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

[Trident]

Oh I hate nagging myself, I see nagging--bye bye....

 

[nickstar1]

So i too have Re-produced this bug from mcafee's VPN this appears to be a bug with the application. It happened to me as well when trying to turn on the VPN it stalls and wont turn on unless you restart the system and try again. I'll contact McAfee and try to give them logs to address.

 

[Harputlu]

I'm using the total protection product. I bought it online. It shows the Argentina key. But it's activated from global. I don't have the scam detector that came with the last update. I wonder if the Total protection version does not have this feature?

 

[Sorrento]

Here's hoping that support did resolve the alerts for afflicted users. I like many things about McAfee, but the constant nagging would drive me crazy. Cheap license or not, I wouldn't be happy.

Having heard of bugs and other subpar experiences with McAfee's VPN, I can fortunately report that it's worked reliably for the most part on my end without much for snags. I gave it a good run and found the speeds using US servers satisfactory. For what I paid, an unlimited VPN as I experienced it is a great value. It sounds like the software could still use refinement, however.

The problem I had was likely because I already had Express installed, I'm happy with Express & only tried the Mcafee one out of interest, running two VPN's at the same time for me isn't a good idea although I have notices parts of the McAfee VPN does run in the background whether you use it or not, but its for the most part an irrelevancy.

 

[likeastar20]

@Trident Can you give a rundown of McAfee's behavior blocker?

 

[Trident]

@Trident Can you give a rundown of McAfee's behavior blocker?

McAfee’s Real Protect system works at pre-execution and post-execution, and uses cloud and client machine learning.

The Real Protect static model analyses PEs, Real Protect Non-PE is for modules and office files, Real Protect Script (or Fileless) looks for abuse of LOLBins and so on, on runtime. The core (runtime) machine learning model is updated monthly.
Real Protect also includes ransomware restoration and analyses the audio stream with ffmpg decoding for deepfakes, using OpenVino-accelerated model (It is not the extension doing it, it’s RP).

In the rare event when local machine learning models don’t lead to a conclusion, the cloud models are used though very solid bulks of detections from my test are local, I only saw one that was a result of the cloud.

McAfee recently upgraded the entire event correlation system through advanced events reattribution and other implementations.
McAfee also uses anti-botnet analysis, connections to botnet domains trigger Real Protect.

In terms of effectiveness I wouldn’t be so bold to say it is the same level of Check Point, Kaspersky and Bitdefender but it’s getting there and it’s way above Avast, Trend Micro, Eset, Avira and others.
It is probably the Symantec SONAR level.

It also seems to be optimised, it doesn’t produce large database files and doesn’t cause constant CPU activity.

 

[Jonny Quest]

And so it begins This morning when I did a manual update, it did open the app with a notification to run a "smart scan" which it showed all the dire issues that could be resolved if I upgraded. Even when going through the prompts just to get through the prompts, the home page says, Your protection looks good, there will still be the information icon in the system tray in which you need to open the app, go into scans and click Got it, to confirm you're aware of the results (in this case for the smart scan, I didn't see the Got it after the scan, but maybe the system tray area pop up would have brought me there, 3rd image below). It would be nice if the app on the UI also had a display for the module it has the "i" for.

Fortunately, I bought the license at a very cheap price, auto renewal being disabled, so if I decide to move on, it won't be a big loss.

Edit: and now I just got this pop up. Sorry McAfee, you're gone

 

[Pat MacKnife]

All the same popups i got, uninstalled here too , sick

 

[TuxTalk]

All the same popups i got, uninstalled here too , sick

i also uninstalled but not because of the pop ups, never had any. I uninstalled for ESET Premium Security.

 

[ForgottenSeer 116559]

And so it begins This morning when I did a manual update, it did open the app with a notification to run a "smart scan" which it showed all the dire issues that could be resolved if I upgraded.

Fortunately, I bought the license at a very cheap price, auto renewal being disabled, so if I decide to move on, it won't be a big loss.

Edit: and now I just got this pop up. Sorry McAfee, you're gone

Whoa. This makes me wonder when I'll be next. If it does happen, I'll also have to say sayonara.

I took a brief look at Best Buy's terms and conditions. It seems to me that the subscription is eligible for a refund. You bought it so recently, it's worth a try.

 

[TuxTalk]

Whoa. This makes me wonder when I'll be next. If it does happen, I'll also have to say sayonara.

I took a brief look at Best Buy's terms and conditions. It seems to me that the subscription is eligible for a refund. You bought it so recently, it's worth a try.

It is a bit like the Norton tactics with their Utilities and Antitrack, exactly why i uninstalled it too, accidentally i got in contact with a Board of Directors from Norton, she didnt know about this scare tactics and is going to investigate ( well she said she does ) Lets see.

 

[Jonny Quest]

Whoa. This makes me wonder when I'll be next. If it does happen, I'll also have to say sayonara.

I took a brief look at Best Buy's terms and conditions. It seems to me that the subscription is eligible for a refund. You bought it so recently, it's worth a try.

This is what I'm now using on this daily notebook: Windows Defender/DefenderUI (Recommended Profile), GlassWire free for it's outbound notifications and information, Proton VPN paid version, and McAfee WebAdvisor (hopefully no solicitation pop ups in using it) and feel very confident with this set up, let alone being aware of what I'm doing online.

Edit: @Miravi I appreciate your thoughtfulness in looking into the BB site but with the digital download version(s), are non-returnable.

 

[Sorrento]

I installed 'McAfee Internet Security', & just looked on 12 July this year & have yet to have a single popup, (i have had a couple of emails) however I've never delved into the 'get to know your protection score' as I'm pretty sure I know it, that's three whole months, I check for updates & have latest update, I'm not sure why that is but if I get the popups @Jonny Quest gets i will revert to Emsisoft, but that hasn't happened yet & I will certainly say if it occurs - its my main PC & a desk PC that's on most of the time & rebooted often.

 

[ForgottenSeer 116559]

I'm still in the clear, fortunately. I'm curious as to the logic behind certain users receiving such different treatment. My license was originally intended to be activated in Europe, but who knows what difference that makes?

I'll definitely drop a message if the nagging comes on.

 

[piquiteco]

It also seems to be optimised, it doesn’t produce large database files and doesn’t cause constant CPU activity.

My experience with McAfee Antivirus so far has been extremely positive. I've been using it for 35 days now, no bugs, no pop-ups, and I'm still using McAfee Antivirus Simple. You can check out the screenshots below , no VPN or bloatware of any kind. I'm loving McAfee. It's the lightest and most efficient antivirus I've used to date. It was the only one that went head to head with Kaspersky. I'm sorry for those who had a bad experience with McAfee. For me, it's nothing but praise. I went back to the website where I bought my McAfee Antivirus license to purchase the Total Protection, Ultimate, or Family license, and guess what? All licenses are sold out on that particular website. I thank @Shadowra and @Trident for everything you brought to me about McAfee, it was valuable. I had already done some preliminary tests with McAfee and it was really effective. The feedback from @Trident plus the test from @Shadowra was a game changer and confirmation that it really is a super effective AV. I can only thank you for the first-hand information you brought about McAfee here on MT.

Spoiler: McAfee Antivirus 330 Days left

 

[roger_m]

I've using McAfee Internet Security and I haven't received any popups yet. But as of right now I'm not using it as my primary antivirus and just have it installed on a PC I use for testing different antiviruses, so haven't used it much.

 

[ForgottenSeer 94738]

I've had pop-ups with McAfee in the past. I declined the services offered, and that was that. No further annoyances.

 

[Sorrento]

I'm still in the clear, fortunately. I'm curious as to the logic behind certain users receiving such different treatment. My license was originally intended to be activated in Europe, but who knows what difference that makes?

I'll definitely drop a message if the nagging comes on.

I am wondering if location is one of the factors?

 

[TuxTalk]

I am wondering if location is one of the factors?

EU Here

 

[ForgottenSeer 94738]

Here also EU