Review by MJ23447

The install process was easy on Vista Ultimate. In fact this version of the software uses a really convenient system where you register on their site to activate your software. This way you don’t need to worry about losing your software key. Some may find that intrusive but I find it useful.

I think most people are familiar with the most basic function a virus/spyware scanner performs. It looks for pre-defined viruses/spyware and makes sure that you don’t download, email or install them. McAfee has never been at the top of the list of virus detection but it isn’t the worst either.

I think perhaps the feature of this version that I like most is the Site Advisor feature (something not found in free scanners). What this does is pre-scan all the webpages you are going to against a central database and lets you know if virus or spyware problems have been found on those pages. This is particularly useful for people who are not familiar with more advanced methods for avoiding suspect websites. However, this feature is somewhat problematic because on two of my older systems it significantly slowed Internet Explorer 7 (though it did not slow down Firefox 3 at all).

Also useful is the Easy Networking tool that is included. This allows you to see a map of your network and to see the status of the McAfee software on each. It does not use anything more sophisticated than a Windows Workgroup but it makes it easier to set up and use a home network to share printers and files. However, I recommend caution setting up a network using this tool if you also have a wireless router. It may or may not warn you about setting up strong encryption on your router to prevent people from logging on to your home network and viewing your network shares.

Finally I do like the intelligent firewall. Vista comes with a firewall but it is pretty weak. This version of McAfee does a decent job of letting you know when bad programs are trying to connect to the internet. It is also adjustable so you can get a lot of warnings (if you like that) or very few warnings.

Overall I feel pretty good about this software.