McAfee VirusScan
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 McAfee SecurityCenter on Windows 10 | |||||||||||||||||
| Developer(s) | McAfee | ||||||||||||||||
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| Initial release | 1988 | ||||||||||||||||
| Stable release(s) | |||||||||||||||||
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| Operating system | Microsoft Windows, Mac OS X, Android, IOS | ||||||||||||||||
| Type | Antivirus | ||||||||||||||||
| License | Proprietary | ||||||||||||||||
McAfee VirusScan is an antivirus software created and maintained by McAfee (formerly known as Intel Security, and Network Associates prior to that). Originally marketed as a standalone product, it is also bundled with McAfee Antivirus Plus[1], McAfee Internet Security, McAfee Total Protection, McAfee McAfee+ Premium, McAfee+ Advanced, McAfee+ Ultimate, and McAfee Business Protection.
McAfee+ provides all-in-one protection for a user's personal info, privacy, and all their devices. It supports Windows, Mac, iOS, Android and ChromeOS devices and includes integrated antivirus, firewall and safe browsing capabilities as well as identity and privacy protection with identity monitoring, credit and finacial monitoring, identity theft coverage and restoration,secure VPN, Online Account Cleanup, Personal Data Cleanup, Social Media Privacy Manager, and McAfee's AI-powered Text Scam Detector.[2][3]
VirusScan Enterprise
[edit]McAfee also produces an enterprise-level product named VirusScan Enterprise: McAfee has designed this for use on larger networks designed to make management of antivirus software on multiple computers easier. Unlike the home-user edition, the Enterprise edition consists of a client application for networked computers. Clients can be controlled using the included ePolicy Orchestrator (ePO), which is a unified console that can control VirusScan and other McAfee products. Support for VirusScan Enterprise ended on December 31, 2021.
McAfee Antivirus for Mac
[edit]In November 2008 McAfee announced[4] VirusScan for Mac OS. (Earlier versions used the name Virex, developed by HJC Software.) McAfee Antivirus for Mac is now only available as part of McAfee Antivirus Plus, McAfee Internet Security, McAfee Total Protection, McAfee McAfee+ Premium, McAfee+ Advanced, McAfee+ Ultimate, and McAfee Business Protection, and includes a firewall, VPN, Safe browsing and a password manager. It supports macOS 11.x and higher.[5][6]
Controversies
[edit]Poor independent test results
[edit]Until approximately 2016 McAfee suffered from poorer malware detection test results and a larger impact on PC performance.[7]
Since end of 2016 with the introduction of AI and machine learning detection technologies initially called McAfee Real-Protect and nowadays known as McAfee Smart AI, the test results have changed significantly though. AV-TEST (Germany) awarded McAfee with a TOP Product certification in the last 27 tests[8], SE Labs (UK) gave McAfee an AAA rating in the last 24 tests[9] and AV-Comparatives has been certifying McAfee win an ADVANCED+ rating in its Real-World Protection tests since July 2022. AV-Comparatives has also rated McAfee as ADVENCED+ in almost all Performance tests since October 2016.[10]
Customer support criticisms
[edit]2010 reboot problem
[edit]On April 21, 2010, beginning approximately at 2 PM GMT, an erroneous virus definition file update from McAfee affected millions of computers worldwide running Windows XP Service Pack 3. The update resulted in the removal of a Windows system file (svchost.exe) on those machines, causing machines to lose network access and, in some cases, to enter a reboot loop. McAfee rectified this by removing and replacing the faulty DAT file, version 5958, with an emergency DAT file (version 5959) and posted a fix for the affected machines in its consumer "KnowledgeBase".[11][12]
2012 update issues
[edit]An August 2012 update to McAfee antivirus caused the protection to become turned off and users to lose internet connections. McAfee was criticized for not notifying users promptly of the issues when they learned about it.[13][14]
Current standing
[edit]Over the years McAfee product reviews have been steadily improving with PCMag rating McAfee+ with 4 stars out of 5[15] and TechAdvisor awarding McAfee security with an Editors' Choice award.[16]
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ "McAfee AntiVirus Plus". PCMAG. Retrieved 8 April 2018.
- ^ "McAfee LiveSafe". PCMAG. Retrieved 8 April 2018.
- ^ "Sky Offers 'Free' Broadband". CIO. IDG Communications, Inc. July 18, 2006.
- ^ "McAfee, Inc. Releases VirusScan Software for Leopard". Mcafee.com. Archived from the original on 2009-03-01. Retrieved 2010-11-09.
- ^ "McAfee® - about - McAfee, Inc. Releases VirusScan Software for Leopard". web.archive.org. 2009-03-01. Retrieved 2025-01-31.
- ^ "McAfee® - about - McAfee, Inc. Releases VirusScan Software for Leopard". web.archive.org. 2009-03-01. Retrieved 2025-01-31.
- ^ Virus Bulletin (registration required)
- ^ "Test antivirus software McAfee". www.av-test.org. Retrieved 2025-01-31.
- ^ "Security Test Reports". SE LABS. Retrieved 2025-01-31.
- ^ "McAfee". AV-Comparatives. Retrieved 2025-01-31.
- ^ "McAfee DAT 5958 Update Issues". 21 April 2010. Retrieved 22 April 2010.
- ^ "Botched McAfee update shutting down corporate XP machines worldwide". 21 April 2010. Archived from the original on 22 April 2010. Retrieved 22 April 2010.
- ^ "McAfee antivirus update causes problems for home and enterprise customers". 21 August 2012.
- ^ "McAfee Web Connection Issues with No Communication". Archived from the original on 2013-02-04. Retrieved 2012-11-13.
- ^ "McAfee+ Review". PCMAG. 2024-10-07. Retrieved 2025-01-31.
- ^ Inghe, Mattias. "McAfee Security Antivirus VPN review: Peace of mind". Tech Advisor. Retrieved 2025-01-31.
External links
[edit]- VirusScan for Windows, McAfee
- VirusScan for Mac, McAfee
- Tabular Comparison, Comparison Between Livesafe and Total Protection versions of McAfee
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