... my wife took 14 hours with one of my children. ;D

Some good honest posts just based on my experience imho. :thumb:

[Bluenile]

{QUOTE-> I noted this the other day...:o why on earth wouldn't the default at least be "tight" is beyond me. <-QUOTE}

I find it very strange. especially as it's probably aimed at people who would rather 'set and forget' yet on default settings the inbound firewall protection is worse than Windows Firewall !