McAfee VirusScan

Strength:
This program is an improvement to last version, which is added to scan the links in IM messages; and when you watch films or play games you will find the process is more constantly without interruption.

As an anti-virus program, it does protect our computers safely from malicious attacks, including multi-pronged ones. McAfee VirusScan Plus 2008 offers a comparatively low price at $39.95 while Norton charges $69.95 counterpart.

Weakness:
The technical support option is poor and the Help file need to add more details. There is still an interruption when you start all the security features. The hourly update should be increased by the publisher.

Benefits
It’s known to all that various viruses are increasingly becoming threats to our computers. There are more and more viruses to attack our systems. You see, there are many traps on Internet; you cannot pay too much attention to it, so why not employ an anti-virus program guarding our systems?

It is said that McAfee bills VirusScan Plus 2008 as a six-in-one security solution. It is very economical for most users. There are some cute tools - system diagnostic tools, various networking monitoring tools, and McAfee anti-phishing tool - SiteAdvisor. It’s convenient for user to check virus and the like.

Since it integrates other soft wares with similar functions, it counts as a considerate instrument for beginners. This version has enhanced the function of SiteAdvisor, for last version it lacked the ability of anti-phishing.

The trial version is more considerate for users to evaluate. It diagnoses your computer’s health and then makes recommendations how to fix it—for free. You could order it after you’re satisfied with all its features.
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There is a piece of good news for most users: you won’t be perplexed when you’d like to recreate yet the anti-virus program is on. You don’t need to shut down McAfee VirusScan Plus 2008 when you run into the condition.

There is a new function offered which is called “State Aware” in which movies, slide shows, and even games play uninterrupted by security alerts or scans whenever you're in full - screen mode.

Comparing with last version, McAfee VirusScan Plus 2008 also improved the integration of antispyware, antivirus, firewall and anti - phishing; as well as the system Guard, is enhanced stronger. That is to say, it could better protect our systems and make it more stable.

There is also an improvement for careless persons (such as me). I was too careless to get a virus a couple days ago. One of my friends “delivers” a “file” to me which makes me very happy and then I clicked it…. You may imagine what happened—I was forced to remove it. If I had tried McAfee new version, it would haven’t taken place. McAfee can prevent the links from your chat tools and the like.

It’s really good for a careless person—also, this feature works with latest versions of AOL IM and Yahoo Messenger, two of the most popular IMs today. Norton offers similar protection but only for older builds of Yahoo and AOL.

Comparing with Kaspersky, this app seems update lower—the former updates hourly (an unremitting one); while McAfee updates daily (I think it OK). Maybe the update speed is not as diligent as Kaspersky, it delivers more frequently when your PC is in an emergency.

Here is the test result of McAfee VirusScan 2008:

McAfee VirusScan Plus stays in the middle of the pack, sometimes trending toward the upper end of the middle. On our iTunes test, VirusScan Plus placed solidly in the middle of the pack at 271 seconds. In our Microsoft Office test, VirusScan Plus trended toward the high end, taking home the second-longest score at 1,519 seconds. In a test scanning a single folder with compressed and media files, McAfee scored 446 seconds, again, toward the high end of our middle group. And in terms of boot speed, McAfee was third-longest at 38 seconds.

Setup
As we know, many antivirus programs are comparatively large than multi media ones. When you decide to evaluate this app, what you download is a compression file. The first step is to compress the file.

After releasing, we need to follow the navigation and select what we need. The speed of installation is much faster than last version, according to a test report.

There's a security center, which you download first; then, depending on the product you purchased, the product itself is downloaded from McAfee to your computer.

McAfee claims it can offer the latest build; the alternative is to install the product, then immediately update (A trial version could not update). It’s a 100% clean tool that we can install it without worry.

Unfortunately, it doesn’t leave us a shortcut to uninstall, which means that we have to remove this app manually (through Control Panel).


Interface

The McAfee Protection Center interface has not changed since last version. It still offers a left-hand navigation for all tools, with a right-hand window pane for system status. McAfee's tabs have fully integrated its Security Center. There are two tables of contents: One shows basic features while the other lists more advanced tools. McAfee blended various tools that make all the buttons more integrated.


System requirements

It runs on Windows 2000, XP and Vista. The size of file is about 40MB; since there is no other requirement for RAM, I take my computer as a reference—RAM is 512MB and this is very common among today’s users’ configuration.


Conclusion

From the comparison of last version, we’ve known that this version has been improved a lot in its functions. There are also some bugs to revise—as I’ve mentioned, the Help file is little in content which could help a beginner little; and the technical support option should be improved, otherwise, this problem might cause consumers’ antipathy.

Compared with several small companies, McAfee did worse in technical support. Isn’t it a little fun to see a leading company performs badly in its technical support? It is said that McAfee hoopla for its products rather than developing software. I think this product could be better and I expect a real triple play between Kaspersky, Norton and McAfee next year.