This was the strongest part of the McAfee 2012 efforts, making the suite visually distinct without sacrificing usability. Click on one for more configuration settings. Mouse over the big subcategories at the bottom and a general status message appears next to the name. Click on any of the four categories just below the status bar and the pane just to the right reveals links that let you drill deeper into your security status. The "Your computer is secure" message is bolstered by "No action required," a helpful tip. For example, firewall settings control how you access the Web, so they're listed under Web and E-mail Protection.Īlso, McAfee stands out for not only color-coding what your status is, but also adding in what that means. Features have been clearly delineated, and potentially confusing names have been jettisoned. To its shame, McAfee's uninstallation process left a few Registry keys behind, too.įirst introduced in 2010, the unusual vertically oriented design is surprisingly easy to use. We also had problems when running other essential programs, such as a Web browser, while installing. While there are legitimate security and performance problems that can be created by running two competing suites simultaneously, this is the kind of trouble that is not acceptable from with a expensive security suite. If it can't find them, you'll have to reboot and reinstall McAfee.
If that happens to you, it will attempt to find the offending remnants.
#Download mcafee total protection with your serial code registration
The registration process was simple enough, but it also aggressively detects competing suites to the point where the slightest bit of Registry detritus will cause the installation to freak out. Installing McAfee was where our problems with the suite began. Meanwhile, the suite's performance on tests both from CNET Labs and independent sources calls into question how effective it really is. McAfee Total Protection 2012 adds some new features, but these are frankly more about keeping up with the Joneses-or at least, keeping up with the Nortons and Kasperskys-than actually pushing any kind of innovation. Since then, the annual updates have been incremental at best, improving the feature set yet not making substantial changes overall. McAfee released a major overhaul to its security suite back in 2010, coming up with a new vertically oriented interface that made navigating much easier.
The bottom line: McAfee takes aim at blocking bots in its latest version, although weak test scores mean that we don't recommend this year's McAfee suite.