McAfee Firewall opinions

I am offered a free desktop version of McAfee firewall....I don't intend to use or install it.......yet would enjoy hearing anyone's comments in regards to this firewall.....McAfee compares it to Norton and Blackice......an says its more feature rich than those two. The McAfee firewall according to their website appears to be but rule based and application based.......personally I haven't known of such a firewall that offers both.

would it even be worth downloading on to a cd..?

snowman

 

Contrary to what many vendors would like to have you believe, there is no insurmountable barrier between a rules-based and application-based software firewall. Indeed, most of the current crop of PSFs can make this claim. ConSEAL (on which I believe the McAfee firewall is based) can make this claim, so I don't see why McAfee can't. But, then, it's also largely true of AtGuard, NIS/NPF, Outpost, Sygate, Kerio, Tiny, etc., etc.

Perhaps you can find a URL at the McAfee website which explains why they feel their solution is so unique?

Oh, for the record, I always thought that ConSEAL was an excellent firewall; I just had problems coping with the paradigm it used. I have no idea as to what McAfee may have done to it, but I can't get excited about non-specific complaints about 'bloat' (if that's all it comes down to).

 

snowman - I can't in good conscience recommend installing anything by or from McAfee - remember this thread?

https://www.wilderssecurity.com/showthread.php?t=1219;start=0

 

Folks don't waste your time commenting.....the "free offer" firewall expires after a year of use.......an:

:Renewal. Upon expiration of your subscription to the Software, the Company may automatically renew your subscription to the Software at the then prevailing price using credit card information you have previously provided. You may elect not to renew your subscription by contacting the Company's customer service department and informing them of your desire not to renew your subscription prior to any such renewal.


so,,,,one morning you find in the mail a billing on your credit card because you forgot to tell McAfee not to re-new........legally you most likely would have to pay the bill...if the new firewall was installed....(don't know if thats an automatic install or not) Mark up one more reason for never using a credit card online. When will software vendors realize that its this type of practice that hurts the entire online software industry.......an mark up one more reason for the governments to step in an regulate.
these days reading the fine print is mandatory.

Snowman

 

Snowy,

Okay, I see. It's the Book of the Month Club for software.

Get ready; you're going to start seeing a lot of this buried in EULAs shortly; it's all in anticipation that UCITA will become the law of the land.

 

Joe

Thanks for yor comments.....appreciated.




PETE

LOL....you are ever so right...I recall the thread very well. Well guess what...as you may know I just reformated......updated my McAfee virus program...an suddenly its "calling out"........never did this prior to this update....have used McAfee virus scanner for the past two years without ever it calling out. this is the office version.
McAfee sure is pushing....no I would not use McAfee products in the future.....when the virus scan expires that ends it for me.....McAfee can come out with future products that clean the house...cook supper...washes the car...claims to detect viruses....etc..etc.....an I would still not use their products.......tonight I will need to research this new "call-out" an remove it from start-up.....my first attempt to do so disabled the virus scanner entirely........wonder what the firewall wall does....I wonder if I was using their firewall would it allowed the virus scanner to "pass" an call-out.

snowman


Oh Pete.....I have decided to use win2000 features as a firewall.......with an application firewall.......do you know if winME 98 can be upgraded to winME 2k ? (this is off topic so I wont comment here further....just jammed this in to avoid an new thread)

 

Joe

LOL book of the month club.....hey you may have just started a new fad.............
yes....defintely eula is mandatory reading.....an thats what will get alot of people...they just don't read!! not the eula nor the install instructions....an then they complain.....
if a course in computer useage was ever offered....mandatory "reading" should be required........frankly I am getting of the opinion that most prople don't even care......(until they get burnt)

snowman

 

Hi guys! I'm certainly no expert but I know I don't like McAfee. It came with my system when I bought it. It took it a long time to do a system scan and sometimes it crashed the system. I got really fed up, went and got Norton 2002. Despite warnings from Hewlett-Packard of dire consequences if I removed it, I put it on and have not ever regretted it. It does a full scan in under 20 minutes and gives me a complete report. No BS. (I have since removed almost all of the factory installed software and now my system runs like a top.) Maybe some other people like McCrappy. I don't.

 

There is a thread on PC911 about McAfee AV scanner, today. http://www.pcnineoneone.com/dcforum/computer/43827.html

Most of the folks that hang out at PC911 have such a low opinion of the McAfee AV product, that posters that start threads on problems are encourged to try something else. We even post the links to the uninstall info (on the McAfee site).

 

snowman - Yes, to the best of my (limited) knowledge, both W98SE and WinMe can be up-graded to W2K.

However, I did receive a warning slip with my new Me computer that upgrading it to W2K could very possibly result in dire consequences to everything I had on there already (I'd probably lose a lot of the other programs). That doesn't apply (I don't think) to W98SE-to-Win2K, though.

As I'm real light in the 'technical department' stuff, you might want to get someone else's opinion on that, though. I didn't even know that W2K had any 'firewall'-like features. Pete

 

PETE

refer to:

http://www.wilderssecurity.com/showthread.php?t=1930


IMO this is the way to go!!! rarely., if ever,. have I been so conviced on such an issue....in fact..if needed I'll pay a higher price for w2k just to have this feature. What I hope to find is an upgrade package for winMe....if not than I'll install a ghost drive an dual-boot


MARTI

thanks for the response.....although I detest McAfee the company.....the anti-virus program has worked very well for me.....*a bitter taste in mouth having to say that** I use java applets extensively an McAfee does a good job of monitoring those......well I say that but actually I have never encountered a bad applet...not to my knowledge.
on CD I have an old copy of Norton an have been meaning to install it for some time just to see the results..I don't even know which version it is....but someone (Techno I think) said that it would still be updated....(Techno if it wasn't you..please excuse)
My illness had me layed out for several weeks...during which time my attitude hardened toward all the spy manure going on.....even by the software vendors that are supposedly legit..ie; McAfee......in the past three years I briefly had an e mail account..which is now gone......right now I can't even access my pop account because I refuse to dis-able the firewall......the situation is out in the twilight zone somewhere....consumers are being treated like stale garbage every time we turn around.........

snowman

 

Pete

in the link I posted you will notice that Unicron mentions this as being obsolete......at the time I wasn't able to inquire to his meaning.....I am guessing he ment that w2k is obsolete... fact is shortly M$ will in fact stop support for w2k.....but hey the built-in firewall would still work....an that would remain a great asset support or not......the feature is unlikely to be offer again by M$.....it works to well an M$ can't have a product feature that actually works...might ruin the rep....LOL

snowman

 

Marti

I have just completed reading the posts at the link you so kindly provided......them there folks don't like McAfee very much LOL.....seems to be a growing concensus..
here comes that bitter taste again...cause I can't honestly say that I ever had a problem with the virus scanner......this is the office version.....until now that is...its calling-out since the last update....blocking it with the firewall..but trys desperately to call-out at shut-down....so I disable it prior to shutting down,,,,,as yet I haven't traced the ip its calling........
eventually I'll go with KAV.....

snowman

 

Hi Snowman,

That was one of the milder threads on PC911 regarding McAfee.

Some of the folks that are really outspoken in their total contempt for anything McAfee are either out of town, or out for the day.

take care,
marti

 

Marti

please convey my respects to the posters at your forum....the way McAfee is treating its customers it well deserves the contemp.....pop-ups...lies about needing security products...etc.....I don't personally experience those problems...other than the virus scanner I refuse to use McAfee products.......right now I am rather pived about the sudden calling out of the virus scanner...it hasn't done it since booting...waiting to grab the url.....

snowman

 

Hi Snowman,

My guess is that it's trying to auto-update. Or register something or...

I would get rid of it soon and go get a trial version of something else.

take care,
marti

 

MARTI

no its fully registered....update manually (I never use auto updates..never) this is very strange behavior..I did an indept search..an found nothing.....something intergrated with the virus program during the last update.....I can't stop the call out without shutting down the entire program........an like previously stated I've used this program for two years...an this never happen previously..........its not a trojan....its something McAfee did.........I'll discover it eventually.....
to be honest I am exhusted....just reformating blew me away....its the results of my illness....just stay awake to long again...nearly thirty hours.....that wont work LOL

Thanks Marti..for the fine suggestions....its appreciated

 

Back in reference to the firewalls being application and rules based, Sygate Personal Firewall is just this