Software Review McAfee Protection (Plus Plans, Total Protection, LiveSafe)

Written Reviews - Security and Privacy
413 Replies 73,608 Views
Reviews reflect the reviewer's setup and methods. Check the evidence and limitations.
Thread details
Product name
McAfee Total Protection/Plus Plans
Installation (rating)
5.00 star(s)
User interface (rating)
5.00 star(s)
Performance (rating)
5.00 star(s)
Core protection (rating)
5.00 star(s)
Proactive protection (rating)
5.00 star(s)
Protection notes
See tests
Browser protection (rating)
5.00 star(s)
Positives
    • Many features
    • Low impact on system resources
    • Fast scans
    • Easy to use
    • Simple and non-intrusive
    • Ransomware protection
    • Strong and reliable protection
    • Detects or blocks in-the-wild malware
    • Consistently high test scores
    • Accurate results and reliable antivirus engine
    • Effective malicious URL blocking
    • Virus signatures are updated daily
    • Excellent scores in independent tests
    • Great value for money
    • Effective malware removal
    • Clear, easy-to-use interface
    • Multiple layers of protection
Negatives
    • Advanced users may want more control
    • Short on configuration options
    • Includes paid-for components (paywall)
Time spent using product
Reviewed between 1 to 7 days
Computer specs
11th Gen Core i5
16GB RAM
Recommended for
  1. All types of users
Overall rating
5.00 star(s)
Szellem said:
Is Scam Protection only available on phones, i.e. mobile phones? Not on Windows PCs?
My main screen or main console is different from yours. Why is that?
Click to expand...
That wasn’t the main console that I displayed, it is the website protection.mcafee.com
rashmi said:
Does protection.mcafee.com offer limited or comprehensive settings?
Click to expand...
It offers the needed settings to get all features up and running, for example scam protection has 3 different aggression levels.
But nothing too comprehensive.

McAfee many years ago got rid of settings and the product is pretty much automated.
They used to have a ton of them.
 
Schug said:
This is a random question, but last time I used McAfee, it flagged .nzb files as bad with no way to whitelist it. These files are used to download content from Usenet. Does anyone know if McAfee still exhibits this behavior?
Click to expand...

Can anyone check if this still happens? @Trident I can send you .nzb file if you can check it?

Another query from me is regarding files downloaded via Internet Download Manager software, these files are not downloaded via browsers, so the extension will not scan them on download? From what I can read from people's comments, Mcaffee does not scan directly downloaded files.
 
Virtuoso said:
Can anyone check if this still happens? @Trident I can send you .nzb file if you can check it?

Another query from me is regarding files downloaded via Internet Download Manager software, these files are not downloaded via browsers, so the extension will not scan them on download? From what I can read from people's comments, Mcaffee does not scan directly downloaded files.
Click to expand...
You can send me nzb file, I’ve not encountered this extension before to be quite honest.

Yes, McAfee applies instant and more aggressive scan only on files originating from browsers (captured by the user mode extension).

Files originating from download managers, flash drives and so on are treated as local files — they will be scanned on access and with the standard GTI sensitivity level.
 
Trident said:
You can send me nzb file, I’ve not encountered this extension before to be quite honest.

Yes, McAfee applies instant and more aggressive scan only on files originating from browsers (captured by the user mode extension).

Files originating from download managers, flash drives and so on are treated as local files — they will be scanned on access and with the standard GTI sensitivity level.
Click to expand...
News bin file, you need a usenet account and any nzb downloader like SabNZB
 
Oldie1950 said:
McAfee wants to delete junk files and Windows junk files. What does McAfee define as junk? Is it possible to preview which files McAfee wants to delete?
Click to expand...
It’s the files in %temp% and temp directories. Also, it wants to delete browser caches for which it asks to close any running browsers.

McAfee’s previous junk cleaner included registry cleaning as well. When they rewrote the product, they claimed over time, the new cleaner will be brought back to what it was.
The Tracker Remover feature in LiveSafe or Total Protection removes cookies and trackers. It helps you maintain your online privacy by automatically removing cookies and trackers that follow you as you browse the internet. You can use Tracker Remover if you've subscribed to LiveSafe or Total Protection.
Tracker Remover also helps to keep your PC running optimally by completely erasing temporary files, leaving no traces of them on your hard drive. The deleted data is unrecoverable, even by specialist data recovery software.

The new LiveSafe and Total Protection versions 16.0.103 and later, include a new implementation of Tracker Remover that's been redesigned to make it easier to use. However, the new Tracker Remover, it doesn't remove all the items that were removed in the legacy versions (16.0.53 and earlier) of our security apps for Windows. Below are the list of items that can be removed by the new Tracker Remover and the items that can't be removed now.
  • Browser cookies and trackers
  • Browser history
  • Temporary files
  • Recycle Bin items
Click to expand...

  • Registry
  • Shortcuts
  • Lost file fragments
  • ActiveX controls
  • Jump lists
  • Flash and Silverlight cookies
  • Memory image files
  • Problem report files
  • Thumbnail cache
Although we won't remove all these items now, we'll be gradually removing them over the next few quarters.



Why does the new Tracker Remover clean up fewer items than the legacy Tracker Remover?​

Because Tracker Remover has been rewritten, we have initially only added the most commonly removed items shown above. Some older legacy functionality hasn't been migrated to the new version in this initial release.

NOTE: Tracker Remover will be regularly updated over the next few months to align with Tracker Remover in the legacy McAfee security apps for Windows. We'll update this article as the new Tracker Remover features are added.
Click to expand...
 
Virtuoso said:
Can anyone check if this still happens? @Trident I can send you .nzb file if you can check it?

Another query from me is regarding files downloaded via Internet Download Manager software, these files are not downloaded via browsers, so the extension will not scan them on download? From what I can read from people's comments, Mcaffee does not scan directly downloaded files.
Click to expand...
I’ve tested the nzb file that you sent me, there are no detections.
 
@Harputlu , I think you mentioned when you tested McAfee, it didn’t even delete Eicar test file.

I just tested it now, it’s very difficult to even download Eicar, I had to press “Visit Site” on Web Advisor twice to even download it.

Anyway, I did download it and upon trying to open, it was deleted immediately.
Not sure what happened there.
 
Trident said:
@Harputlu , I think you mentioned when you tested McAfee, it didn’t even delete Eicar test file.

I just tested it now, it’s very difficult to even download Eicar, I had to press “Visit Site” on Web Advisor twice to even download it.

Anyway, I did download it and upon trying to open, it was deleted immediately.
Not sure what happened there.
Click to expand...
I really don't know. The computer scan took a very long time. It could also be my fault. I am currently using G DATA. I can try again later.
 
Trident said:
I’ve tested the nzb file that you sent me, there are no detections.
Click to expand...
Thank you for testing that, now I have to decide what to do with direct downloads via download managers, usenet and torrents.

Trident said:
@Harputlu , I think you mentioned when you tested McAfee, it didn’t even delete Eicar test file.

I just tested it now, it’s very difficult to even download Eicar, I had to press “Visit Site” on Web Advisor twice to even download it.

Anyway, I did download it and upon trying to open, it was deleted immediately.
Not sure what happened there.
Click to expand...

If you look at his earlier post, he said " it didn't delete the Eichar file. It deleted it when I scanned the computer". Looks like direct download scenario where Mcafee does not scan the file automatically and upon manual scan it was removed: App Review - McAfee Protection (Plus Plans, Total Protection, LiveSafe)
 
Virtuoso said:
Thank you for testing that, now I have to decide what to do with direct downloads via download managers, usenet and torrents.



If you look at his earlier post, he said " it didn't delete the Eichar file. It deleted it when I scanned the computer". Looks like direct download scenario where Mcafee does not scan the file automatically and upon manual scan it was removed: App Review - McAfee Protection (Plus Plans, Total Protection, LiveSafe)
Click to expand...
McAfee scans on access. So you need to try access the file. The rest is scanned immediately, when downloaded. This scenario reduces the performance impact and still ensures malware doesn’t activate.

Eicar would be removed when you try to open it or when you do a scan. Looks like McAfee is making some adjustments for archiving/unarchiving as well to trigger monitoring, but it’s not ready yet.

People who prefer every mouse hover to trigger a scan, McAfee can’t provide that.
 
Trident said:
Hello guys and welcome to this McAfee review.

Before we get to the McAfee details (which will be discussed in great depth), I would like to discuss the upgrade to my practices across this forum.

This forum is not for promotion of favouritism, it is designed mainly as a technical and objective forum.
In the light of all that, I have created Trident Review Framework (TRF) 1.0 with several key highlights:
  • Software is reviewed objectively based on capabilities and performance.
  • Wherever threat detection levels are measured (or tested), I focus on realistic scenarios and broad coverage.
  • Committed to transparency: wherever threat detection tests are performed, hashes of the malware are provided (as much as possible), so users can test the same software or other software, as long as they know how to do it safely and securely.
  • Malware is pre-checked, hunted fresh (as much as possible) and guaranteed to be malicious. Malware of different types is tested.
  • Wherever the security software offers more aggressive downloads scanning (which is many solutions nowadays), malware is downloaded in realistic scenarios, giving the solution a chance to react.
  • When additional components such as email protection are offered, these are welcome. Malware (and all trouble really) comes mainly through the web and email. These are tested too.
  • When it comes to privacy, I have already created another thread here: Serious Discussion - Data Collection Core Principles (Security Software)
  • Generative AI (namely Gemini 2.5 Pro which I also use in programming) is heavily used in my research, as well as in various other tasks, such as converting antivirus logs to tables, researching patents and so on. This allows me to do more work in a shorter time.
These are the upgrades to my review practices. I am not aiming to become a reviewer number one, in fact, @Shadowra handles most of the tests excellently, editing videos and producing high number of them. This is something that I will never do, I simply lack the time of it. Hence, I will not be producing a bulk of these reviews, rather, I will be reviewing products that have attracted my interest. For them to attract my interest, they are guaranteed to be advanced. Requests for reviews should still be addressed to @Shadowra.
You can expect reviews from me every now and then, mainly when misinformation has to be combatted.

CHAPTER 1: The theory

McAfee around 2022 upgraded the products to a new cloud-based architecture. They rewrote the whole product and there were several support articles. Thread wad created by me here New Update - The new cloud-based McAfee

Since then the support articles have been deleted by McAfee.

Nevertheless, the new architecture has several key highlights:
  • Less reliant on own kernel drivers, uses Windows native components as much as possible: McAfee uses the Defender Firewall for static rules and adds on top domain/web reputation. It also uses the Windows Filtering Platform to facilitate the malicious traffic interception.
  • No "signatures" as in no malware fragments. McAfee uses highly efficient heuristic/generic detections, as well as local trust and machine learning models and YARA rules to detect malware offline. It's important to note that if you are testing McAfee with fresh malware from several websites we've all come to know, you can't expect offline detection. The offline detection will be only on old and well-known malware. Such software that is light, efficient, disconnected from the cloud and yet detects everything simply doesn't exist.
  • Upgraded cloud, this was reflected in my McAfee deep research here: Serious Discussion - Deep Research: McAfee GTI, JTI, Artemis and Other Technologies Explained
  • The new architecture creates a very lightweight product, see the performance section for details.
  • McAfee offers many features that extend the protection, such as email scanning and deep fake detection. These features solve real problems for real users, beyond detecting malware which Microsoft Defender can do too.
  • Heavily focused on machine learning and AI. Recent patents tell us more about McAfee focus
    Patent TitlePublication NumberDate (YYYY-MM-DD)Brief Description
    --- 2024 ---
    Systems and Methods for Providing User Experiences on AR/VR SystemsUS-20240060933-A12024-02-22Manages security and privacy within augmented or virtual reality environments.
    Methods and Apparatus for Comprehensive User-Centric ProtectionUS-20240034800-A12024-02-01Creates a personalized security posture based on a user's digital assets and risk profile across devices.
    Systems and methods for detecting deepfake artifactsUS-20240012586-A12024-01-11Analyzes media files for subtle inconsistencies and artifacts to identify AI-generated deepfakes.
    --- 2023 ---
    Visual Detection of Phishing Websites via Headless BrowserUS-20230396013-A12023-12-07Uses a non-graphical browser to analyze the visual components of a webpage to determine if it's a phishing site.
    Systems and Methods for Performing Multi-Faceted Security ScanningUS-20230349887-A12023-11-02Implements a multi-layered scanning approach to detect diverse and complex security threats.
    Device Reputation Score Based on Device VitalsUS-20230282672-A12023-09-07Calculates a real-time trust score for a device based on its security health, software, and behavior.
    In-Place Cloud Instance RestoreUS-20230205562-A12023-06-29Provides a method to restore a compromised cloud computing instance directly, minimizing downtime.
    Dynamic Process Criticality ScoringUS-20230185984-A12023-06-15Assigns a real-time risk score to running processes to prioritize security actions.
    Visual Identification of MalwareUS-20230089868-A12023-03-23Converts malware code into a visual representation (an image) to use image analysis for faster detection.
    Methods and systems for cloud native threat detectionUS-20230070151-A12023-03-02Provides threat detection specifically designed for the architecture of cloud-native applications (containers, etc.).
    Icon Based Phishing DetectionUS-20230047306-A12023-02-16Detects phishing attempts by analyzing the favicon or other icons associated with a website.
    --- 2022 ---
    Method and Apparatus for Hardware Based File/Document Expiry TimerUS-20220399433-A12022-12-15Enforces document access expiry dates using hardware-level security, making it harder to bypass.
    Systems and Methods for Utilizing Hardware Assisted ProtectionUS-20220366299-A12022-11-17Leverages specialized hardware security features (like Intel SGX) to protect applications and data.
    Threat Hunting Using Natural Language ProcessingUS-11451613-B22022-09-20Enables security analysts to search for threats in datasets using plain English queries instead of complex code.
    Multi-Dimensional Malware AnalysisUS-20220261685-A12022-08-18Utilizes machine learning to analyze malware across multiple dimensions (code, behavior, network) for classification.
    Systems and methods for mitigating against malicious scriptsUS-11394801-B22022-07-19Detects and neutralizes malicious scripts (e.g., Magecart) designed to steal payment info from web forms.
    Detecting Grammatical Artifacts of Machine-Translated Phishing WebsitesUS-20220191398-A12022-06-16Identifies phishing sites by spotting grammatical errors characteristic of automated translation tools.
    Systems and Methods for Monitoring IoT Device BaselineUS-11356453-B22022-06-07Establishes a normal behavior baseline for IoT devices and flags anomalous activity as a potential threat.
    Methods and Systems for Detecting RansomwareUS-20220078235-A12022-03-10Employs behavioral analysis to detect and block ransomware activity before significant encryption occurs.
  • Local Intelligence Explained:
  • AV Trust: whitelist for Neo engine, 6.49 KB in size.
  • Neo Core: the main engine, includes true file type detection, unpacking and the Neo host (12.7 MB total size).
  • Neo rules: these are heuristic rules for the Neo engine, compressed from 20.9 MB in a cab file that is 3.5 MB. Whilst some heuristics could be ran on the code, majority of AV heuristics are usually ran on behaviour, which means the Neo engine is responsible for file emulation as well.
  • Neo trust: these are exceptions from the heuristic rules, 9.99MB compressed to 2.4MB
  • Real Protect Core - these are the core behavioural monitoring machine learning models, just over 13 MB
  • Real Protect Non-PE - these are machine learning modules mainly for DLL modules, 2.7 MB
  • Real Protect Script - these are machine learning models involved in the detection of scripts (during runtime), probably focusing on suspicious, long encoded commands and so on.
  • Real Protect Static - machine learning models facilitating Pre-Execution (static analysis) on scripts, modules and portable executables, 11.7 MB.
  • TPX (according to McAfee these are the main AV generic detections), 35.7 MB -> these are updated often, if not daily
  • TPX-1, these are the YARA rules (according to the configuration file), compressed from 20 MB to 3.2 MB -> these are updated often if not daily
  • TRS, that's another part of the AV engine, 10.3 MB -> this seems to be updated every few days
  • OpenVino-based DeepFake detection models, optimised for various CPUs (McAfee just recently launched that and is still working to increase availability), just over 50 MB
  • McAfee also offers ransomware remediation/restoration
Apart from the local intelligence which is mainly used offline, McAfee is in constant connection with the cloud. TLSH (Trend Micro Locality Sensitive Hash) is used, don't be surprised by the name, it is quite popular and widely used to allow minor, local changes to files, to not void the cloud detection. The distance between 2 TLSH hashes is calculated to establish the file similarity level. TLSH is also part of the STIX standard.
TLSH is better than other methods such as SSDEEP, mainly because SSDEEP struggles with small files. McAfee also uses server-side machine learning.

Several of the new patents explain the McAfee multi-faceted approach in depth, McAfee combines online and offline reputation, heavily focused on multiple different types of machine learning, and also takes into account the file origin when taking a decision.

CHAPTER 2: Antivirus Test
McAfee was tested in the continuation of a few days. To make the test more interesting, executables were tested twice - once original, as they are and once modified. Scripts were modified to include custom functions/subs.

File NameDetection NameFinal Detection SourceTLSHDate
1c8071c09a7f4b7bce1339b71d2522547aae5b41ed8d80a821a990a2f2b991fc.jsTrojan:Script/STRRAT.DAneoN/A2025-07-08
9ce142439e553f047639d272975b85c41da29191e532348f00653723e7f00299.batti!9CE142439E55htiN/A2025-07-08
b97cd404ceab09bdd92003599566d946cead1d5d5dba528327821fe4f18108ec.msiti!B97CD404CEABhtiN/A2025-07-08
63d2e9f885c7b2df3fc23658a5c13d3df968fbe205d9c973f4f42c775bd787af.exeti!63D2E9F885C7htiT13C55...1463E7A32025-07-08
2f0f2cdc865f7769b831943e2edb2a3090c3de28e45cb583a695257a6b771f3a.msiti!2F0F2CDC865FhtiN/A2025-07-08
2f0f2cdc865f7769b831943e2edb2a3090c3de28e45cb583a695257a6b771f3a.msiti!2F0F2CDC865FhtiN/A2025-07-08
ca9d03df1842fbec86ce1be7fd74318cefaa44e61047c9667b3cc60667f0f9d9.exeti!CA9D03DF1842htiT1AFB4...05A823AF2025-07-08
2f0f2cdc865f7769b831943e2edb2a3090c3de28e45cb583a695257a6b771f3a.msiCache!257a6b771f3acacheN/A2025-07-08
ae4e172d659cdd1fb298a4bb02f361ac8db869e78cdfe5f4e21741337b088845.exeti!AE4E172D659ChtiN/A2025-07-08
6d7bd0f24261739722d0d052000ea27767c6b73446aa5d0dd8d2b9b39a105563.vbeti!6D7BD0F24261htiN/A2025-07-08
6d7bd0f24261739722d0d052000ea27767c6b73446aa5d0dd8d2b9b39a105563.vbeti!6D7BD0F24261htiN/A2025-07-08
6d7bd0f24261739722d0d052000ea27767c6b73446aa5d0dd8d2b9b39a105563.vbeti!6D7BD0F24261htiN/A2025-07-08
d82bd404ae9e2a0e63509e6d4114cd139f029f6c27b30d5cde0713fe54f543eb.exeti!D82BD404AE9EhtiT185E4...39F141E22025-07-08
19b6c6f8da4dd0a883cc647f0c5eaedd01a0bc1758beba1c8f9f97f4335b1f58.zipti!19B6C6F8DA4DhtiN/A2025-07-08
c4c2a82a7d454bb85fa22f12d2571639c1640ba4a6790d708f4a229f91a7a99b.exeti!C4C2A82A7D45htiN/A2025-07-08
ddd77057aed66ecef36d3b3997694acca1c72d4d23c32c684b9dff50e385b880.exeti!DDD77057AED6htiN/A2025-07-10
ddd77057aed66ecef36d3b3997694acca1c72d4d23c32c684b9dff50e385b880.exeReal Protect-LS!c16f81a15b2arp-sN/A2025-07-10
7fc0bcc654d5369fa6a18661eddfd91f058db076559f4517f0dd21f674d2fa3c.jsti!7FC0BCC654D5htiN/A2025-07-10
7fc0bcc654d5369fa6a18661eddfd91f058db076559f4517f0dd21f674d2fa3c.jsTrojan:Script/Downloadagent.IneoN/A2025-07-10
6caa23ad0e1f8b3cbfc3ec44de9bebfc53660a58df76f4756539edd5fdafee76.vbsTrojan:Script/ObfuBAT.EOFFneoN/A2025-07-10
6caa23ad0e1f8b3cbfc3ec44de9bebfc53660a58df76f4756539edd5fdafee76.vbsTrojan:Script/ObfuBAT.EOFFneoN/A2025-07-10
ab0105ec57d87547362920516f6374f729f046f1a722eef189a1ef2d813ba00a.exeti!AB0105EC57D8htiT1C725...2525EA732025-07-10
fecd05a391d8dc00fc236e0808f8191bbcaee0f1b41b55d40f4c725f71f04848.zipTrojan:Win/suspiciousLnk.CneoN/A2025-07-12
ab0105ec57d87547362920516f6374f729f046f1a722eef189a1ef2d813ba00a.exehti!1dddaaaahtiT1C725...2525EA732025-07-12
70a92cdcd65bad4c5ed38adf340d5123944acde22d94c44df7ee8178f778d761.cmdti!70A92CDCD65BhtiN/A2025-07-12
70a92cdcd65bad4c5ed38adf340d5123944acde22d94c44df7ee8178f778d761.cmdTrojan:Script/SuspiciousBat.A!2neoN/A2025-07-12
wscript.exeti!AD5039A88038rp-dN/A2025-07-12
c5be4a627fe03ecc5c3768b579c77fc12b1a52738dfb7c0a5a2ee0fa122c28ac.exeti!C5BE4A627FE0htiT101C5...29F1E3322025-07-12
c5be4a627fe03ecc5c3768b579c77fc12b1a52738dfb7c0a5a2ee0fa122c28ac.exeti!4BDF1C5B280Brp-sT1C8C5...29F1E3322025-07-12
c5be4a627fe03ecc5c3768b579c77fc12b1a52738dfb7c0a5a2ee0fa122c28ac.exeti!4BDF1C5B280Brp-sT1C8C5...29F1E3322025-07-12
c5be4a627fe03ecc5c3768b579c77fc12b1a52738dfb7c0a5a2ee0fa122c28ac.exehti!1dae93a9htiT101C5...29F1E3322025-07-12
6981d8702172dc39f302bdeb4917c0eb49f7c37b2a90bee41f64ccecc7e9497d.exeti!DEAC7649D369rp-sT11155...2521E6732025-07-14
6981d8702172dc39f302bdeb4917c0eb49f7c37b2a90bee41f64ccecc7e9497d.exeti!DEAC7649D369rp-sT11155...2521E6732025-07-14
r189722c5-ba5c-4822-ab5d-7359af018697r.jsTrojan:Script/GenericYJ.BBCneoN/A2025-07-15
6981d8702172dc39f302bdeb4917c0eb49f7c37b2a90bee41f64ccecc7e9497d.exeti!6981D8702172htiT19C55...2521E6732025-07-15
9b757a3dbb96ff7cbea3853bdea20cbf954add2f6a2f6cebb2d0d5f0c137c0d8.exeti!9B757A3DBB96rp-sT16715...016CF08F2025-07-15
968396ee196be287ac6de30d897f7e84570eb5a297642a32d7300826241349bb.exeti!968396EE196BhtiN/A2025-07-15
968396ee196be287ac6de30d897f7e84570eb5a297642a32d7300826241349bb.exeti!0CBCDA1CFD01rp-sN/A2025-07-15
x.exeti!8C874AE8B5B3rp-sT18E75...06A297632025-07-15
x.exeti!8C874AE8B5B3rp-sT18E75...06A297632025-07-15
x.exeti!8C874AE8B5B3rp-sT18E75...06A297632025-07-15
404f55e7aa854f7df700f2b93b4a31d0f13dde464e74985ca9bc98ba6224cc93.exeti!404F55E7AA85htiN/A2025-07-15
tier0.dllti!95829D5ACF78htiN/A2025-07-15
968396ee196be287ac6de30d897f7e84570eb5a297642a32d7300826241349bb.exehti!968cc448htiN/A2025-07-15
b501e17e249221d34a618e288e0e9a75933cea9894ec11fdcd45c0663d95eeb6.vbsVBS/Generic.cavN/A2025-07-15

McAfee detects all malware early, pre-execution (just 2-3 detections were post-execution) and leaves clean system, confirmed by Norton Power Eraser and MalwareBytes.
The tests are ongoing, but it's clear that the new architecture offers efficient security.
View attachment 289638
rare instance of post-execution fileless malware block

*It's important to note that in a real world scenario, McAfee would never allow someone to download large amount of malware. From the quick web test, I wasn't able to download any.


Phishing Detection Test Coming Soon on the same thread.
View attachment 289637View attachment 289639

Scam/SPAM email test:
In addition to handling files and web well, McAfee provides email protection for Outlook, Yahoo and Gmail. The protection does not scan emails that's already marked as spam. It only scans emails that pass the initial filtration. I composed several realistic scenarios, including Taylor Swift being in love with me and getting "a massive pay rise" with infostealer attached as a contract. McAfee blocked the scams. It's important to note that marketing emails containing language like "hurry up, offer expires", are not McAfee Anti-Scam's favourite and are also being flagged.

View attachment 289633View attachment 289634View attachment 289635View attachment 289636

Removing emails of this sort aids malware detection and overall protection, including for unsuspecting users finances.

DeepFake detection: I don't really know where I can find deep fakes, so I turned to YouTube. Unfortunately, they are not that many and quite short, but they were identified based on audio patterns.
View attachment 289641

Now let's get to perhaps the most important.

CHAPTER 3: Performance impact
Loading the interface CPU Usage: 6-7% for a few seconds
Scan with fast scanning enabled: 75% CPU usage
Scan with fast scan disabled: 20-30% CPU usage
Quick Scan duration: less than a minute
Full scan duration: <10 minutes
Observed Maximum memory usage: 270 MB (right after a scan)
Observed minimum memory usage: 160 MB (idle)
Observed CPU usage in idle: <1%
Observed CPU usage whilst opening popular and unpopular apps: <5%
System feels responsive and boots fast: yes

Additional features that may be useful:
Breach monitoring, VPN, data shredder.
Cyber-theft insurance on more expensive plans available.

Cons: the Mac protection is not migrated to the new architecture.

Final verdict: TRF approved and recommended for all types of users.
Click to expand...
This review is an excellent, detailed, and transparent look at the McAfee product. It does a great job of blending a user's perspective with a deep technical analysis, which results in a high-quality assessment. The methodology is thorough and credible for a forum-based review, which lends credibility to Trident's positive verdict.
 
Anyone Using McAfee on a Gaming PC? Need Some Insight

I’ve got a McAfee license but haven’t installed it yet—still deciding if I should. I’ve been using Windows Defender for the past year since I mostly game on my PC. It’s been okay, but I’m looking for something that gives me more control and is possibly lighter on system resources during gameplay.

I’ve seen a few claims that McAfee is actually less taxing than Defender when gaming, but I’m not sure how true that is. Has anyone here used it for gaming? Especially with online games?

For some background:
  • I used to love Kaspersky, but since it got banned here in the U.S., going back isn’t an option. 😔
  • I then tried Bitdefender, which was solid—until it started blocking some of my games (like Overwatch and Valorant) and adding exceptions didn’t help. Also bitdefender would randomly disappear from the task bar corner. It was just weird. And the booting would take way longer for some reason.
  • That led me to settle on Defender, which has been stable for the most part. I’m just not fully convinced yet.
So now I’m wondering—is McAfee worth trying on a gaming setup? Or should I just stick with Defender or look into something else? Maybe I’ll go back to Bitdefender if the new version is lighter! I just don’t know.
 
randj89 said:
Anyone Using McAfee on a Gaming PC? Need Some Insight

I’ve got a McAfee license but haven’t installed it yet—still deciding if I should. I’ve been using Windows Defender for the past year since I mostly game on my PC. It’s been okay, but I’m looking for something that gives me more control and is possibly lighter on system resources during gameplay.

I’ve seen a few claims that McAfee is actually less taxing than Defender when gaming, but I’m not sure how true that is. Has anyone here used it for gaming? Especially with online games?

For some background:
  • I used to love Kaspersky, but since it got banned here in the U.S., going back isn’t an option. 😔
  • I then tried Bitdefender, which was solid—until it started blocking some of my games (like Overwatch and Valorant) and adding exceptions didn’t help. Also bitdefender would randomly disappear from the task bar corner. It was just weird. And the booting would take way longer for some reason.
  • That led me to settle on Defender, which has been stable for the most part. I’m just not fully convinced yet.
So now I’m wondering—is McAfee worth trying on a gaming setup? Or should I just stick with Defender or look into something else? Maybe I’ll go back to Bitdefender if the new version is lighter! I just don’t know.
Click to expand...

The latest McAfee runs super light on my system as many others report. It's been perfectly stable and compatible in my configuration—as Trident pointed out, the security suite has barely any presence in the kernel left. Detection has improved by leaps and bounds with promise of even greater capabilities judging by recent patents.

MS Defender plays well with other software but isn't always the lightest. You'll have to try the new McAfee and judge for yourself. It's quick to install and painless to completely uninstall in my experience.
 
Miravi said:
The latest McAfee runs super light on my system as many others report. It's been perfectly stable and compatible in my configuration—as Trident pointed out, the security suite has barely any presence in the kernel left. Detection has improved by leaps and bounds with promise of even greater capabilities judging by recent patents.

MS Defender plays well with other software but isn't always the lightest. You'll have to try the new McAfee and judge for yourself. It's quick to install and painless to completely uninstall in my experience.
Click to expand...
Appreciate your insight! Thanks a lot!
 

Recently browsing

Members who viewed this thread in the last 5 minutes

You may also like...

Back
Top