Review by Quoad Toad

I just finished installing this software on several devices - Android phone, Windows 7 desktop, and two Windows 8 laptops. So far, I like what I’m seeing.

First, the installation is very easy. None of my devices has a DVD drive anymore and instead I use a portable one. This software is convenient because it simply includes a code so that you can create a McAfee account. After you create an account, you can download the software onto any device of your choosing. McAfee makes it easy to install the software on phones/tablets by sending you a link to download the software to your device.

I also like that when installing to Windows devices, you can choose which features you want installed. For instance, I have no use for parental notifications, so I turned those off. All of the different features can be installed or not installed depending on your preference.

The first thing I did on my PCs was run a scan for potential viruses/security issues. I was previously running Norton and it must have done a good job because the scan found nothing suspicious.

I also installed the software on my Android phone. The installation went smoothly and I chose my settings. Then I went online to make sure the device locator was working and was happy to see that it had an accurate location for my phone. Then, came the frustrating part. Apparently, one of the settings added a little tab on the right hand side of my phone that shows alerts for various issues. I tried going through every setting I could find to remove it. I don’t like the way it looks since it overlaps with apps. I don’t understand why these notices aren’t put in the notice bar, like every other program. To get rid of it temporarily, I was able to drag and drop it into a garbage bin. Again, why not put this in a notification tray and allow me to swipe it away? Dragging it up to a garbage can is awkward. Of the two notifications I have receive so far, one was a warning about one of my apps not meeting their security standards and the other was asking if I wanted to close all of my open programs. The first one made sense to me and I uninstalled that app. The second one was just irritating.

I tried contacting McAfee through chat three times. The first time, the screen just loaded forever. The second time, the chat window wouldn’t open. The third time, the chat window opened, but after waiting for 6 minutes for a representative, I received a notice saying that a technician had ended my session. I give up. This is just too frustrating. The software works well on my computers, but it’s obvious the mobile device version needs work. I would try to connect to McAfee again, but it doesn’t appear there’s an option to email them - just chat or phone. Every time I try to reconnect, it makes me enter all of my information again. After three strikes, they are out.