What is McAfee Antivirus?

By Nadia Jorney

McAfee is one of the most used antivirus solution providers, and has been in use since the first appearance of the viruses. McAfee provides a full range of security products such as antivirus, firewall and anti-spyware programs. McAfee Antivirus comes with a set of features that will keep your computer free of viruses, worms, Trojans and other malicious programs.

History

McAfee was founded in 1989 by John McAfee, who made his first antivirus solution available as shareware. In 1992, McAfee became McAfee Associates, Inc. Since then, it has focused on antivirus and security solutions and quickly become one of the giants in this field.

Features

McAfee bundles a lot of features into its antivirus. Besides the classical protection features found in most antivirus products, McAfee also integrates a Silent Full Screen feature, which stops all antivirus notifications from being displayed while full screen applications are running, so it won't interfere with your work. The Secure File Shredder feature is another useful feature, which will allow you to permanently and totally delete confidential files, without leaving any traces of them and eliminating all recovery possibilities. It is also optimized for laptops, by integrating a battery-saving mode that will leave intensive scans that require more power and resources for later, when your laptop is plugged into an electricity source.

Costs

As of 2010, McAfee's basic antivirus suite, McAfee Antivirus Plus, comes at $39.99 for a one-year subscription. The more powerful versions, McAfee Internet Security and McAfee Total Protection, come with price tags of $44.99 and $49.99, respectively, for one year's subscription.

Advantages

McAfee Antivirus includes many features at decent prices. The protection level is decent enough for most users. Updates are provided regularly, and the entire updating and maintenance process happens in the background, without the need for user intervention or interference with the tasks on the computer. Another advantage of McAfee Antivirus is its simple interface, which gives you quick access to all features.

Disadvantages

Some tests and comparisons carried out by TopTenReviews.com pointed out McAfee Antivirus as not the fastest antivirus around. The site also said that, compared to other antivirus solutions, it is not the most effective solution either.

×