McAfee Antivirus Performance and Features
McAfee’s real-time protection effectively stops threats as they occur, with a special mention to its performance in stopping a threat during a test with a non-harmful EICAR file, demonstrating its real-time protection capability. However, it’s important to note that running McAfee in the background could impact your device’s CPU performance, potentially causing a slight delay in opening programs, especially on older computers.
The antivirus software offers various scanning options including full, quick, and custom scans, as well as scheduled scans to suit different user needs. Full scans are thorough but time-consuming, while quick scans provide a faster, albeit less comprehensive, check. Custom scans allow for targeted scanning of specific files or folders.
McAfee’s virus detection capabilities are solid, successfully detecting three out of five test viruses in a controlled experiment. While it didn’t catch all test viruses, it performed better than some other antivirus brands in detecting certain types of malware.
Additional Features and Support
McAfee Antivirus goes beyond basic antivirus protection with features like identity monitoring, which scans for personal information across the dark web and credit networks, alerting users to potential identity theft risks. It also offers up to $1 million in identity theft coverage, lost wallet protection, and a personal data cleanup tool.
The mobile app is user-friendly, providing robust anti-phishing and Wi-Fi scanning capabilities. Customer support is another strong point for McAfee, with responsive 24/7 phone and live chat support.
McAfee Antivirus – Pricing and Packages
McAfee Antivirus offers multiple pricing tiers, catering to different needs and budgets:
- McAfee Basic: Starting at $29.99/year, covering 1 device.
- McAfee Essential: Starting at $39.99/year, covering 5 devices.
- McAfee Premium / LiveSafe: Starting at $49.99/year, covering unlimited devices.
- McAfee Advanced: Starting at $89.99/year, also for unlimited devices but with additional features like parental controls and identity theft protection.
- McAfee Ultimate: Priced at $199.99/year, offering the most comprehensive protection across unlimited devices.
McAfee Antivirus – Pros and Cons
Pros:
- Excellent real-time protection.
- Comprehensive additional features like identity monitoring and secure file shredder.
- User-friendly mobile app and strong customer support.
- Various scanning options to suit different needs.
Cons:
- Potential CPU performance impact due to background operation.
- Virus detection is good but not the best when compared to some competitors.
- Full scans can be time-consuming.
Conclusion
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Antivirus | Parental Control | Password Manager | PC Cleaners | VPN | Identity Theft
