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McAfee VirusScan 6.0 (discontinued)

McAfee VirusScan 6.0

Entered CNET Catalog: 07/03/2001

SKU: VSF0001NA600

Manufacturer: McAfee

Manufacturer description

No computer should be without anti-virus and firewall protection. Here's an easy way to safeguard your computer. There are nearly 60,000 known computer viruses infecting cyberspace today. And that number is growing daily. But what's more frightening is their reach. In a matter of only a few hours, a single virus can spread to millions of PCs around the world, causing billions of dollars in damage. Fortunately, there's an easy way to protect your PC: VirusScan 6.0. VirusScan 6.0 technology detects and removes all types of known viruses from sources including e-mail attachments, Internet downloads, shared disks, CD-ROMs, and synchronization with your PDA. VirusScan 6.0 software also detects destructive ActiveX and Java applets, which are often downloaded without your knowledge while you browse. VirusScan 6.0 is one of the first anti-virus software that comes with an integrated personal firewall, an easy-to-use application that blocks hackers from gaining access to your system. Whether you have a dial-up or broadband connection, the firewall puts up a barrier to protect you and your PC... even when you're away from your computer. VirusScan 6.0 software includes advanced detection technology that consistently finds new viruses. It also provides instant updating via the Internet to ensure that your computer is always protected from the latest virus threats.

CNET editors' review

  • Editors' Choice: No
  • Reviewed on: 03/27/2002
With new computer viruses hitting the streets about every other day, keeping your computer safe from nasties--such as Trojan horses, worms hidden within e-mail, and viruses that chew up important files--is more than just a good idea. One of the least-expensive ways to keep yourself covered is to install $39.95 VirusScan 6.0, available from McAfee. However, its so-so performance with real-world viruses knocks VirusScan off our list for everyone except McAfee's current users, who should spring for the $29.95 upgrade. With new computer viruses hitting the streets about every other day, keeping your computer safe from nasties--such as Trojan horses, worms hidden within e-mail, and viruses that chew up important files--is more than just a good idea. One of the least-expensive ways to keep yourself covered is to install $39.95 VirusScan 6.0, available from McAfee. However, its so-so performance with real-world viruses knocks VirusScan off our list for everyone except McAfee's current users, who should spring for the $29.95 upgrade.

At first glance
Although this update costs $10 more than its predecessor, the extra cash buys you extra protection. VirusScan's antivirus software now comes bundled with a basic personal firewall to make your machine invisible to hackers. That way, if the worst does occur, it'll block a Trojan horse's signals and keep it from taking control of the PC. No other standalone antivirus package includes this additional protection. McAfee's firewall is good but doesn't offer anything you can't get free from Tiny Personal Firewall.

VirusScan now shields your computer from viruses better than before. It guards against all kinds of intruders, including viruses, worms, Trojan horses, and--on the Web-- ActiveX Controls or Java applets, which can execute malicious commands without your knowledge. When it detects an anomaly, VirusScan pops up an alert and gives you a chance to either delete or fix the infected file or quarantine it in a lockbox where it can't make mischief. Unfortunately, you have to drop what you're doing to handle the intrusion. VirusScan should steal an idea from Norton AntiVirus and simply eradicate the virus without your intervention.

New features
Spend some time with version 6.0, and you'll discover a number of new antivirus weapons. Tops on our list is HAWK (for Hostile Activity Watch Kernel). It monitors Outlook--the Typhoid Mary of computer virus carriers--for suspicious behavior, then warns you when, for instance, an e-mail message is about to be sent to more than 40 recipients. It's a clever way to detect and stop mass-mailing worms such as SirCam. VirusScan also protects your PC against nasties that might sneak onto your desktop from your Palm or Windows CE handheld during synchronization. Still, VirusScan lags behind Norton AntiVirus in some key areas, such as monitoring active scripts for Visual Basic or JavaScript for possible mischief.

Overall, once-tough-to-use VirusScan is now a breeze, thanks to its top-to-bottom interface redesign. Its browserlike look features left-hand links to primary tasks, such as running a virus scan or checking your current virus protection status. The main display panel, also on the left, sports Back and Forward buttons that let you navigate as if you were on a Web site. But VirusScan isn't perfect yet. Scheduling a scan for when you'll be away from your machine means tackling a complex dialog box, rather than stepping through a simple wizard such as Norton AntiVirus's. At least VirusScan's automatic virus definition updater matches Norton's. You set VirusScan's version to automatically detect, download, and install, new definitions without bothering you. Better still, an annual update subscription costs just $4.95 after the first year--half as much as Norton's.

Performance
How well does it all work? Our Labs tests show that VirusScan identifies viruses in ZIP files before they hit the hard drive, which is something that Norton can't do. Although VirusScan caught zipped viruses, however, a true virus killer must deal well with overall definitions, giving it a long-term ability to identify hundreds of in-the-wild viruses as they come up. That's why we pay attention to Virus Bulletin's VB100% award, given only to antivirus programs that detect every current virus. Here, VirusScan's performance is suspect. Of the last six exams (dating back to July 2000), VirusScan scored a perfect 100 only once.

At $39.95, McAfee's VirusScan is a bargain for a complete antivirus package. However, its so-so performance with real-world viruses knocks this app off our must-get list for everyone except current VirusScan users, who should get the $29.95 upgrade. But if you really want a firewall alongside your antivirus program, spend $49.95 for Norton and install a free firewall such as ZoneAlarm.

CNET Labs tests McAfee VirusScan 6.0

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User opinions

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User Rating: 9/10

Old version, but is better than newest 8.0 version by far!

Pros: Will catch viruses, caught Yaha virus for me I remember. The splash screen can be disabled at boot when you download a few updates to the software. Interface is easier than 8.0 version, doesn't require the crappy Security Center utility. Instant Updater m

Cons: Had some stability problems at first, McAfee soon released fixes for them though and nothing bad from there after. Also, how to make a boot disk that has UPDATED dat files on it, still doesn't seem to work right.

Review:

User Rating: 1/10

Its A Virus

Pros:

Cons: Its a virus. I can't remove it. McAfee's instruction won't remove it. Already wasted too much time on the 'central.dll' problem and McAfee won't help without payment of a ransom when they should post a fix for free.

Review:

User Rating: 1/10

It cannot handle it selv and the 'Central'

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Cons: I keep gettin a message about havin the wrong central-version installed - but its the one that came with the product - and It won't update it self because of the 'wrong' central version ... What a f..... waste of time My money goes to Peter N.....

Review:

User Rating: 3/10

Terrible experience with Virus Scan 6

Pros: Easy to use but doesn't work properly!

Cons: Crashes system, firewall blocks everything and causes real problems. Going to give Norton a try now as can't be worse than Mcafee - I hope.

Review:

User Rating: 6/10

What to? central.dll

Pros: You have to delete all the files that looks like central.dll F.E. cantralNL.dll After that it works great.

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Review:

User Rating: 3/10

CPU hog on Win98, Won't Uninstall

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Review: My Win98 SE machine with 256 MB RAM hates VirusScan 6.0. It makes the cursor jerky (interrupts constantly). Worse yet, IT CAN'T UNINSTALL ITSELF without using Regedit. AVOID MCAFEE AT ALL COSTS!!!

User Rating: 2/10

I can't download the updates!

Pros:

Cons: Automatic updater doesn't work. Tech help is "chat". Just getting runaround.

Review:

User Rating: 6/10

Needs an available upgrade to use on an ISPs with a less than a four character Name.(Secret?!?!)

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Review: VirusScan 6. The Good The Bad and the Ugly. I Have used McAffe VirusScan on several computers in several versions (Including 6.0) without any problems. However, after installing it on a new clean computer (Using Windows XP - which is NOT significant) BUT with usind a new ISP (which IS significant)when attempting to register(and use "Instant Updater") I received the message: "Instant Updater was unable to communicate with server. Please try again later. (-202)" The significance is that the ISP had a a name with three (3)letters in the first group of chatacters (My address was like abcdefg1@xyz.com) It appears that the original programmers of VirusScan 6 told "Instant Updater" not to accept an address with less than four characters - such as xyz in xyz.com To cut the story short, after (with difficulty) navigating the McAfee Technical Help menu (It is NOT helpfull.) I found the item below:- http://www.mcafeeretail.com/naicommon/download/patches.asp where one is directed to download a patch for McAfee Instant Updater. The short answer is to download and run RUP104AU.exe This changes "Instant Updater" from 1.02 to 1.04 and fixes the problem. This was found via http://www.mcafee.com/support/retail/hot_topics.asp# --------------------------- Hot Topics Using Instant Updater to Update Your McAfee Product and Solving Updating Error Messages Error -202 Make sure that you are running Instant Updater 1.04. To check your Instant Updater Version, open Instant Updater (like you were trying to update). Click on Help > About. If you have any version previous to 1.04, please update. Go to the following web page: http://www.mcafeeretail.com/naicommon/download/patches.asp Click on the McAfee Internet Updater link. Download the Instant Updater file. The patch is RUP104AU.exe Description: This is an upgrade for McAfee Instant Updater v1.0x to v1.04 Issues addressed: ?Optimized the Auto Inquiry and Auto Update mechanism. ?Fixed VirusScan crash for Windows XP limited user applying incremental DATs. ?Added support for digital signatures package authentication

User Rating: 1/10

Couldn't install it on XP

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Review: After a few days McAfee stopped responding on my support requests and sent me a refund form...

User Rating: 10/10

Symantec shame on you!

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Review: Symantec shame on you! You may have hired all these people to flood bad comments on McAfee products. You are going to pay for this! McAfee is the best! No, I'm not associated with McAfee. I'm angry that such a company could do such a thing, being unfair in the competition. You have earned my dislike on you. Symantec

User Rating: 1/10

Much too buggy to bother with

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Review: This version came pre installed on my computer with XP. At first it worked fine, but after I added limited users it just wasn't the same.

User Rating: 4/10

Can't Get Firewall to Work!

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Review: They expect me to PAY for tech support? Downloads are SLOW!!! (Also usually have to repeat

User Rating: 1/10

WP + McAfee Virus Scan, not a good marriage

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Review: When McAfee VirusScan online is launched at start-up w/ Windows XP computer slows to a crawl particularly when opening list of documents in Word, Excel etc, system hangs on shut down and CPU usage goes to 100%. Only one McAfee VirusScan Online FAQs addresses this issue but the suggestion - checking the option "Program files and documents only" - is already checked by default and uninstall/reinstall has no affect. however, if I launch VirusScan online myself after start-up, the problem does not occur. I am not inspired after they raised the subscription fee more than 30% and dropped email tech support (yes I have had problems before).

User Rating: 3/10

I don't know what it really stops

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Review: The three or four times I had a virus over the last couple of years VirusScan did not help me. Or did it not work? According to the viruslist all the viruses I got were old ones , dating back a year to several years. So not the new advanced, not yet covered, ones. The first thing that quit was Virusscan itself. It had never been working correct either. After booting the computer it has always given an error message that I have never got rid off. Online updating the engine feature has never worked. Retrieving dat files however worked fine. Strangely enough the simple DOS-based SCAN program has always worked and detected the viruses correctly and removed them effectively. But that is hindsight. Virusscan did not work in several cases but the ancient Scan.exe removed them afterwards. It is time to move on and find a better alternative. Maarten van Damme

User Rating: 3/10

Extremely "buggy"

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Review: This is the worst virus software that I have used. I have used McAfee since version 2 and this version is awful. I have contacted technical support and have not been given a solution to the problems, except "refer to the website."! Eventually found an updated dll on the net and this corrected one problem. Instant updater decided it needed updating and now software will not work again! It looks like I will have to switch to Norton after years of loyalty to McAfee.

User Rating: 1/10

Doesn't work under XP pro

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Review: My version is actually called VirusScan Home Edition Product Version: 7.00.5000.0 Company Name: Network Associates, Inc. - I bought it from McAfee and downloaded it. Installed in in place of my FREE AVG virus software (don't ask why!) The AVG works but the McAfee simply won't enable correctly. I managed to get a "chat" tech support guy who told me he knew the answer. No only did he not know the answer but the tech bulletin he sent me did not properly describe the pop-screens my system gave. Since then I have tried to get back to follow-up on the free chat support line but there are never any agents available. DON'T WASTE YOUR MONY ON THIS TRASH!

User Rating: 3/10

Limited Functionality

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Review: I had used previous McAfee products so when I got a new system with XP I bought 6.0. The firewall seems to work except for the time the instant updater wiped out it's settings. The HAWK won't run at all and I'm not really sure the virus scanner is checking my email

User Rating: 1/10

Version 6 incompatible with Win98

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Review: Was a happy user of VirusScan V4 for several years. Have tried to upgrade to V6 on my Win98 system... nothing but problems. FIRST, system clock would lose 10 to 40 mins a day --- and mouse tracking moved erratically. Was told by McAfee tech to do an alternate install technique... same problems. SECOND, (after a few days) responded to an auto-update... which then modified system to produce a continuing VS error message about a bad version of CENTRAL.DLL. The 2nd McAfee tech provided lengthy repair instructions --- after which system to hang during a reboot. I had to uninstall again (in SAFE MODE) just to get my modem operational. The 3rd tech recommended that I uninstall and start all over again. So far, I've invested 6 hours of install-time and have downloaded almost 40 MB of material. I give up.

User Rating: 7/10

The instant updater is a joke

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Review: When i installed version 6, i had to update all the files so that it would have something to search for. last week and tonight, i was on line and used the "instant updater" and it said that my files were up to date, but if i visit their site, there is in fact a new dat file. I've used the "chat with a live tech" this is futile as i think that i'm connected to India or someplace and they do not under stand what i'm saying. They told me last week that the update server is down. i asked them tonight and they said that it was down. I won't know until next week if the updater works. I can manually download the files,but that's not the point. They advertise that you can update seemlessly. Not so!

User Rating: 4/10

Do not purchase version 6!

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Review: Had to rem out the boot up line in the autoexec.bat in order for the product to let my computer boot. Un-installed and reinstalled many times on three different computers running windows 98. This is worst version ever. Do not buy this product.

User Rating: 10/10

It works great for me!

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Review: I have had a long history of Norton's compatability problems - McAfee gives me no headaches at all. Just to be on the saef side - a good triple layer firewall is recommended for the broadband users.

User Rating: 5/10

A Pain in the neck

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Review: Has been using it for a while with lots of problems. The only plus is bother-free updates. Otherwise unstable and slow. Slows down XP enourmously.

User Rating: 2/10

did more damage than the virus

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Review: McAffe VirusScan 6.0 deleted infected files I needed, did not clean them as I indicated. It has taken me a week to get my computer back to a semblance of functionality.

User Rating: 6/10

Too many bugs with XP

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Review: It finds viruses, but i'd expect any anti-virus software to do that. What annoyed me was the huge amount of bugs. When run at same time as a certain P2P program, i couldnt type anything in explorer's search bar, little things like that (there were many more) made me switch to Norton, which i find much less buggy

User Rating: 3/10

Instant updater never worked

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Review: I installed it and could never update my virusdefinitions with the instant updater.. Support offered lots of suggestions but none of them worked. I switched to Norton, their LiveUpdate works like a charm

User Rating: 10/10

VS Online is a WASTE

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Review: Subscribed to VS Online and it worked fine till they came out with a new build then my results were identical to IBKrusty. Stay away from this DOG if you have W2K until McAfee invests in a QA dept or you will receive 20 emails all telling you the same worthless "How to Uninstall and Reinstall" steps.

User Rating: 8/10

WORKS!!!

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Review: Works great!!The firewall kind of sucks,get zone alarm. I also use AVG= grisoft.com as the features for scanning removable media are better. I use a lot of INCD cd-rw's so I do not clutter up my hard drive. I have to use norton at work,very buggy!!!! and it lets viruses in!!!! The STATE OF TEXAS mainframe has been infected so many times just by using norton IT IS UNREAL!!!!!! using a 'bootleg' McAfee (not for offical use on STATE OF TEXAS main frames,single lic.) and AVG (SAA) we have,after 3.5 years=NEVER INTRODUCED A VIRU TO MAINFRAME!!!! AND CAUSED A (ANOTHER) SYSTEM SHUT DOWN!!!! SYSTEM DOWN=2-3 WEEKS!!!!

User Rating: 1/10

Tried 3 MVS, none have worked

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Review: The downloaded version doesn't work...can't find refund form on web site. Installed a new disk the next day...that doesn't work either. The one that came with the computer did not work.

User Rating: 3/10

Nothing but problems

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Review: Version 4 came pre-installed on my PC, I updated the DAT files regularly using the auto update feature. When I enrolled for graduate school they insisted on having the latest virus scan protection for e-learning students so I bought version 6.0. During the install, the software required that I remove version 4.0. I hesitated but continued. With every reboot my PC now gave an error that the system.ini was looking for a vxd file related to my version 4.0 copy of Virus Scan. The Firewall was a neat feature and I never realized how many applications log into the internet during my normal use. However when I tried to turn off the firewall for specific applications, it never seemed to work. I constantly had to deal with responding to warning messages that an particular application was trying to access the internet. This became an annoyance. While the first full scan I ran did find and remove a virus on my pc, I became annoyed at the startup error message for a version of virus scan that I could not reinstall. Also, I could not get the firewall to turn off for applications that I did want to access the internet (e.g AOL). I completely uninstalled Virus Scan 6.0 and decided on Norton instead.

User Rating: 8/10

works good for me

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Review: I use kazaa and winmx alot viruses always got throught norton2002 no trouble with mcafee works great

User Rating: 3/10

Buggy, weird, and a just plain RAM suck

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Review: I've been with McAfee for a while, since I bought my first Compaq notebook. I've been through 4,5, and 6. To be frank they all suck. The VShield engine is really buggy and tends to make everything on my machine unstable from time to time. It causes random boot errors that you really cannot solve unless you disable the entire background scanning system. ome other features like Safe and Sound make booting up, or rebooting your PC a adventure in random crashing, and the built in Firewall is a joke. My main issues is that the program is a RAM suck. I have a 500mhz AMD k6 with 128megs of RAM. Pretty slow by modern GHZ standards but not that slow. Until you install Virus Scan then everything basically slows to infinity. The program takes way too long to load, sucks up too many system resources, and causes other apps like Office to slow down or crash when running a Virus Scan. Problems I haven't had with Norton Anti-Virus on other machines. Unless you were unfortunate enough to have Virus Scan pre-installed on your system, buy Norton Anti-Virus and download Sygate Personal Firewall for free. If you still want the extra protection, or like spending money to feel safe spend the extra 50 bucks and upgrade to Sygate Personal Firewall Pro, or Norton Firewall.

User Rating: 3/10

Headache

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Review: I tried to install it a couple of times and it doesn't work. I agree complety with IBKrusty review. I had the same problem.

User Rating: 2/10

Piece of . . .

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Review: Have had to reformat my hard drive numerous times as a result of this lo-grade program. I can't believe the nut lickers at McAfee would even market such a program. OS would work fine and then upon installing McAfee would freese upon rebooting, or give a variety of errors that were never present before. Never once got the firewall to work. downloaded zone alarm . . . have had no problems. going to go get norton.

User Rating: 5/10

Not XP Home friendly, disappointed

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Review: I've used McAfee for years, version 3, 4, 5, and all worked well. Upgraded from ME to XP and had to by new Version 6. Does not seem to work with XP Home, will intermitantly fail to update dats in the limited user profile and wipe the existing dats off. Also found some conflicts with other security software etc. Removed from my system, brought Norton and installed. Disappointed with McAfee 6. They say the problem is with XP Home, McAfee should realise that we buy AV Software for our OS Systems, not OS Systems for our AV Software and sort the problem out.

User Rating: 8/10

Finds them all the time.

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Review: This product has found every virus i have had on system.. Norton found just a few...

User Rating: 3/10

Auto-Update is NOT Automatic: Beware!

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Review: McAfee touts the "convenience" of automatic updates with their Instant Updater feature, and indeed, this was the main reason I purchased the software, as I wanted to be kept up-to-date without having to constantly check for new virus definitions or engine enhancements. Unfortunately, there is just as much user-interaction required to download and install an "Automatic" update as a manual update. In the Instant Updater software, it states: "Instant Updater will silently check for AND APPLY updates while you are connected to the Internet." Unfortunately, while it will check for updates, the only notification it gives you is a tiny round icon appearing in the taskbar. To get the updates, you must notice the icon, double click on it, check the box for the update it found, click a button to install it, then then click a Finish button when you're done. After going around and around with three separate technical support representatives, one finally admitted that yes, that's how it's supposed to work, and that AFTER you choose the update to download and click the button, then it will apply the updates "silently and automatically." Hrm...sorry, but no thanks. In the immortal words of Douglas Adams, "This must be some new usage of the word 'Automatic' which I hadn't previously been aware of." The interface is unintuitive and kludgey. The software itself, as always, seems to interfere with so many other programs that even with 512MB of RAM, I've had to disable VirusScan before doing scanning, graphics work, or even game playing. I believe the Auto-Update confusion is dangerous to users who will assume they are up-to-date when they are not. It's very sad to see McAfee, who used to put out the top of the line antivirus product, sink to this level of deception or, at best (to give them the benefit of a doubt), misuse of the English language.

User Rating: 2/10

More bugs than a volkswagen dealership.

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Review: Nothing but problems from day one. One of the most irritating is the fact that the software gives you a message indicating that your trial period is over, even when you have purchased the software in the box. If you manage to wait through their chat room "hold time" you find out that they can fix the problem for you this time by deleting a file in your registry but the problem will come back some time later. They admit that this is normal and have no plans to change it. There are many other problems, too many to mention. DO NOT purchase this software!!!

User Rating: 10/10

The fastest Anti-virus u will ever get

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Review: First I had NAV 2002 on my PC. Even after having 1GB of RAM my PC was still as slow as if my PC had 64 MB RAM... and after uninstalling NAV 2002, I installed Mcafee VirusScan 6.1 then after scaning my PC using McAfee it found 9 viruses on my PC. Even after the latest DAT files norton AV couldn't detect any viruses from my PC... Thanks to McAfee---The No.1 Virus Detector---. And it also provides a solid Firewall for your PC. I recommend this AV for all users. If you install it on Win9x/me or 2002 then it loads XP version look. WOW.

User Rating: 5/10

Messes up your computer- don't buy it!

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Review: i bought this for my computer after being told by AOL tech support that my computer might have a virus. installation took multiple attmepts, and while chatting with McAfee tech support online, the "blue screen of death" popped up. i had to restart. uninstalling was near impossible. it took almost an hour on the phone with tech support from the store where the computer was purchased to fix the problem- they said mcafee messed up the computer. do not buy this program. buy norton instead.

User Rating: 6/10

phooey

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Review: Easy install. interface reasonably logical to use. however constantly have to shut down program as causes system instability when on internet. if I can manage to get virusscan shut down before system locks down, system returns to normal. uses too many of the systems resources.

User Rating: 7/10

VirusScan appears to be working satisfactorily

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Review: The software installed without any problem, appeared to be working fine. The printed documentation furnished with the CD points out possible installation problems and suggestions on avoiding these problems. I ran into problems when I downloaded and updated virus data files without downloading and updating the software. After dleting, reinstalling, and updating in the proper sequence I have had no further problems.

User Rating: 5/10

Difficult to Install & Erratic Performance

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Review: I have used McAfee for years at work and at home. Every home installation (Windows 95, 98 & Windows 2000 Professional has been problematic, requiring multiple calls or chats for support and many wasted hours. I have simply given up on installing, updating and maintaining McAfee. Its ok if someone else gets paid to install & maintain this software.

User Rating: 1/10

Worst Program Ever

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Review: I can't uninstall this program by any (easy) means. This is worse than a trojan horse. It set up a firewall, and TWO scanning clients and a whack of exe's running in the background. This has gone too far and I hope Mcafee realizes that their program is a complete waste of time.

User Rating: 1/10

it tottaly froze up my windows!

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Review: when i downloaded it every thing was fine all the sudden the computer froze i thought nothing of it and restarted it (manualy) i was waiting for windows to start up but wait it didnt start up i restarted it and it dint so i used my boot disk THANK GOD FOR THAT! i got into windows uninstalled virus scan restared windows and right away every thing loaded i dont know how it works for other computers but i have windows 98 second edition and i would not recomended it to any 1

User Rating: 1/10

Get Norton Anti-Virus you'll be happier

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Review: Crashed my entire system. McAfee tech support is worthless. You have to use the online tech support if you want it for free but if your system is crashed like mine did then they want you to pay for phone support. Had to take my pc in to be repaired and cost a lot more than the price of the McAfee Anti-Virus software. The tech knew the trouble as soon as I told him what happened and told me of all the trouble that McAfee has been causeing on other people systems.

User Rating: 1/10

AOL users do not download this program without reading about Firewall problems

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Review: On July 25, I purchased and downloaded version 6 of McAfee VirusScan from their web site. Previous to that purchase, I had received with my Dell version 4.0.2 which offered one free upgrade which I took advantage of some time later downloading engine version 5. In July, a virus attacked my hard disk and destroyed a number of programs including VirusScan v.5.When I discovered that the Version 5 upgrade was no longer available, I wrote requesting to reload version 5. After three emails, I was told that the only remedy was to purchase version 6 for $39.95. That was a major mistake. There was no notification that the Mcafee firewall program would cause any problems but it immediately destroyed my version of AOL and caused what appears to be a memory buffer delay with my keyboard and mouse key mechanism. After reloading AOL three times, I finally learned from their website that they knew that there are major problems for AOL users who load Mcafee's FIrewall program. How Mcafee could subject subscribers to the largest internet service (what is it 30 million) to download this program with absolutely no forwarning that the Firewall would cause major corruption of the AOL program is reprehensible. Why Mcafee doesn't have an installation program that alters the installation for AOL users is even more ridiculous particularly since AOL has a direct link from its Keyword Virus to Mcaffee. Now, after spending hours reloading windows 98 three times, and running the uninstall program for McAfee, I discovered that the uninstall program leaves most Mcafee files installed, and that Mcafee knows this and sweetly offers advice on how to remove "hundreds" (their words) of registry entries one at a time requiring hours of more wasted time. Even after all that, my windows 98 loading window still shows that a program referred to as REM Tshoot:REM environment setting for McAfee VirusScan appears to still be loading at startup, similarly when I attempt to open my control panels, I am warned that certain files are unavialable in order to use Virusan (now gone). And both my keyboard and mouse buttons work improperly and the CPU is noticeably slow as if some memory intense program is running in the background. And to add insult to injury, a recently arrived catalog from Micro Warehouse advertised VirusScan 6 in CD form (with a manual) for $14.95 after a $20.00 mail in upgrade rebate. $25.00 cheaper than what they charged me for a downloaded version. Oh, one final item; the e-mail form on the Mcafee site to request a refund doesn't work either. Short Network Associates stock pdq.

User Rating: 9/10

think again - McAfee IS better

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Review: I got a virus using Symantec Antivirus - uninstalled it and installed the eval version of Viruscan 6.02 - which detected and cleaned it. Whatever CNET thinks is more effective cleaning they should be realistic and do some testing of their ownn...

User Rating: 5/10

Blocks everything!

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Review: Its a bad thing they put in the firewall, it asks me for EVERYTHING if the program can access the internet.Believe me, if you use msn, don't buy this.

User Rating: 9/10

Do you know anything but Norton?

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Review: McAfee is great. It works very well, very easy configure, seamless updates/upgrades as well as scriped updating in the corporate environment if required. My only gripe about it is it'll crash sometimes when you're viewing a very large RARed file or an executable created by RAR. Othewise a wonderfull all around scanner--beats Norton all the time.

User Rating: 7/10

It's not perfect but neither is Norton

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Review: I have used Macafee Virus Scan from the beginning and it certainly has had it's share of bugs. I've noticed that in the negative area people are experiencing system slowdown or interference. I have found that the MacAfee uninstall program leaves a lot of entries in the registry. It also neglects to remove some of the files in the hard drive. The result is that when you install a newer version, your machine eventually starts to crawl. All of the entries need to be removed from the registry and remaining files from the hard drive. This of course is quite intimidating to those who are not comfortable in working with the registry. I also noticed that my hard drive went into a loop until I had removed the entry from my autoexec.bat. The newest version of Macafee also conflicts with some software - ie. Premiere cannot load if MacAfee is on - it just stops dead and you have to cold boot. Someone had also mentioned that MacAfee did not catch viruses but they also stated that they hadn't kept up with the updates. Well ... I don't think I need to say anything considering we all know that updates are imperative. In spite of it's bugs which I agree should be eliminated during beta testing rather than relying on the public to find them, it's still a good virus program. I've tried Norton and ran into a variety of conflicts. I do agree with others that if MacAfee continues to release buggy programs and makes it difficult for users to get support or help, they will certainly lose market share. Maybe MacAfee and other companies should take note of what happened to GM when it felt it didn't need to serve and satisfy it's customers.

User Rating: 4/10

with XP it just wont work

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Review: When I got XP, I bought this program and could never get it work properly with guest accounts. In fact tech help was TERRIBLE. I just could not recommend this to anyone.

User Rating: 8/10

Better than Norton 01

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Review: This is the best I have seen. A couple of months ago I was using Norton but a virus infected my computer. Norton didn't find any viruses and it was updated. The guys at microsoft didnt know what was wrong but when I got MCfree it was the best and descovered it quickly right out of the box with out updates. This is a better alternatve to Norton and is great because it includes a firewall too.

User Rating: 7/10

Works for me.

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Review: I've used McAfee for years and years. If you can manage the settings, it's quite efficient. I prefer turning off auto updates (it's easy to do) and checking weekly myself. Everyone should also learn to use Zone Alarm.

User Rating: 5/10

Multiple products in one package that are poorly integrated.

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Review: Stability,even on the install process is highly questionable. The instant updater has a known issue which McAfee won't address that crashes the system it's on. I have had a horrible experience deploying multiple Win 98 machines with this product.

User Rating: 1/10

Bad right out of the box

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Review: A complex, nonintuitive installation process that failed, leaving debris scattered throughout my brand-new (and until now clean) XP system. What abominable trash, that cannot even load itself correctly. It did generate an automatic bug report to McAfee, but the only acceptable solution is a refund. I un-installed its dead carcass as quickly as possible, and before taking too many more breaths, I will have Norton antivirus running in its place. This is NO place to save a few bucks, and the built-in firewall is no incentive. As a long-time user of ZoneAlarm, I would have disabled McAfee's puny attempt at a firewall anyway.

User Rating: 3/10

Untrustworthy

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Review: I upgraded from V5. I haved used for years without problem. Within the first 3 days the boot scan stopped working and had to repair. Kept getting On Access startup errors (supposedly only happens in NT no 98SE). Various features would turn off at random. When I received klez email, the email came up blank but did not quarantine or warn me of the virus. I uninstalled with the help of Norton System works and loaded Norton. My sytem runs faster, smoother and Norton catches email viruses every time.

User Rating: 5/10

Doesn't Auto-Update

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Review: I have played with this software too much already. I know where every little feature and button is, like I know the back of my own hand. I have set virus scan 6 to automatically check for updates and download them but it doesn't do that. When I click on the link to check for updates about once every week, there is always at least a signature file and sometimes a virus scan update available for download and I have to do this manually. This is quite annoying since the feature is supposed to be there. I do have Zone Alarm, in addition to this software and I have given Virus scan 6 and it's little webscanx program full access to the internet, so this can't be the problem. I'm going to try Norton now because this is unacceptable.

User Rating: 3/10

Crashed multiple accounts XP

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Review: Installed this twice and removed it twice. It worked fine on my XP account, but just crashed my wifes account. It is in the bin now!

User Rating: 1/10

Cannot Install on W2000

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Review: After struggling to install Viruscan 6 with Firewall on my Windows 98 machine, I finally got it working after 3 days. When I went to upgrade the same machine and re-install the product, I had forgotten how much trouble I had in getting it working the first time. IT DOES NOT WORK. I really wished I had purchased Norton instead. Also, syncing via infrared with my palm does not work with the firewall feature on--you have to turn it off to get it to sync, even if you specify hotsync manager as an allowed application. Oh yeah, and tech support is absolutely useless. What a waste of money.

User Rating: 2/10

Worse than a disk eating virus!

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Review: Being a professional computer scientist, I feel I can authoritatively declare this product garbage. Upon installation on a brand spanking new notebook, errors started to occur that resembled disk failure. So, I replaced the disk. Well, I then go and reload VirusScan 6.0 on the new disk and BAM, the same problems. Hmmm, the guilty party has been identified! After extrodinary effort I was able to salvage my system. Was it due to it being a dual boot Linux/Windows 2000 system? I don't know and don't care because Macafee will never see another red cent from me again. Norton is my new virus scanning friend.

User Rating: 5/10

NOT win2k compatible

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Review: Do NOT believe the packaging. This product will do more damage to your win 2k system than many viruses! Installation is very unreliable, and will lock system up during install.

User Rating: 10/10

NeverWorked Worsethan a virus

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Review: Spent 15 hours trying repeatedly to get it to work. Would not uninstall old version forcing 5 page manual delete from McAfee FAQ. Lockups,mouse diabling,would not start up, never could get to run properly. Norton plus ZoneAlarm will be my solution.

User Rating: 1/10

Poor preformance

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Review: I bought VirusScan 6.0 with the firewall to install with Windows XP. After installation, the program recommended an internet update. The update backdated my current version so that the VirusScan and Firewall programs wouldn't run at all. Trying to fix this was more tedious, as I found VirusScan 6.0 very difficult to configure. Moreover, their tech support is very poor. Automated e-mail and web help tells me what I already know and doesn't help to solve my problem, and I refuse to pay 2.95 a minute for phone assistance. I'm with CNET on this one - buy Norton AntiVirus 2002 and if you want a firewall, use ZoneAlarm for free.

User Rating: 3/10

It Just Sucks!

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Review: This piece of crappy Anti-virus protection is a virus itself! Is there a Fik for the "My PC won't shut down after I install McAfee v6...". This just does't work in a business environment!

User Rating: 2/10

Erased all of my emails

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Review: Due to a KNOWN BUG (they knew about it and didn't do anything to alert the public), running McAfee with Outlook Express open erased all of my emails (In Box, Sent Box, Trash, ...everything!). It took four chat sessions with tech support to get the truth, that they knew about this bug all along (and quite frankly they should have pulled the software from the shelves).

User Rating: 5/10

Product does not appear ready to be distributed.

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Review: Although it is simple to install and simple to use, McAfee VirusScan 6.0 makes the system unstable and, in spite of numerous upgrades, repairs and corrective patches, some functions simply do not work. The firewall is not very sophisticated. Despite having used McAfee for several years and being willing to stick with it, when I had to buy an upgrade it was so poor that I exchanged for Norton. By comparison, Norton works flawlessly and smoothly.

User Rating: 9/10

VirusScan 6.02 better than the first try

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Review: I tried VirusScan 6.0 and had a hard time with it - this one is much improved and the quality issues are worked out. I cannot get Norton's LiveUpdate to work properly;AND I like the free Firewall that Mcaffee gives you.

User Rating: 3/10

Failed just when I needed it!!!

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Review: Program ran fine when nothing was wrong. But, when I got the funlove virus it was useless. The program crashed and was unable to clean the infected files. I went to Norton and it cleared it up. Norton is a far superior program.

User Rating: 3/10

too many problems

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Review: support is lacking. even they couldn't figure it out. In the end, just gave up and headed to their competitors

User Rating: 10/10

Best Anti-virus utility

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Review: It's the fastest Anti-virus program I have had ever installed. I recommend all the users to use Mcafee VirusScan which is a lot faster and has more advanced features than comparing to the slowest AV i.e; Norton AV 2002. It deletes the infected file without asking the user and after so many tests performed by our friends, Norton AV 2002 could clean no infected files but kept on deleting them.. What about if we don't have the backup file? But when we tested Mcafee VirusScan 6 Wow! It was lot faster and could clean every infected files we tested. It's much more faster and is fully compatible with Windows Xp too. I recommend Mcafee VurusScan 6 not Norton Av 2002. Thanks Mcafee for such an Anti-virus Program.

User Rating: 10/10

VirusScan 6

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Review: Wow! It's much more faster and has much more better ability to clean infected files. My flash5.exe file was infected by a virus named Jskak... I tried to clean it with Norton but instead of cleaning which it couldn't it deleted....But Macfee smoothly cleaned the infected file... I recommend all the users to use Mcafee VirusScan coz it's more faster and reliable and has advanced features than comparing to Norton Anti-virus 2002

User Rating: 3/10

Horrible Experiences

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Review: Never did solve the problem of installing on Windows XP. The tech support could not figure it out either, that is why they just gave me 8 different things to do to my registry, check for klez, etc. If you have XP don't even waste your time. I wasted 3 days on and off try to solve the problem. No luck. Tech support is horrible.

User Rating: 6/10

Add/Remove the Firewall, Zoneit!

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Review: Once I removed the firewall with windows Add/Remove programs feature in the Control Panel, this Bomb seemed to stablize some. Enough that is, not to have to rush out and buy or download something else. At least for a while. In the begining, this program was a very disappointing. Removing the Firewall is'nt the cure, but its a start. Then just add Zone Alarm or Tiny.

User Rating: 3/10

McAfee should be ashamed

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Review: It deletes everything in your inbox on Outlook Express and slows your 1GHz+ PC down to a 486. Plus it wouldn't let me delete a virus it found. I had to manually edit the registry and scan the hard drive to manually delete the infected files even after applying the patches.

User Rating: 1/10

McAfee Missed The Boat...

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Review: The only good thing McAfee does is have a nice looking, colorful, informative website, with more info than the other sites... You know why? BECAUSE IT DOESN'T WORK!!! On XP, IT>>> IS A VIRUS! I'm not even going to waste my time telling you how horrible it was! I don't respect a software company who puts a gag order on product reviews, anyway... Go with NOD32, if you truly want a great anti virus!

User Rating: 10/10

The best antivirus better then norton

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Review: I have used Norton anti-virus 2001 and it was ok but when i installed McAfee I thought to myself why didn't i buy this software before? The best thing about McAfee is it tells u if u have downloaded a virus even before the download finishes which wasn't in norton if it was then option for it is hard to locate

User Rating: 8/10

They take your money and run

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Review: As others have said, this thing keeps trying to get online. Freezes Windows game software (which McAfee claims has been fixed, but not so). After fruitlessly beating my head against customer support, I've uninstalled it and won't touch another McAfee product - waste of time and money.

User Rating: 5/10

VirusScan 6.0 is worse than the Virus

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Review: Running a full Virus scan always fails with a page fault. Background virus monitoring hangs my system. Tried all suggestions on the online help to no avail, and email tech support was unresponsive.

User Rating: 10/10

Better than Norton

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Review: I have now installed McAfee versin 6.01.1019.1 (need this version... all), on four PC's. All run perfect. It found the js/noclose virus on a website in one of the html files. I called the company and they confirmed it. I used Norton at work, but after is crashed and bluscreen my win2k system, I installed McAfee. And once again all runs fine in the world.

User Rating: 2/10

New 'Security Center' causes script errors.

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Review: I was running fairly smooth until their latest 'security center' update. Although I use Netscape, McAfee loads through my Internet Explorer 6. Ever since the update I have not been able to update my virus definitions due to 'script errors' and blank IE6 pages that just sit there and do nothing. The web site "remedies" do not solve the problem, and their tech support is either $2.95/min. or through email that takes forever (still waiting over 4 days). I've ordered Norton in the meantime. I'm tired of the hassle.

User Rating: 9/10

Hasn't missed an infected attachment yet

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Review: I especially like the automatic internet updates. Had problems with Norton and closing any MS Office program without locking the system.

User Rating: 5/10

More trouble than its worth

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Review: I purchased VirusScan a month ago. No problem with viruses but I get loads of annoying pop-up adds and countless "offers" from Mcafee. I think I'll stick with Trend of Norton.

User Rating: 3/10

constant crashing, slows computer down

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Review: We use VirusScan at work and it seems to always lock up computers when auto-updating the virus definitions. We have also had a few viruses slip through that TRENDS antivirus engines could catch for WEEKS! This also seems to slow computers down a LOT compared to my experience with the trends engine (fix-it utilities antivirus, or Etrust Antivirus.) Better than nothing, but for the same price I'd buy something else.

User Rating: 5/10

Won't download updates

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Review: For the past 30+ days, the online update feature hasn't worked, in spite of reboots and closing all windows. Now my subscription has expired and they want me to upgrade. No thanks, I'll try Symantec.

User Rating: 1/10

Do Not Upgrade

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Review: The time spent trying to uninstall previous versions and reinstalling is aggravating. Online support helpful, but slow as your computer is soooo slowed down by the improper install. Huge waste of time, no real technical support. It seems like Mcafee if depending on customers to report the problems of the software and then offering a fix for the problem. Seems like they skimped on the quality of the product to save money. Trying to get a refund but they will not respond to my email. Very disappointed in their customer relations department.

User Rating: 3/10

Product crashed and got no support.

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Review: I purchased the online version of Mcafee. Immediately I had a problem with the purchase; the page didn't display so I hit refresh and ended up paying for two copies. After 2 months of updating, my last update indicated that I had to reup my subscription, even though I paid for two years. I got incorrect support via e-mail and eventually didn't get any more replies. I cancelled my subscription and requested a full refund. I would stay far away from their on-line version!

User Rating: 10/10

I don't know what all the fuss is about

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Review: I've been using it for the past few months. It's easy to install. It does what it is supposed to do. Upgrades are easy. It has saved my maching numerous times. I'm using Windows ME on a Compaq Presario 5008us. I upgraded from Mc Fee 5x by buying the software in the store. I don't see where the trouble is, or what all the fuss is about. Down with Norton

User Rating: 8/10

Stops Viruses better then Norton

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Review: IMO, McAfee protects better then Norton. I've personally had experience with viruses that Norton missed on a full scan of the system. These were viruses that were several months old. And, yes I was using the latest of each product with the most updated DATs on each. In fact, I used at least one version previous with Norton and down to version 4.5 with McAfee as a test. It seems most people like Norton better because of the warm and fuzzy feeling you get with their GUI interface. Yes, Norton seems easier to use and to set up. Maybe for the home users that might be a selling point because if you can't use it, what good is a product. My point is that what good is a security product that doesn't secure you. Once set up correctly, McAfee at least works automatically to protect your system. Also, once you do get McAfee set up correctly, it's very easy to use because most if not all scanning IS automatic. Do you want a product that looks the best or a product protects you best? I prefer one that protects you the best.

User Rating: 3/10

Product was disapointing

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Review: Product does not preform as stated. Firewall did not operate as documented even with updates

User Rating: 1/10

crashes my PC after install, poor customer support

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Review: I just thought I would add my comments to the long list of bad reviews for this product. DO NOT BUY THIS PRODUCT. I am using Win98se, on a very clean and well maintained PIII and found the Vscan ver. 4 worked fine for the longest time. Never since I turned on my machine for the first time three years ago have I had more trouble with any product. Ever. Program essentially installs well, but upon a reboot my PC conks out, either freezing it in its tracks, or snapping it off altogether. The Online support pages were useless and vague (considering the commonality of install problems I?m reading here, you?d think they?d address that) the chat support, though very friendly, was time consuming and ultimately, also useless. Each session in chat was prefaced by a half hour to fourty five minute wait. If you are brave enough to attempt an install of this product and encounter the crashes I?ve been getting, make sure you have a good book handy. It?s gonna take time for these guys to get around to you. First ?call? to support: They had me edit my autoexec.bat file to change the EXE that loads. Problem seemed to be corrected, but as soon as a virus update was applied, same problem. (Time in chat: 1.5 hrs) Second ?call? to support: I was told that perhaps if I tried installing the product in safe mode the problem would no longer occur. No luck. But I was told before rebooting (and disconnecting from the chat) that I would have my issue escalated to a more senior technician should my problem persist. (Time in chat: 1 hr) Third ?call? to support: After a ten minute wait for a senior tech to come to the window, I was told that perhaps the previous version of the software was not ?completely? removed from my PC when I did the initial install. My new chat buddy pushed me to a page that detailed how to remove registry entries, DLL?s and all other traces of the old version from my PC. No difference. (Time in chat 1.25 hrs) Fourth ?call?: at my insistence, my issue was escalated to a supervisor but only after I gave a detailed account of all previous calls (I guess they didn?t feel like going over my trouble ticket). The Escalation Supervisor told me that my issue was now being handed off to the research department. Giving these guys the benefit of the doubt, (who knows? maybe it?s a hardware issue---but I?ve never had a problem like this before) I took my machine into a service center and had the memory upgraded and let their tech have a crack at it. As of right now, they?ve had no success and are going through the same hell I?ve been through for the last week.... I just hung up on the phone with my computer guy and told him to uninstall the product and buy me a copy of Norton instead.

User Rating: 2/10

Nothing but problems!

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Review: Installed the VS6 upgrade on my WIN98SE machine and things havent been the same. If it doesnt freeze on bootup, it will freeze when I open OE, IE6 or some other program, or in the middle of something. Spent hours on tech support IM with no solution. Removed it and reinstalled 5.x, but WIN98 still has problems. Their FAQ doesnt truly address the hardcore problems. I think my OS has been trashed.

User Rating: 2/10

Totally GARBAGE!

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Review: Have used McAfee VScan for several years with minimal problems, fixed toll free. Then I upgraded(?) to 6.0 while running Windows 98. Huge mistake! Many hours spent debugging just to install. Can't go online unless Firewall turned off. Tech support is a goat roping farce. I'm astonished that McAfee released this trash--- and even more so that they haven't fixed it yet. They have lost a customer.

User Rating: 5/10

CPU Hungry

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Review: Although it may stop virus getting to your pc, this is achieved by taking up all the CPU time, blue screening and locking the system up, and when it does allow the system to run it launches rulaunch, which auto dials out and runs up your phone bill. This is not a market ready product, it's more like a Beta test version. Don't send them your hard earned wages, look for alternatives!

User Rating: 1/10

Terrible product!

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Review: Do not buy this! It is terrible! You will regret it if you purchase it!!! (I know--I did!!) Terrible online support, terrible!

User Rating: 3/10

Does not catch viruses!

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Review: I recently caught a virus on my computer. Of course, I hadn't updated my McAfee software in a while, so I got the virus. Long story short, I had to reformat. Before I checked my email after the format, I updated my DAT files so I wouldn't get another virus. I checked my email, with the newly updated virus files, and I got ANOTHER virus!!! The first time I got the virus, it was sent to everyone in my address book, which included my in-laws who have Norton. THEIRS caught the virus with Norton... MINE did NOT! So, I have today bought Norton to replace McAfee becuase McAfee doesn't do its job!

User Rating: 1/10

Poor, very very poor, buy Norton

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Review: I upgraded from v4 because they no longer supported the version on that came with the desk top machine my kids now use. I ordered the upgrade through their web-site from their web-partner beyond.com. The download was unloadable and neither McAfee or beyond.com would provide any assistance ... each kept telling me to call the other ... After two weeks of dealing with this for almost an hour each day I gave up and purchased Norton. It loaded easily, and their customer service was responsive to the one question I asked.

User Rating: 4/10

Too many bugs, ruined my faith in McAfee

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Review: I have had NOTHING but buggy problems with this version. I installed it on a CLEAN Windows XP drive and still problem after problem. The support is horrible if available at all. Customer service is "We're really sorry, but.....". I will never have another McAfee product on here and that's too bad since I've used and liked/recommended them since the mid 90's. Buyer BEWARE!!!

User Rating: 1/10

Just HORRIBLE

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Review: Like many others here, I had the 4.0 product with which I was very satisfied. So when I had no choice but to upgrade to 6.0, I assumed the process would be smooth and easy. Man was I in for a treat. This software was nothing but a pain with countless hours wasted to fix the multitude of bugs. Installation was a nightmare, interface is awful, system is slowed down, system froze on shutdown, autoexec boot scan lock ups, scan settings are deactivated after reboot, just to name a few. Had to apply multiple "fixes" and patches to this buggy software just to get it to work right. Customer service is horrible. If you want to speak with a real person on the phone, get ready to shell out an obscene amount of money PER MINUTE. Only free options are email and chat for which I had to wait 25 minutes to connect to a rep. Just when I thought I've repaired all the damage, something else goes wrong. Oh yeah, and now I can connect to the internet, but cannot always browse web pages. I'm sure this will require yet another "Fix" that will consume yet more of my time. Man, I wish I had read these reviews prior to wasting my money on this piece of garbage. I'm almost afraid to uninstall it because I've read this causes even more problems! Stay away from this piece of trash!!!!!

User Rating: 1/10

Doesn't install. No 1-800 free support

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Review: Tried to find the support number and everything was long distance or pay per minute for software I can't install. Feedback email support makes you click boxes that state they will not answer back. It's being returned.

User Rating: 2/10

It really sucks

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Review: I'm using Win2K and it's done nothing good to my system. First, it thinks of a great ftp client SmartFTP as a virus, and shuts itself down each time I launch SmartFTP. Second, it thinks of all linux source packages or all files of .tar.gz suffix as viruses from time to time. And when you tried to let it "clean" or even remove the file, it fails to do so and wastes a lot of your CPU time. Third, sometimes it even has problem when Win2K starts up --- it causes a page fault and shuts down. I never had such problems with Norton Antivirus on Win95, 98, or 2K. BTW, I'm definitely not alone in my experience in my company. Pretty much the only thing good about it is that it usually automatically shuts itself down when it encounters something that it thinks of as a virus but is actually not, saving you some effort to debug or shut it down. But a more trouble question is: what about real viruses? My guess is it shuts itself down too. What can be worse than that?

User Rating: 4/10

VS6 and XP don't mix

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Review: The moment I installed it the boot time for Windows XP doubled!!! It also became unstable and the hard drive would run non-stop greatly reducing the battery life. Hopefully the store will take it back and I can get Norton!

User Rating: 1/10

Mcafee 6.0 is the VIRUS

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Review: I was a Mcafee fan until I installed 6.0 on W2k. Nothing but problems. There is an update but it makes the system worse. After installation I was unable to use outlook, and it seemed my system ran slower. Also it is NOT user friendly. The features are not easy to find. The auto update for Mcafee sucks and did not work. You need to download a file manually from the site to fix the problem. Again it made things worse. I advise you NOT to use it. I also encountered not being able to un-install Mcafee 6.0. I had to re-install W2k to rid my system of the Mcafee Virus 6.0. Since my experience I wish I had a real virus, at least I know it was designed to work.

User Rating: 4/10

Worst tech support ever

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Review: Two months after a program update started causing our computers to freeze and require rebooting when attempting to print, they have not fixed the problem, their free online tech support is automated response pablum, and their "solution" is to disable their software anytime you want to print. Ludicrous and non-responsive.

User Rating: 2/10

Most Confusing AV Software!!!!

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Review: I have had more trouble with McAfee V6 - I purchased the CD Rom version = it took numerous attempts to get in installed (after going to McAfee's web site numerous times & reading their "Solving Common Error Messages" I had to uninstall it numerous times just to get my PC to boot up so I could get back to their web site for more HELP !!! I'm not satisfied at all!!

User Rating: 5/10

McAfee 6.0 and WinXP has problems

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Review: I am a long time McAfee VS user, and I upgraded to v6.0 when I got WinXP. At first, things seemed to be ok, although as time went on, my system began to slow down and suffer performance problems. At times my hard drive would be spinning wildly, and McAfee would be the highest priority process running consuming over 90MB of memory. The last straw was when after a long disk thrashing episode and a forced kill of VirusScan, my Outlook XP "outlook.pst" file had been deleted by VirusScan. I removed it from my system, and the disk thrashing stopped, my email stopped crashing, and my computer became much more responsive. I've switched to Norton AV; it's not perfect, but *much* better and less invasive than VirusScan.

User Rating: 9/10

Norton Crashes the Computer.

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Review: This One Dosn't, This one also detects most every virus before you even can open it.

User Rating: 1/10

IT's Horrible

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Review: I experienced the exact same scenario as the guy in the review titled "Norton is easier to install". Lengthy install, buggy upgrades, and less features than NAV. Not that i've ever been a fan of McAffee, but i don't think i ever will. NAV leaves some to be desired, but i only had to install it once!

User Rating: 2/10

Zapped Outlook. I can't uninstall it and McAfee doesn't help.

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Review: I will never buy another McAfee product.

User Rating: 2/10

Did more damage to my system than any virus!

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Review: After initial installation, our main computer slowed down dramatically. After the on-line upgrade, the computer would not even boot into DOS mode. It took me manually editing configuration files to get DOS and Win98 to boot at all (avoiding Viruscan loading or running), then many applications no longer worked. Could not get to vendor support site since internet applications corrupted. uninstalling VirusScan was not sufficient. I know two other people that suffered the same disaster in the same way. Only solution was to reformat hard drive, reinstall everything but VirusScan (went to Norton instead - no problems).

User Rating: 1/10

VirusScan 6.0 is worse than a virus!

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Review: Installed VS 6.0 and signed up for autmatic updates. Updates would not complete installing. Tried to uninstall VS but couldn't because "an install is in progress." Called McAfee support, who finally took me through a regedit that completely trashed Windows 2K...then they said it wasn't their problem--call Microsoft.

User Rating: 1/10

Don´t waste your money on this one morther fu....

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Review: I´ll dont even bother to tell how awfull my experience was. K-18 =)

User Rating: 2/10

Software has cost me 16 hours labor

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Review: This is THE worst macafee product I've ever purchased. I am a computer repairman, and have spent more time repairing the damage this software causes, than good that it does. Freecell corrupted, outlook express corrupted, autoexec boot scan lockups are just the beginning problems I experienced

User Rating: 10/10

Safe and effective protection

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Review: I have read a lot of the negative comments, and find that I have not experienced any of the problems they mention. The update of the virus definitions is seemless - it informs me that there is a new one available with an icon in the taskbar and from that same icon I execute the download. I have had no problems with it. It has detected viruses that have come to me both through email attachments and on diskettes. I have no way of knowing if it has failed to detect other viruses, but so far I have had no viruses that have done anything to my machine, which is an IBM ThinkPad. The CNET review in fact is mistaken in two of its comparison evaluations of McAfee, that is will no scan outgoing email to the Internet and that it will not scan Zip files. Both of these features are available and configurable. Shame on you CNET !!! You should do your homework !! Almost seems like you prefer Norton no matter how the truth be affected. Buy it with confidence. I use it with Windows 2000 Pro and have absolutely no problems.

User Rating: 1/10

sucks because of errors

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Review: rulaunch errors and an inablity to de-install the system has caused more machine lock-ups than any other software, other than microsoft -- of course.

User Rating: 7/10

works well with ME IE5.5

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Review: I like the firewall, it stops spyware from leaving. Their product cd's are poorly made; I've installed two copies and both failed to read the firewall correctly the first time(a bitmap error and dll error) There is a repair feature for the firewall(a file check) that fixed the problem. I don't like the short license (30 days) but you can still manually download the dat patches from their website. I tried to buy the extended license but their website wouldn't let me. I had to reinstall 98 on a pentium 100 after MacAfee 6.0 took irq's from com port 1 and disabled the modem and serial mouse. Norton 2002 worked on the P100 but it sure slowed it down. I used Norton 2001 before and liked it but when my OS became corrupted it was easier to do a fresh install than try to reinstall N2001 and download all the dat's and engine patches. I don't use Oulook Express or Eudora for e-mail. When I go to Hotmail it doesn't cause me any problem.

User Rating: 5/10

v. 6.0 corrupted my Win98...grrr

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Review: The program was great through 4.x. When I upgraded to 6.0, all heck broke loose with Win98. After working on the registry, my PC will run again, but IE 5.5 and Outlook 98 are also broken. Thanks McAfee/NAI...

User Rating: 8/10

No problems, highly recomended

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Review: I've used version 4 and upgraded to version 6, I've had no problems at all, it updates the DAT's once or twicwe a week. Highly Recommended

User Rating: 10/10

effective

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Review: i have had mcafee on my computer i have xp and it detectes right when a virus is trying to come on and wipes the virus out.

User Rating: 3/10

Unable to install

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Review: I tried everything to install McAfee and was never able to get the program to update to current virus information file. After several attemps, I removed V6 and reinstalled the V4 that came with my computers and updated the engine and virus definitions to the newest version. I tried unsuccessfully to install from the CD on a friends computer and again was out of luck. It was removed and I suggested that a copy of Norton be purchased and installed.

User Rating: 10/10

"It stop my virus"

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Review: I am using DSL. I just open windows on the web site, IT'S STOP OPENING MY WINDOW automatically!!! IT'S CATCH THE VIRUS and it's gave me a warning before continue opening!.. It's automatically scanning online with free firewall...Thanks to McAfee.. Three Thumbs up (I only have two) and very good notify when it's time to upgrade.. I am deaf and this is easier than Norton..My friend have Norton and it's didn't catch them on time..I felt sorry.

User Rating: 8/10

It does what it's supposed to

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Review: I know several individuals who have had problems with Norton, but I've heard nothing bad about McAfee. In fact I was advised by computer techs not to use Norton.

User Rating: 8/10

Great product w/ Win XP

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Review: VirusScan 6.0 works great with XP Pro, and the firewall has been better than I thought possible. VirusScan updates are much smaller than Norton, and uses less memory than NAV. Only complaint - program displays an image for a few secs. when Windows starts ... I am fully aware that the program is starting, I don't need a .bmp file loading as a reminder. Overall though ... 8.5/10

User Rating: 1/10

rulaunch error with XP

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Review: After installing 6.0 on my WinXP machine I began to get rulaunch errors every time I tried to launch any application. My computer was completely useless until I unistalled.

User Rating: 3/10

Confusing & Impossible to switch off!

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Review: I bought it and installed it and the first problem I had was it messed up my pc clock. Then, every five minutes a pop-up tells me to download the latest update, which I do, and it continues to tell me to update after that! Every time the software detects a virus, it tells me it found a virus and asks me if I want to delete it or clean it and the "clean it" option NEVER works. So I called customer "service" and was on hold for half an hour and then they told me that I would have to delete it and reinstall it (they told me this twice!) When my contract is up I will be buying Norton.

User Rating: 1/10

Nightmare!! Vscan 6.0

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Review: Don't need VirusScan since I can't get to Net, & email is SO slow as to be useless!! Had 4.0 and it worked great...so disappointed in this. Firewall never did install, but according to what I read, that's a good thing!! Not impressed with tech support...too many patches and fixes...and I can't get to them anyway!! Should have taken a hint from the fact I couldn't get the CD to load the first five times I put it into the drive! I just hope I can get it off the machine without any major probs.

User Rating: 3/10

Look at the Total Percentages

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Review: With over 300 reviews, 65% of them are thumbs down! I've never seen that before. Well done McAfee. They've really got their finger on the pulse of their customers.

User Rating: 3/10

Needlessly Confusing

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Review: I tried to download a DAT update for VirusScan 4 which I purchased about 6 months ago. I found out I couldn't, because my year's subscription was now cancelled. I was forced to pay for an upgrade to Version 6 (If they WANT to alienate their customers, they couldn't plan a better strategy). So now I have version 6, and I find it very confusing. There doesn't seem to be an overview of any value to summarize instructions. I really don't want to have to spend hours and hours searching the internet for help from other users. Very unhappy with McAfee. I'm still not sure if it's working properly, and can't seem to get any useful help from McAfee.

User Rating: 1/10

Poor, very poor

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Review: I purchased the upgrade from v4 to v6 from McAfee's web-site. The program first uninstalled v4 and then refused to install v6, directing me to their help desk. The on-line help-desk then said that in order to get help I needed to call a 1-900 number that charged $2.50 per minute just to get them to tell me why their product wasn't installing on my machine. I have spent more than a month trying to get my money back for the upgrade, and have since installed Norton on my machine without any difficulty. In the mean time I have had to resort to the Better Business Beurau and the state attorney general's office in an attempt to get my money back from McAfee.

User Rating: 4/10

RULAUNCH Errors

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Review: Running Windows98, I have constant RULAUNCH errors. I have not found a work around, so will probably have to delete this piece of garbage.

User Rating: 2/10

I want my money back

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Review: I had version 4.x that suddenly stopped working followed by umteen emails saying I needed to update to 6.x at 50% off. When I ended up purchasing the software it was still $40. I attempted a clean install but 4.x could not be removed and had to manually spend hours trying to remove remnants. I did a clean install finally but the first update crashed my machine. I run Win98 and ended up having to install/uninstall 4 times, and still I am not sure VScan or VShield are working. My computer is slower than sh*t now and there are conflicts with ZoneAlarmPro 3.0 even though I didn't install safe and sound or McAfee firewall. I want a refund and will reformat my hard drive.. Hugely sucky software.

User Rating: 3/10

terrible ease of use and customer service

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Review: After using McAfee for over a year I still can't sort out which of their own products are compatible with each other. I am also plagued with conflicts and their customer service doesn't even respond to emails requesting help. Norton here I come.

User Rating: 1/10

McAfee? getting worse than ever!

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Review: V4.5 had install problems, v5 had problems configuring the features I want. V6 won't even run! Installs then won't let me configure. The log says that it can't find cent<lang>.dll but the online tech support is worse than useless. Go somewhere else until this bunch of clowns gets their act together again.

User Rating: 6/10

Kills system resources

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Review: When the OEM version 4.0.2 supplied with my new Dell was left unsupported, I made the mistake of upgrading to 6.0. My system immediately slowed almost to a standstill - Outlook Express which used to launch almost instantly now takes 90 seconds. I am afraid that I may have to reinstall Windows 98.

User Rating: 2/10

HELP ! WONT WORK WITH XP

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Review: l have a program called Paltalk and RULAUNCH keeps on shutting it down WHY? l though l would be ok with viruscan 6.0 but had to uninstall it what a waste of money lm so angry !!!!

User Rating: 1/10

It crashed my computer

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Review: After I installed Mcafee Virus scan, it crashed my computer. And their customer service is terrible, had to talk with 9 people before I resolved the problem, even then tech support is minimal. I suggest everyone aviod this company.

User Rating: 1/10

Do NOT BUY this !!! Could not install on Win 98.

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Review: After spending half a day and chating with McAfee Online support, this buggy software still won't install on my Win 98 machine. I wish I had read these reviews before buying it. Fry's Electronics won't give me a refund. I'll give Norton a try next. What a waste of money for VScan 6.0.

User Rating: 8/10

the best antivirus ever...better than norton ..ne day...NORTON SUX

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Review: norton is good...but not reliable in virus protection Mcafee is reliable

User Rating: 2/10

product recall required

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Review: If this was a car it would have been recalled what a waste of money not only the outlook problems but also the instablity issues with 98. Why hasn't this been fixed in the lastes patches?

User Rating: 2/10

Poor Product Upgrade

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Review: I have been using McAfee Anti-Virus programs for over 10 years but this is the worst version. After I installed VS 6.0 the performance in my system was bad. Tried to open my Eudora email program but it was so slow. I could have finish a whole pizza pie. Tried surfing the internet forgetaboutit. It felt like I was surfing the net at a dialup speed of 14kps on my cable modem. I reached their technical support group and they were very helpful with several recommedation but I had no luck with their recommendations. I have no choice but to install a previous McAfee VirusScan program or find an alternate virus protection program. I made a mistake. I wish I stop here first before I wasted $20.00 on this version.

User Rating: 3/10

A Windows 98 2nd ed machine destroyer for sure!

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Review: I tried to install this over version 4. The auto uninstall of v4 failed, the v6 install hung at this point and I had to cancel and unistall v4 manually. Once v6 Virus Scan installed, the problems started. It did find a nimda file and fixed it. Good. It found a seeker trojan but didn't offer any way to fix that. Not good. Outlook Express now took about 3 minutes to load and switching between tasks in Outlook Express would also take an age. Then it got stuck at pass 8 in the bootscan ( still finding the trojan) and I couldn't get into Windows. It took me a day to get from DOS to safe mode, delete the trojan files manually and then unistall V6. Even then Outlook Express was very slow, taking 3 minutes to load. I only cured the problem by downloading IE6 and this installs Outlook Express 6. Everything now works but I don't think I'll be re-installing Virus Scan v6. If there is a 30 day money back offer in the UK, I'll be taking it.

User Rating: 5/10

Don't use with win98

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Review: Crashes win98. Appears to run fine after install. After dat and engine updates, crashes Win98 on reboot. Must uninstall to recover. BUT, firewall s/w buggers up something such that internet access is disabled (email did work). Only way to fix was to reinstall whole package. So, use with Win98 if you never plan on having to shot down system and reboot. My fix was to reload an back C drive image. Tech support said to uninstall Norton utils. I did this, but had no effect. Bad news!!

User Rating: 6/10

Go For norton instead

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Review: Sadly it is not one of the best system protector.Norton is much better sswitch to that.leave this one a side

User Rating: 4/10

Support ????

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Review: Instant Updator wouldn't work and McAfee Tech support has been unable to provide a solution for 6 months now

User Rating: 1/10

I will NEVER use McAfee again...

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Review: All I can believe is that MaCafee has let go his best programmers and replaced em with riders from the short yellow bus. Constant RULAUNCH errors had me freaked out that someone was trying to remotely access my system because I had heard about a remote user launch routine after finding out a friend had over 30 seperate viruses on her system. I promply deleted my old virus scanner and installed this worthless waste of disk space. constant requests to reboot and files that are not working as they used to make me leary to ever consider installing something that had bad code imbedded in it with whatever fixes they will toss on top like kindling... These guys used to be good, but perhaps they can find better talent by posting job ads with the burger flipper university job placement, it would be an improvement over the coding genious that allowed this to become a public release. If they read this they could also try looking for talent by dumpster diving at novell. well enough beating of zombie horses. too many people apparently have experienced this product and feel the same way and that is tragic. very tragic... It used to be good stuff...I never expected to ever feel this way...

User Rating: 10/10

Crashed my XP Professional PC

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Review: As soon as I installed this, my PC crashed and was unable to use my PC. Thank God for System Restore! Do not buy this. Norton is so much better.

User Rating: 1/10

Cannot Update from v 6.01 to 2.02

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Review: I bought a Retail version which was v 6.01, then I applied a patch to update to v 6.02. As most u might be aware that if u are with 6.01 and use outlook express as mail client u are gone... al u'r mails will go offffffff. So to avoid it I did the upgrade of v 6.02. Then I rebooted to see popups saying Mcafee Central needs a central.dll with atleast 2.31.1140!!! Then I luckyly had Demo version Central files I'm using that for now..... When I contacted Mcafee they sent me central.dll in mail as attachment..... its really big BUGGY software. No doubt about it. Please dont ever think of buying this crab....

User Rating: 3/10

If I ever get it to install...

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Review: After downloading and installing, I can get the firewall to run, (but how to get it to ALLOW communication?) The VirusScan will NOT install right. Whatever I do, it just refuses to run. I checked the files and all of the executables, dlls, etc are there. The registry has the entries that it is supposed to have. Yet, it fails to execute. It was great to have VirusScan 4 or 5, but now 6 just seems to be errorware. Verrry bugggy...

User Rating: 2/10

Could not get to work on XP

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Review: Could not get to work on XP, crashed my system repeatedly, finally had to keep off in order to use the system. Gave up and installed, system is working much better

User Rating: 4/10

Rulaunch & Naika

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Review: When I reboot my machine rulaunch begins running and my hour glass stays on. Also, my hard drive keeps spinning. Something called Naika also starts running. To do anything on my computer, I have to actually end the process. I will never purchase McAfee Virus software again.

User Rating: 5/10

Online Clinic Dishonest

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Review: I subscribed to McAfee Online Clinic which includes their virus scan, and it is forever opening advertising windows on my machine. Lately these have been deceptive in nature, trying to get me to signup for automatic re-subscriptions by filling out a "registration" form that said, in small type, that automatic charges to my account would be made annually! While this stuff has kept me virus-free, it has caused various operating problems on my machine and considerable irritation with the constant barrage of unwelcome advertising windows.

User Rating: 5/10

Too many errors caused by rulaunch.

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Review: I never had any errors popping up until I installed Macafee. I like the idea of a firewall, but is the pain worth it? I haven't decided yet - may go back to Norton? It's bad, but maybe not as bad as Macafee.

User Rating: 1/10

Useless with WinXP

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Review: Here are some problems that I had with McAfee VS: 1.My WinXP laptop takes 4 to 5 minutes to boot with McAfee VS installed 2.Message pops out every time when I'm connecting to the net, without exception, and says "NT On Access Scanner is closing" therefore no protection of this kind when I'm browsing 3.McAfee refuses to support their customers unless you pay them good bucks or chat with tech support, which is incredibly and mysteriously unstable in connection 4.VS tells you to update even you've already updated I chat with tech support more than 20 times (I'm serious!) and I did everything what they suggested and none worked. I installed it to another computer (WinXP) to see if it has the same problem and it does! With VS uninstalled or turned off, my computer starts very quickly. I wasted my whole 4 weeks to figure out what's wrong with this USELESS software and finally decided to return this product. Tech support doesn't know how to fix this problem and certainly I do not recommend you to install this product if you have WinXP. I'll give Norton a try.

User Rating: 1/10

Dont Buy It! MCAFEE STinks

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Review: Purchased VirusScan Two Months ago. Then upgraded to XP. McAfee told me to buy the new 6.0 What Am I made of money? Norton upgrades for free!

User Rating: 3/10

not very good at all

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Review: Decided to install product because i was using a really old, OEM version (4.x) of virusScan on WIN98SE box. Install bombed because there was a copy of default.vsh in a temp directory which required a MANUAL (!) delete. After reinstalling noticed that widget in systray displays as disabled and system ground to a halt. Discovered that RULAUNCH.EXE was sucking 95% of CPU. Killed it and configured it for manual update. Rebooted. Same deal. Had to tweak registry to disable RULAUNCH.EXE from autorun. Discovered that in order to download patch, one has to have a 'product id and password' which of course is not included in the box. So did an 'instant update'. Interface sucks in that the progress meter shows no progress - it simply shows that something is happening and gives no indication of when that something will finish. The name of the file being D/L'ed is chopped off. And the batch file that does the upgrade back-deletes the D/L'ed file. After instant update the control panel applet does nothing. The manual is obscure and so is the on-line help. Discovered, unlike the 4.x product, it is impossible to simply D/L a dat*.zip, disable the scan engine and unpack it since SCAN.DAT is hooked by some thread, even when VS 6.x is exited. So your options are a SuperDat (which requires a reboot on completion) or an 'instant update'. Nightly tape backups typically scan 12 files that VS holds open. All-in-all the product is a step backupwards. The interface has been prettied-up and dumbed-down and some features simply don't work. Save your money and buy a different product.

User Rating: 2/10

Don't install this if you have XP

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Review: Had problems with Norton Antivirus 2002 after migrating to XP. ISP recommended we uninstall. Suggested we use Mcafee since we had a copy via package deal with XP. Installation was not straight forward as many have mentioned here, but we got through it. Biggest problem was stability. Our machine started to hang after IPL. We uninstalled VirusScan apparently with without problems, however Mcafee VS must leave some turds around because we immediately started having problems with the E drive (DVD) and internet access. VirusScan apparently F&%!-up the machine's IP address. Checked connection to ISP and ethernet card. The problem was not with them. Reinstalled VS to check this theory an voila! IP address back to normal and E drive can now be used. Had to disable all VirusScan features to prevent hangs, but at least we can use our system. Warning to all XP users: if you set up multiple user ids as XP allows (a marque feature) neither Norton or McAfee virus software like it. If you want antivirus protection you may need to remove all additional user ids from the system. We did and that seemed to aid in problem resolution.

User Rating: 3/10

Sucks with NT

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Review: Good luck trying to use the scheduler or any background features if you run NT4,SP6a. You will experience VSMain crashes every time. The support team will recommend stopping the service from autumatically starting - that does not fix it. Then they will recommend re-install. That will not fix it. Then they start on the registry changes (oh my god, they can't write clean code and they are telling folks to edit their registry...) They may even tell you to get the windows install clean up utility when their uninstall fails and their registry changes do not work either. Please, do yourself a favor - pick something else for NT. McAfee used to be a good product - but with the tech market in poor health, they have adopted Microsofts and Intuits policy of releasing buggy software to improve their cash flow.

User Rating: 2/10

It would not load on my machine

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Review: Though I worked with their support options, it would not load. Spent more than 35 hours over 4 weekends trying to work things out. They had me manually editting my registry. That didn't work.

User Rating: 3/10

Did not work on my XP laptop.

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Review: This is a big disappointment and a waste of time/money. 1. The installation was crazy, connecting you to several updates online that give conflicting prompts and don't complete loading before the system reboots. 2. Booting up took about 5 minutes with this software installed when I was plugged into my dsl connection. Control+alt+delete didn't respond, you just have to wait or shut off your system and try again. 3. The only satisfaction I've gotten from it is that I was able to uninstall it and get my machine running normally again. I used to like McAfee but I'm going to try to return this to the store and give NAV 2002 a chance.

User Rating: 4/10

Don't, even if you can get it free.

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Review: Why, you ask. This is my experience over the last 3+ weeks. 1. Recently I really needed Save & Sound to restore a file. It doesn't work. The instructions can't be followed. The chat-tech was pleasant but incompetent. After 3 hours without resolution she said that if I rebooted she was sure that the file would be restored. Not! Of course it also ended the session. 2. The firewall is too buggy, use Zone Alarm. 3. Sorry, no more FreeCell games. It won't work. Funny, I thought this problem was fixed during v.5. 4. Rulaunch, well you'll find out. 5. Netscape and IE have v.6's. Did this force McAfee to try to keep up with the Jons's? Unfortunately, this product is still not ready to be marketed. If you still want to buy this product, pick one of these bugs, go to their website and browse around to find an answer. If that experience doesn't change your mind, nothing will.

User Rating: 3/10

A great reason to reformat your hard drive!

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Review: The McAfee created so many problems, I finally ended up reformatting my hard drive, since it won't uninstall all of it's files. I am now a beleiver in Panda Antivirus's Titanium, which is newer technology, and 3x's faster than NAV or McAfee. Do yourself a favor and visit Panda, it is top of the line and no more expensive if you download it.

User Rating: 4/10

very buggy.

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Review: rulaunch (update monitor) a constant problem. Also their support page apparently has no "search" functionality.

User Rating: 2/10

not stable

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Review: I downloaded V6 for free and it is the worst McAfee product I've ever had. Very disappointed. Error messge after error message. Constantly fixing.

User Rating: 3/10

Buggy! Very Buggy! Ubelieably Bug Ridden!

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Review: As a user of McAfee Virus products since day one I am totally disappointed as this POS creates a new problem every time I fix the old one. So far I have had to do 4 Registry Edits. The last problem was caused by updating and getting a False Positive. Even at this point it is of limited use. Hopefully the will figure out what is wrong on one of the next patches or upgrades. I got it bundled with QuickClean which still does not work after 2 registry hacks and 1 Upgrade. Maybe it will never work. Apparently they have adopted the new software business of releasing Buggy Software and the wanting you to Pay them by the minute to see if the kid reading scripts can debug it. I believe that we should all boycott these companines, McAfee, Symantec and Intuit and send them lots of emails telling them until the return to producing quality software and free support, at least for 30 days, that we will not buy their products. Thank you Kris

User Rating: 5/10

What a hassle

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Review: Well I decided I couldn't wait for the XP version of Norton Anti-Virus and to give McCafee a chance. What a mistake. McCafee's install was an abortion, the help desk utterly useless. After the 3rd re-install I figured out the problem, suppressed the updates, kicked out the "Guardian" and now it's running smooth, but what a hassle!

User Rating: 5/10

Had Performance and Stability problems

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Review: Installed it on an XP machine, the virus software and firewall. I re-installed the firwall and then un-installed (long story). After that the virus software was causing huge amounts of problems. Re-installed it and my machine was almost dead in performance, surprising considering it was a P4 1.9 gig with 256mg RAM. STAY AWAY FROM THIS PRODUCT. My tail of woe continues when I installed it on a notebook, went smoothly until I did an auto update. --- That is another story.....

User Rating: 3/10

An unstable user-unfriendly piece of junk

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Review: A former user of McAfee AntiVirus, I had been using Norton for several years because that's what came pre-installed on my recent PC purchases. I recently installed McAfee AntiVirus 6.0 on one of my PCs--big mistake. The installation procedure was not smooth (and I'm in the business), and my PC has been sluggish ever since. The McAfee Instant Update Monitor (rulaunch.exe) has died ("This program has performed an illegal operation...") numerous times when I've been in Outlook, or Eudora or when trying to shutdown, etc. I did a live update and encountered more confusion and incompetence; the Norton live update is much more straightforward and user-friendly. Also, VShield interferes with at least one program, and maybe others I haven't discovered yet. This is not an important program but it's an indication of system interference--the game Free Cell doesn't display properly when VShield is active. I just hope I can painlessly uninstall this beast. But I learned my lesson--before I buy another program I'm going to check the CNET software reviews. Had I read all the negative reviews of this program before I bought it, I certainly wouldn't have picked it up!

User Rating: 3/10

Crashes my Outlook w/ Exchange Server

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Review: I bought 5 licenses for deploymented in my company. It turns out it crashes Microsoft Outlook when connected to an exchange server. Your PC crashes if you get an e-mail from someone without a subject!

User Rating: 3/10

It was good when it work,bad when it doesn't.

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Review: When it stops working good luck getting help from McAfee getting to work again. No responce at any level of the company, at least so far.

User Rating: 6/10

Crashed Outlook 2000

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Review: I installed McAfee on my windows 2000 computer with outlook 2000. Everytime I would try to delete emails outlook would crash. I talked with the service reps and they only sent me to the patches, which didn't work either. I ended up uninstalling.

User Rating: 2/10

McAfee's worst effort

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Review: The problems began with putting the CD in the drive. From there McAfee support suggested uninstall/reinstall/repair, all of which did not work. Then they suggested manually uninstalling previous versions, including versions that were not there. 2 months later it still doesn't work reliably and it interferes with normal operations.

User Rating: 8/10

Effective antivirus, low performance hit

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Review: Easy to configure, easy to install, has much less impact on system performance scrubbing all files than others. Updating configurable to the background and automatic. Fewer application crashes than the competition.

User Rating: 8/10

Messed up my system

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Review: Right after I loaded McAfee into my system several programs would not work. Uninstalled the programs, reinstalled the programs still would not work. Fdisked the hard drive and started over. Everything worked great until I loaded McAfee. Same problem. Uninstalled McAfee and everything worked again. Threw McAfee in the trash and loaded Norton. No more problems.

User Rating: 6/10

Slows your computer

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Review: I recently upgraded to this version 6.0 and it has made my pc very slow. The background Instant Updater is always trying to access the web. There is no option to turn this feature off. Also I downloaded a patch which the Instant Updater said is available and that made the Virusscan crash and unable to start even with a reboot. For Windows XP it downloaded the files for a different version of Windows and messed up the system. Uninstall is a pain also.

User Rating: 5/10

"Dont Buy It"

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Review: Its Not Worth Buying! I just bought 6.0 and have re-installed it 5 times because of errors that mcafee told me were unresolvable, i would get Norton Antivirus 2002, Much More Worth The Money!

User Rating: 3/10

hopelessly unstable and hard to install

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Review: I've used Norton in the past, but my stepmom got this compaq presario with WINME on it and McAfee came bundled with it in an archive. Norton seems to work pretty good, although i don't know all that much about viruses, and catches all the loveletter and w95.cih infected files my sister downloads off of Kazaa. McAfee, however, isn't that simple. When i first installed it, it got an error message every time i attempted a system scan. I reinstalled it, updated it, and then it worked. A month later my stepmom thought she had some w32.magistr virus, so i tried checking to see if Mcafee had the definition for that. It sent me to the web site, where i was asked to buy a full protection package. I scrolled down, found what looked to be a small link to updated virus definitions and updated Mcafee. After rebooting, Mcafee wouldn't work again. I don't want to spend my time reinstalling a program that i'm not even sure of having the definitions for the viruses i'm concerned about, so i'm putting Norton on. I just wrote this in case anyone else is having the same problem(seeing as mcafee has a horrible site and no support).

User Rating: 4/10

"It is the virus"

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Review: Our renew subscription to Norton was going to cost $20 to renew so I thouht I'd just buy MVS 6.0 for $30. The comments here that "It is the virus" are correct. This Windows 98 laptop was working like a charm before I installed it then havoc set in. Had to reinstall the OS. Sending back for 30 day money back thing. Store will only exchange opened software.

User Rating: 3/10

Crashed My system

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Review: I updated my virus scan and firewall. On the mandatory reboot it calls for; my computer would not start. I phoned Mcafee and after spending more than $100 in 900 number support, they had no idea what the problem was. I phone microsoft and after 2 hours of long distance conversation and troubleshooting from a seinor programer, still nothing!!!! I would never recommend Mcafee to anyone EVER!!! I'm running a new computer with XP. My only fix was to format C and start over... Don't let this happen to you.

User Rating: 2/10

Locks up memory and processor

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Review: I had nothing but problems. When installingit, the config file was blown out and had to start over from scratch. After it was installed, it tied up 40% of my resources even when it was disabled. Using the internet with the firewall was a pain. I uninstalled it and all the probelms went away.

User Rating: 6/10

CAN NOT GET v6 INSTALLED PROPERLY

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Review: I have been using McAfee AV for years. Resently, I purchased a copy of McAfee v6 Pro. The setup procedures are very confusing. After installing, Instant Update either Bombs or simply does not work correctly. I tried this on both my W2000 and w98 PCs. Same problems with both... I also have a copy Norton2002 AV and have had NO problems Installing or with it Working correctly. This McAfee v6 Pro has been the most difficult by far. I plan to remove it from my home PCs and replace with Norton2002 AV. To say the least, I was not happy with this new McAfee product.

User Rating: 1/10

"Would Rather Have the Virus"

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Review: This program actually caused my PC to crash numerous times. Running only two or three programs (256 MB RAM) caused my computer to lockup and if I had a dollar for every time I had to reboot my system, I could have just bought Norton Antivirus (of which I downloaded a trial version of after deleting McAfee). My computer runs perfect now. Down with McAfee!!!!!!

User Rating: 1/10

A PC killer!!!!!!!

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Review: Installed with the result that the hard drive locked when I tried to power down. Had to reformat the disk and dumped contents to cds for a cost of $60.00. Reinstalled with the same result of a locked hard drive. NO MORE MCAFEE.

User Rating: 4/10

slows down system, buggy

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Review: Sometimes doesn't even startup with system.. trying to download "latest" version when it's already installed (internal bug)

User Rating: 1/10

Buyer beware.

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Review: I bought this bundled with Cleansweep at Costco for 39.99 with a $40 rebate. How could I go wrong, right? Now I will pay someone to get this thing off my machine. I had several install problems and finally got the VirusScan to run ok but never did get the firewall to work. Tech support told me to wait for the patch coming up in the next couple of days...that was almost two weeks ago. I gave up and got Norton and downloaded ZoneAlarm.

User Rating: 5/10

Slow Performance

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Review: At first, my PC speed is fast. After installing the AT, my pc speed becomes slower as the AT keep scanning whatever I do in my PC unless I disable it. The pop-up logo cannot being disable too.

User Rating: 2/10

VSMain Errors lack of support

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Review: Today Jan 06, 2002. I wasted my whole weekend with NETWORK ASSOCIATES the makers of MCAFEE, trying to get the ANTI virus running right. After 3 days of on line chat because there is no free phone support, they finally told me from a Senior Techninician that this is not compatible with the software I am running. No where on their Web site did they provide this information. Here it is. Not compatible with the following, Softeware: 1. Adpatec Easy CD creator all preivous versions of 5.0 Also must have the latest drivers loaded. Conflicts with Direct CD. 2. You get CPCLD VXD errors that is the firewall Kernal it loads. Windows 98 Se protection fault errors. No fixes at this time. the un-install in Windows registry is a pain in the neck. Do not buy this product or download it. It is nothing but a gambit of errors on your PC. The only thing I will say that someone else said is they give you a 30 day trial. I am going to get my money back. This Virus PROGRAM is the worse that I have ever seen, and the Firewall causes alot of errors. Stick with the basics. Do not BUY any MCAFEE products. By the way I kept getting Virus Scan engine not updated would you like to update. I said yes, but I was already running the most Current Version, after chatting with Tech support through internet chat, they said there srever was having problems all weekend and thats why you keep seeing Virus Scan Not updating. Everything That is written in this message is factual. over 4 days of hassles. ITS GONE.

User Rating: 4/10

It STINKS!

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Review: Had McAfee Clinic, but each time I went for an update, first attempt always shutdown my laptop! (PIII, 900MHZ, Win 98). Had trouble with my desktop also! Restored desktop back to 4.0 version. Last week, purchased version 6.0 and installed on both machines, and NEITHER machine would boot up! Called tech support, and you get a recording that says "go out to the web..."; I'd like them to just tell me how to do that when the computer won't boot??? The recording then directed me to call a 900 number at a cost of $2.50 per minute??? What a ripoff!!! I just spent money on their product!! I am so angry about all of that! You can't do an uninstall, but you can insert the CD and do a repair or a remove. I removed it completely and then installed Norton Anti-virus 2002 and haven't had a moment's trouble ever since!!

User Rating: 1/10

Complete waste of time

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Review: I can't begin to tell you the hours I have wasted over the past couple of years on various computers with this ridiculous software. Versions 4, 5, 6, it doesn't matter. It negatively affects other software on Win 98, ME, XP. Recently spent hours trying to debug my home network only to find that it was no problem once this product was uninstalled. Do yourself a favor and use another virus protection software. Save time, save money, avoid aggravation!

User Rating: 1/10

Worse than a virus!

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Review: I lost track of how many times I installed and uninstalled V6.0 trying to prevent it from writing superfluous code to sysedit that locked up the hard drive on start up. Unbelievable. Thumbs up to the people who man the chat room help desk. Unfortunately, they ran out of ideas.

User Rating: 3/10

not for casual computer users as tech support is poor and maintenance is worse.

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Review: I would highly recommend that you not buy this product. You have to pay for receiving information that should be available for free, or the application should be designed for ease of use. It's not. If you try to reinstall, you have to go into the registry to clean out the files and even after that, I'm still receiving error messages that block the reinstall. McAfee may work for seasoned computer users, but for the rest of us, stay clear of this product.

User Rating: 2/10

Mcafee-time to make a product that actully helps me..

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Review: well,i bought the product(virus scan 6.0)it just messed with my computer!!!my internet always freezes up..my computers slower than ever!im gonna try a nother product cause this ones got major problems!!!(a.k.a.)the virus and firewall thingy that cannot help u cause it just messes with ur computer!

User Rating: 3/10

In W98SE 128MB endless problems

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Review: Installation difficult. Attempts to upgrade after install more problems. Boot scan ran out of mem. FEQ changes were made for boot. Still left no mem for other apps. Repeated attempts. NG!

User Rating: 10/10

Works better on our network that Norton

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Review: After purchasing the Norton AV corporate edition earlier this summer and deploying it we began experiencing massive slowdowns and random lockups. We put in a new licensing application and with norton running the load times are like 3 minutes to return data vs. 15 seconds running under virus scan 6.02.1018. We can't change the vendor software so I'm having to chunk norton and go with something else. I have installed on XP, 2000, and 98 with no problems. And apart from a big performance hit while running a full scan my impression is that it is less of a headache than norton has been.

User Rating: 2/10

The Worst Update of "So Called Software" Ever

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Review: I upgraded to 6.0 due to WinXP upgrade. What a TERIABLE MISTAKE!!! DON'T DO IT!!! I BEG YOU!! It is NOT XP Compatible. A total piece of Junk. Their web site is just about as useless as this piece of "Software". There I have not been able to find a knowledge base or useful information on the site, I guess they want you to call to their $2.95/min help line and really get into your pocket. The only good thing I can say about MaAfee 6.0 is that it has a 30 day money back guarantee and I'm using it!

User Rating: 2/10

NOTHING BUT PROBLEMS

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Review: I have used previous versions of McAfee Virus Scan and was satisfied with them. I cannot say the same for Virus Scan 6.0. After installing Virus Scan 6.0 my old Windows 98 Celeron 400 PC slowed down to about the speed of a Pentium 133. Could not make changes to the Virus Scan setting, because VSMAIN.EXE would get an error and quit. Kept getting RULAUNCH.EXE error messages. Most of the time when I tried to send email with Outlook, the Virus Scan would intercept it. When I replied by clicking the send button, the email would show up in Drafts, instead of Outbox. Through trial and error I found that if I clicked Send/Receive the email would be sent and go into Sent Items. Another strange effect that started occuring after I installed Virus Scan. In Windows Explorer everytime I clicked the - box to close a folder the folder would close and immediately reopen. Repeating the click would close the folder. None of these prevented me from getting work done, but became more annoying than I wanted to put up with. Fortunately, the Uninstall did work and my PC appears to be operating normally again.

User Rating: 4/10

Too many bugs with this program.

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Review: McAfee should not be selling this VirusScan 6 as a finished product. First, I had to deal with the "insufficient memory" message during start-up. Second, I also had to download patches to fix both the Virusscan and the firewall that came with the Virusscan. One has to wonder if anyone at Mcafee actually test 6.0 before its release.

User Rating: 6/10

Don't buy it if you have Win XP

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Review: McAfee Shredder will autolaunch when you empty your recycle bin contents. If you try to proceed, Shredder will hang. You have to kill the app with Task Mgr to escape this hell. If something this simple wasn't fully testing for compatibility, what else doesn't work???

User Rating: 3/10

Install is a nightmare!

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Review: I had used McAfee VirusScan in the past and been satisfied with the ease of use and ease of updating, so I decided to upgrade to the latest version. Nowhere in the instructions does it tell you that you need to spend about an hour tediously removing any and all traces of the previous version of VirusScan before installing 6.0. Without all traces removed the program will not run. After all this, VS causes my PC to hang up at the Windows 98 screen on reboot. McAfee's technical support options are terrible and their responsiveness is very poor. I wish I had not bought the product and will not by McAfee in the future.

User Rating: 1/10

Major Headache

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Review: Purchased CD version as an upgrade to pre-installed 4.0 version and had to download more patches than a king-sized quilt. Firewall still remained inactive,H.A.W.K.remained disabled,Internet traffic icons remained locked. Lost count on no# of reboots required. Did not do well at the Norton "test your system vulnerability" website. Plus it shreds Freecell (MacAfee even has a fixit patch for that...go figure). So, here I am at CNET looking for options.

User Rating: 10/10

Great !

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Review: I installed XP a while back, and found my 2000 Norton was not compatible, nor upgradable. So I went to McAfee. Easy to load, and use. I tested the firewall and it showed everything in stealth, system closed to hackers etc. Pleased with product.

User Rating: 8/10

It's the best out there nest to Panda AntiVirus

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Review: OK, how dumb do you have to be not to be able to use this software (Mcafee VirusScan 6.02. I mean come on people if you can't use this software then you need to wake up the year 2001. And the people who have bad reviews about this just don't like one of the features but never say anything realy about the VirusScan feature of the software. I read all the reviews people had here and I hope whoever sees this tells people they know that the people here must not know a thing about computers. OK, how about this one of the people saying that it's bad uses windows 98 well if thats the case then use the verson of McAfee you had and shutup. But there is new OS's out there and for the most part I have software I had back in Win 3.1 that don'd work in WIN98 so is that software bad.... the answer is yes it is so i got the updated verson to work with WINME and now it works fine. The people giving the review know nothing about software. I do know that it should be easy for people to use if their stupid...lol. But don't take the word of morons who don't know how to read a book to learn how to use software. People think that you install and thats all. You have to read about the software your installing to get to know about the software. I am not a total Mcafee nut, and to prove this I know or one other AntiVirus software called Panda Anti- Virus software and looks to be the same in how good the software truly is the same as or a very close second to Mcafee VirusScan. One thing I can tell you is that Norton AntiVirus is not all that great. To prove this I was over a friends house and I wanted to mess with his computer. It was a harmless virus that I coded to look like a virus and not do damage to the computer just to show that Norton (he was a real big Norton fan) was not all that great. He opened the file and POOF it had his computer and it was under control but the virus I had made. All it did was basicly worm the system files copy them as CPY files for system restore so when he restored at some point if he had to the backups were screwed. And sure enough... at that moment he said ok well lets see how well your Mcafee does. We went to his fathers house and tried to run it on his computer. We tried to run the file and the very milisecond we clicked McAfee cought it and showed you the problem. Now this was the day before thanksgiving so it was not long ago and if this simple worm got in I know you could code an ICQ virus that I know woudl infect all Norton protected systems. So this is a true review and I don't work for anyone that makes Mcafee Anti-Virus. I also know a thing or two about viruses more then I want to go into but take it from me people Mcafee or Panda is your best bet. Norton is like an over priced sneeker or name lable your paying for and not a real good product.

User Rating: 2/10

It's freatures are great, if only they would work.

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Review: Managed to install McAfee without a problem, but couldn't get very far after that. HAWK causes Outlook to crash when opening certain messages. The PDA scan caused my PDA to drop synch every time I connected it. Worst of all, the system scan NEVER found my hard drive or any other drives, so actually scanning for viruses was out.

User Rating: 7/10

Sucks compared to previous versions

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Review: I really have the urge to write detailed comments. But I am too tired from all the tyipng in their useless customer support chats. Simply put: Their support sucks, the product is excellent at killing viruses, it does install in work in Windows XP, and I only had to install it three times. Oh, and the included firewall is the worst piece of garbage I have ever used. 4 hours of customer support chat and they have no clue and are reporting my issue to their labs....<sigh> Back to ZoneAlarm and VirusScan 4.51. I'll pick up Norton once I get my money back.

User Rating: 2/10

Not ready for release..

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Review: the uninstaller did not uninstall the old version of McAfee VS I had. I had to unintsall it manually. That took 45 minutes including the 119 instances of the number in the Registry. When I did get the new 6.0 installed it would not let me get on the net. I checked the settings and got the help from the site and it would not let me change the settings. I sent in the form and got my money back.

User Rating: 1/10

Disappointed McAfee consumer

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Review: McAfee VirusScan 6.0 = difficulty with instillation, computer lock ups, in my case I had to reinstall Windows98 because after the final reboot my computer wouldn't reboot. This product definately was NOT tested enough before it was put on the marked. McAfee you should be ashamed to have such an incomplete product on the shelf.

User Rating: 3/10

Decent virus scanner, but...

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Review: The virus scanner works as well as any McAfee VirusScan product I have had, but I couldn't tell you if the firewall is good or not, because I could never get it to run. After trying to install in Win2K, the firewall would never start up. Online chat sessions with their techs was a complete joke. My cat could do a better job at diagnosing problems. E-mail support was equally as helpful. After an initial reply requesting more information (which I replied to a month and a half ago), I have yet to hear back from them at all. I have not had trouble with McAfee products in the past, and I am disappointed that they would release such a buggy final product. It's a good thing I didn't have to pay for this software or else I would be getting my money back. Choose an older version of VirusScan or go with another company.

User Rating: 1/10

Never got it to install

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Review: I read a bunch of other user's comments and realized that going back to version 5 was a better use of my time (after I had already spent about 6 hours trying to get it to work).

User Rating: 5/10

Hard to install

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Review: Technical Support was unable to help with install issues. There only suggestion when a problem occurred was to uninstall the product and reinstall issues. Also have problems with instant updater. This problem did not exist in previous versions. No resolution.

User Rating: 2/10

Worst one I've used

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Review: Gave up on it when it finally stopped Win'98 from booting. Installed Norton AV and it found 56 infected files with 5 different virus types. Not had a problem since.

User Rating: 2/10

Surfers Beware!!

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Review: Surfers Beware!... Do you wanna screw up your pc... do you wanna f@@## up your computer settings... do you wanna not get connected to the internet... do you wanna ruin your windows and get to install it again and again. if you answered yes for all those questions then your are more than free to download this dump MY Computer Always gets F##%# Every time i install updates or Every time i re install the program v I R U S S C A N 6.0

User Rating: 1/10

Help! What a nightmare!

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Review: I tried to install 6.0 and now I have error messgaes galore! All McAfee erorr messages my machine crashes, freezes up and denies me access to the internet many times. Their online customer service is the worst I have ever dealt with. It is full of form questions and answers and I swear that I am talking to a computer and not a tech! Help! I cannot even get it to delete off my system now! Any ideas??

User Rating: 5/10

works but slows my pc alot

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Review: i have now commuinicated with the online tech support 4 times with no real solution to the slow processing issue applications hang up and the firewall seems to be slowing my browser to a crawl -defeats the purpose of having a cable modem!

User Rating: 4/10

firewall crashes system

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Review: I recently purchased the McAfee virus scan and firewall for my XP upgrade. No problems yet with the virus scan, but the firewall is horrible. The firewall performs it's job well, but I was having to reboot time after time. Finally, removed it with no problems and started using the XP built-in firewall. Works just as good (no attack logs or anything, but it hides your computer) and my system hasn't crashed since.

User Rating: 8/10

McAfee VS 6.x is as good as it gets

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Review: Having recently installed McAfee VS 6.0 on Windows XP as part of McAfee's larger Internet Security 4.0 suite, I can say I am quite pleased with it. Standing as I was, wavering, before store shelves packed alternatively with Norton products and those of the company in question, the decision to purchase the one over the other was not an easy one to make. One of my more charming neuroses is a tendency toward excessive brooding over my software choices. Paralyzed with doubt and uncertainty, and driven by the fear of making a decision I'll later regret, I've logged a staggering amount of hours on the Web, at stores, and in conversation with friends more "in the know" than I, simply so that I may sleep at night untroubled by The Grass Is Greener demons of eternal hand-wringing. I've investigated into the wee small hours. I've left precious few stones unturned. What I've concluded, from my comparative research and now from personal experience, is this: McAfee VS 6.x does a fine job of protecting a PC against infection. There are a lot of Norton zealots and there are a lot of McAfee faithful, and the charged debates between the two camps had me oscillating helplessly for a spell during my research. I won't pull out a laundry list of specs, but the TRUTH is that any differences between the two - in terms of function and effectiveness - are negligible. Norton AntiVirus seems to have an edge in "brand power", but every independent benchmark test I've come across has them ranked shoulder to shoulder. So if you're caught up in trying to distinguish which of the two products can be crowned "Deadliest Virus-Killer In The Galaxy!", forget about it. Any "best of breed" proclamations are nonsense. In terms of performance, for all practical purposes, they are equal. Additionally, both operate well in the background and have auto-update features which make it a breeze to stay current. So what it really comes down to is user interface (mainly an aesthetic choice), collateral features, and ease of use. I like the look and usability of McAfee VS's latest version over Norton AV's. It is sleek, clean, reasonably intuitive and relatively simple to navigate. The set-up wizard takes you thru step by step and the manual settings and options you'll be presented with later during use are clear and easy to understand w/o a computer science degree. I've heard a lot of noise about installation problems, etc, and all I can say on that note is that I encountered no difficulties myself. I was installing on a new, relatively uncluttered machine, and that may have been a factor. McAfee VS 6.x is not perfect by any means, but heck, show me any software product that is totally glitch-free. The only bug I've found so far in VS (version 6.01 - the latest update at the time of this writing) is that the Shredder utility doesn't seem to work, at least not for Recycle Bin contents. The window hangs until you CTRL+ALT+DEL and close it with Windows Task Manager. This is not a terribly big deal in my opinion, just a minor annoyance. I've e-mailed McAfee Tech Support about it and haven't gotten anywhere. By the way, the war stories are all true; you can expect rotten tech support from McAfee - but don't think for a second that Norton is any better. BOTH companies are guilty of shamefully bad tech support. It's really an outrage...I mean we're talking about some fairly sosphisticated programs here that can potentially do some real damage to your PC's health and at the very least flummox less experienced users, and you can't get tech support on the phone unless you pony up Psychic Line rates! I don't know about you, but I blanch at the thought of dropping $30+ every time I need some assistance here and there. Presently there doesn't seem to be any practical choice but to muddle through with the dim torchlight of cryptic e-mail replies as one's only guide. I actually can't believe that neither Norton or McAfee have targeted tech support service as a part of their competitive strategy. The uniformly sorry state of tech support in this industry provides an opportunity for one of these companies to change their practices and substantially differentiate themselves from the other. McAfee, are you listening??? Ah, well. Anyway, back to the point - other than the very minor hiccup just described (which isn't worth withholding a star, since I've yet to see a program reach any semblence of flawlessness until at least the second or third patch), McAfee is a first-tier product that is every bit as good as Norton AV and has done an outstanding job for me.

User Rating: 10/10

Best Security Package Available

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Review: The very best in both antiviral and firewall effectiveness. The best in interface and just as good or better than competing products in its impact on system resources. A very mature, attractive, and stable program with very effective virus detection/disinfection to boot. The firewall is superb, not just because of its attractive interface, but in effectiveness as well--easily passed all leak tests at Shieldsup. I installed the VirusScan and the firewall, and I literally enjoy, and feel quite secure in using them together. Norton is also a great product, but VirusScan has detected two or three viruses that Norton missed, the VirusScan/Firewall combo in VS 6.0 is more stable and effective than any combo I've tried, and I've tried quite a few. There have been some negative comments about this product, and I can't believe it's the same program I'm using. Just try it.

User Rating: 2/10

Nothing but trouble!

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Review: 1) After installation the program tries to reboot and load at the same time. 2) After updating the DAT file, my computer hangs when running bootscan.exe on startup. 3) It deleted files I tried to repair while in quarantine. 4) If you use the "Updater" and select more than one item it tries to download, reboot, and start programs all at the same time. 5) All of a sudden I have problems with several programs I never had before.

User Rating: 1/10

Yuck, I think they were in a hurry to release it.

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Review: Bought it because I switched to XP and it rendered version 5 useless. Tried to install version 6 and it said it would have to remove the previous version, and it couldn't even do that. After a while I finally got it installed (with the help of a downloaded uninstall proggy), and it just wouldn't plain work. Say's it's missing files or drivers or something. DON'T BUY THIS PRODUCT. Taking it back tomorrow to exchanged it for Norton 2002.

User Rating: 5/10

go to norton

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Review: Upgraded from 4.0 to 6.0 pro. What a mistake. Found to be intrusive, would not load properly and not easy to use. Tech support is non-existent and only by email or website. Live support at $3.00/min. Had several problems that not even their tech support could solve. Unistalled within a week.

User Rating: 3/10

Crashes too often to detect a virus

Pros:

Cons:

Review: I haven't seen anything this buggy since the days of Netscape Communicator 4.0!

User Rating: 7/10

Get Norton 2001 Instead

Pros:

Cons:

Review: Install software for a living. Found that it does not autorun all the time and leaves the pc hanging after first boot after installing. Find but can not repair sircam virus. Mcafee does have an easier update procedure and site. But they already have put out a patch for 6.0 which should tell you something.

User Rating: 1/10

very hard to use for the blind

Pros:

Cons:

Review: by makeing it almost all mouse driven the 200 million blind world wide can not use virusscan6 there is very little speech access for the blind. you have removed the pull down menus with graphics makeing it very hard to use. the version 6.0 to 6.1 update is flaud if you install it you will get error messages that the central.dll is older than the program and makes virusscan un bootable. you have to reinstall it and not update the virussan update. do to the thoughtlessness of the programmers i cannot use it anymore because there is little speech access to it with speech acess software (wineyes)

User Rating: 2/10

VirusScan Online does not work

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Cons:

Review: I ordered VirusScan online - at shortly thereafter upgraded to IE6 - according to http://www.mcafee.com/myapps/vso/moreinfo_vso.asp - VirusScan online is supposed to be optimized to work with IE6. It doesn't. Trying to get McAfee to admit it and issue a refund is absolutely insane. I've received the same form letter about six times - not one of them admitting the problem with IE6 - even went so far as to say that McAfee products don't support MS "beta" software - as though IE6 were still beta. Very, very bad customer service. Worst I have ever experienced.

User Rating: 1/10

Messes up Outlook XP horribly

Pros:

Cons:

Review: Installing VirusScan caused Outlook XP to GPF on opening emails sometimes. Even after disabling HAWK, still causes random Outlook Hangs. Uninstalled it and installed Norton Internet Security. Life is soooo much better now!

User Rating: 1/10

McAfee Professional 6.0

Pros:

Cons:

Review: What can I say. This is absolutely the worst McAfee product I have ever used, First it cause my Windows 98 machine to not be able to access my internet at all. Which can be a problem cause thte only tech support they offer is via a chat box online, or with a pay per incident, or a 900 number which cost $2.95 a minute to use. They helped me as a courtesy call to unload it completely from my machine. Then they suggested I try a different install method which was the custom one. It almost destroyed my operating system. Dell wanted me to completely delete Windows 98 and start all over again. I was detetermined and got it fixed in safe mode myself. First time by the way Dell has ever failed me they have been awesome. I do think that McAfee hires people off of the street to be techs in their chat boxes. I knew more about what I was doing than they did, and I am just a meager home user. Wake up McAfee we want to talk to a live person without all the exorbinate costs. Put some techs in your chat boxes that can handle what is going on in the real world. Also get a new chat program I have never used one as slow as yours in my life. Also it disconected me three different time, and I had to start all over with a new tech each time. Talk about frustrating! Terrible customer support. Dale Messenger

User Rating: 1/10

Use this program to lock up your system!

Pros:

Cons:

Review: I have used McAfee virus scan on my DELL computer as it came preinstalled. No problems. Purchased 6.0 to upgrade and all systems QUIT working. Computer would not boot up or shut down. Finally got it to come up in safe mode and the program would not let me save changed settings. After much frustration removed program, got the desktop to come up completely and removed all traces (?) I think.... I use Norton at work so I purchased Norton 2002 System works today, maybe it will correct the lingering problems....

User Rating: 1/10

Internet access blocked after installation.

Pros:

Cons:

Review: After installing the Firewall and updating to the latest version, all internet access was blocked. Uninstalling the software didn't help. Had to reinstall the firewall and not update it in order to access the internet. Still waiting on help from McAfee technical support on how to completely remove it. Used Zone Alarm without problems but took a chance on McAfee for a change. A BIG MISTAKE.

User Rating: 10/10

easy to install and use

Pros:

Cons:

Review: I installed it, updated and like the new look -- the updates are downloaded for you and you need them for some fixes

User Rating: 3/10

Not Compatible, Waste of money.

Pros:

Cons:

Review: Conflicts with XP Office. Very bad release which causes errors when installing firewall onto Windows 2000. Also you lose the lock features of previous edition VirusScan.

User Rating: 4/10

Trashed my system

Pros:

Cons:

Review: This not-ready-for-release software slowed my system and OE 6.0 to a crawl. Now OE won't even work and freezes. I hope I'll be able to uninstall and get my system back!

User Rating: 4/10

Stops working at drop of a hat!

Pros:

Cons:

Review: I bought Virus Scan for a client of mine - and you have to pay extra to get it for NT based operating systems. Not impressed. I had purchased a copy for my own machine (W2K). It worked - then after an update it failed to start, wouldn't un-install/re-install or anything. Using Sophos now, MUCH better and works on any machine without paying per OS version, just per license :)

User Rating: 3/10

If you decide you don't want watch out, you can't get rid of it

Pros:

Cons:

Review: I installed it on my windows 2k pro machine, still trying to get all the leftover garbage out. Not good for a company that makes their own uninstaller, not to be able to clean uninstall their own programs. I would not recommend it.

User Rating: 3/10

NO good with XP

Pros:

Cons:

Review: Do NOT use this with XP and Outlook Express. It will delete you inbox everytime you log on. Go with Norton, this is much to important to pass by with a minor bug comment. I have used McAfee for 7 years, and now have been forced to change....

User Rating: 1/10

Problems older version on XP

Pros:

Cons:

Review: I upgraded to XP, and bought VS 6.0. I worked for about 20 hours trying to uninstall VS 5.0, but apparently without success. The new software would still not install, and I have asked for my money back.

User Rating: 9/10

More protection and RAM free

Pros:

Cons:

Review: I install the new McAfee product and love the memory size used. With this version and the firewall, I have more memory than before, when I use the version 5.21 and Zone Alarm like firewall

User Rating: 3/10

McCrappy VirusSHAM 6.x

Pros:

Cons:

Review: I used to like McAfee VirusScan, and then I tried version 6.x. Previous versions were simple to use and you could quickly disable a VirusScan feature by right-clicking the system tray icon and unchecking an option in the menu. Now, they've added all these annoying menus to give it a Windows XP feel, so I have to go through extra menus every time I want to change the settings. They claim it's XP compatible, but it really isn't. I'm using Fast-User-Switching in XP and when I switched from an Administrator to a Limited User account, it gave me an error message that the virus definitions couldn't be loaded. AND BE SURE TO INSTALL THE INTERNET FILTER PATCH that's posted on their site, or it will delete your e-mail in Outlook Express. The instant updater feature is terribly implemented. It doesn't download any patches to the product like they claim (had to download an install them manually from their site), and it has to download all the incremental virus definition updates rather than just the most recent one. So, I uninstalled it and I have converted to Norton AV 2002. I prefer the customization scanning options in McAfee VS, but what good is it if it's a pain to use and doesn't even work well. BOTTOM LINE: If you have McAfee VirusScan 5.x, stick with it. And if you have Windows XP, get Norton Antivirus 2002 instead.

User Rating: 6/10

Outlook Express

Pros:

Cons:

Review: The features of this program are good, hoever, you can forget the shredder program that comes bundled with it. It always freezes. Also, there is a minor bug that affects Outlook Express. It either freezes OE, tells you you got e-mail but you can't get it, or it tells you you have one message even though all of the mail was checked.

User Rating: 1/10

worst anti virus software I ever used

Pros:

Cons:

Review: I had virus scan 4.0 and it didn't automatically upgraded. I had to remove manually, and had to remove some single files. then install virus scan 6.0 pro. I had so many error with it. I would say v3 2000 is the best one I ever used for anti virus program. It was fast and easy to install and uninstall not like mcafee.

User Rating: 1/10

VirusScan Sucks!

Pros:

Cons:

Review: I downloaded it off the internet and started to scan my files. My whole computer froze up. After restarting, who whole system had been screwed up. I deleted VirusScan and installed Norton. I did have viruses on my computer and they came from VirusScan.

User Rating: 5/10

This program loves reboot upon updates

Pros:

Cons:

Review: Everything I do an online update on the virus definition, this program tells me that I'll have to reboot for the changes to take effect. With Norton anti-virus, it's installed and do not need rebooting.

User Rating: 3/10

This product IS! a Virus

Pros:

Cons:

Review: This isn?t virus scan software, its VIRUS software. I?ve spent weeks cleaning the previous version of this product off of my system with a great many problems such as crashes and missing system files. I installed the latest version in the hope that the newer software would have a better uninstaller and perhaps repair some of the problems the previous version caused. No such luck. With the help of Norton Systems Works and a lot of rebooting I was able to ?disinfect? my computer of the McAfee Virus. I checked out my fatal exception error messages at Microsoft?s web site. Wouldn?t you know McAfee was listed as the likely cause. Microsoft?s suggested solution ? remove it. Don?t install this Virus Software; stick with Norton.

User Rating: 8/10

Easiest setup/install for me.

Pros:

Cons:

Review: Installed with no trouble shooting needed on Win XP. I am not sure of effectiveness of the firewall. I was using ZoneAlarm and it reported more probings than the integrated firewall in VirusScan 6.0. Overall it is a good value virus scanner and firewall combo.

User Rating: 3/10

This product needs a complete update

Pros:

Cons:

Review: Using this fire wall software is a problem in the Windows Me. because if you need to use it with your DSL the first thing you notice. You have to manuelly turn it on. Now if you forget to turn it on. Then your not protected when you try to contact support. You have to pay for the call. The on line support doesn't help answer all of the questions.

User Rating: 5/10

Amongst the worst I have used

Pros:

Cons:

Review: the program totally failed to warn of new viruses before the company became aware its not a patch on AVG which also happens to be free

User Rating: 4/10

McAfee = McLoser

Pros:

Cons:

Review: After upgrading to WinXP. My 5.2 version choked my machine. The auto uninstall didn't work. They had no info on how to deal with this problem on their Web site. Their tech support is in South Africa, and their understanding of English is very poor, and weren't able to help or grasp the problem. Finally after calling their HQ directly I got some straight answers. Finally after uninstalling 5.2 the installer of 6.0 choked. What a piece of Shiat!

User Rating: 2/10

Worse than ever

Pros:

Cons:

Review: Our company uses Virusscan on the workstations. You think VirusScan is bad, try removing a Virus using McAfee's Netshield. As far as workstation Antivirus I recommend AVG by Grisoft. It is a great easy to use freeware package, that outperforms both Norton and McAfee everytime.

User Rating: 2/10

Poor, a ruined version of Dr. Solomons

Pros:

Cons:

Review: This is how you take an excellent product like Dr. Solomons Anti-Virus Tool Kit and ruin it with a new big corporate owner. I always used Dr. solomons but now I use and recommend Norton for ordinary users. At least it updates reliably and does not have to be reinstalled from time to time.

User Rating: 1/10

this product is the pits

Pros:

Cons:

Review: I never had good useage from this product. Constant hangups, computer freezing, and almost no virus protection. Not my fav. product.

User Rating: 1/10

A piece of bll

Pros:

Cons:

Review: I used VirusScan 3.5 all the way to 5.0. They kept getting worse and worse, as the number of viruses increased. Oh, wait, I noticed somethign better in the 5.0 version, and that only until I installed the latest update-that last patch screwed up everything in their AV package. I used Win98 and 2000 Professional. The Av doesn't even install on XP, although it's advertised to work. The installer quit up front and spit the error message almost the same second I launched it. I don't know where else to look, but I'll do it.

User Rating: 10/10

What a great AV program!

Pros:

Cons:

Review: A thirty dollar Antivirus Program that doesn't take up much memory and has a firewall built in! It is so freaking fool-proof in the usage of things that it sets things up for you. Also if you want to customize things it allows you to do so with minimal effort. All in all this thing is so easy that newbies can use it, and with its lower price and firewall it puts NortonAV to shame.

User Rating: 6/10

Virus gone, but so is your PC!

Pros:

Cons:

Review: Your PC as you know it may never work the same with this product. Mine wouldn't turn off at shutdown anymore and disabled pcAnywhere and Oracle. I removed it before it could wreck any more damage. On top of that, of course, you lose again with most vendors' strict return policies.

User Rating: 9/10

VirusScan 6 is the best scanner.

Pros:

Cons:

Review: I live in Brazil and I used Norton2k1 but lot of time. I change to VirusScan6 becouse is the best of Anti-Virus Scanner.

User Rating: 10/10

The Greatest!!! Always was! #1

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Cons:

Review: McAfee VirusScan 6.1 is the greatest! Lots of features and very powerful. When I first got this product it had bugs with safe & sound and others, but after going to www.mcafeeretail.com and downloading the patches it worked like clockwork! I recommened it!!!

User Rating: 3/10

Have A Pillow??

Pros:

Cons:

Review: You will need one during boot process. I have a descent computer-Asus motherboard,p3-933-512mbRAM- It takes forever to start the darn thing up now, very slow while in use, Quickclean not even available even though its supposed to be part of the program. I have PC-Cillin which came as apart of the bundle through Asus- Happier with that. I will give credit to the fact that it comes with a firewall-but thats the only feature I am happy with.

User Rating: 9/10

much better then norton

Pros:

Cons:

Review: i was waiting for this release a long time. now mcafee virus scan is once again the best anti virus software.

User Rating: 9/10

The best A/V out there

Pros:

Cons:

Review: McAfee 6 was the easiest install and configure I've ever had. Scan times are fast, and it comes with a firewall included. Works very well with WinXP, and updates are a breeze. I highly recommend this product.

User Rating: 9/10

6.01 it's fantastic!

Pros:

Cons:

Review: As long as you get the latest updates and use the 6.01 version instead of the 6.0, it's fantastic!

User Rating: 3/10

Can I have my money back?

Pros:

Cons:

Review: I am so tired of buying software that doesn't work. I started with Norton 2002 and found that it screwed up Adobe, Microsoft Word and didn't like one or two dll files that will remain nameless. I bit the bullet everyone (Adobe, Microsoft, Norton) told me to upgrade - that they were aware of the problem. I did - it didn't help. I went in frustration and bought Mcafee 6.0 Professional. Loaded after three tries. The Quickclean feature still hasn't worked. It keeps telling me I am missing Mcafee Files. Shouldn't those have come with the disk? I guess I should have had them anyway? Go figure! Why do software companies think they can sell us stuff that doesn't work. I am beginning to think that they are criminals. If I sold stuff that didn't actually work but sold it anyway, people would turn me in to the District Attorney. I am not a lawer but I thought that was how it worked. I wish these reviewers would be more honest in their reviewing. I find most of them to be dishonest. Maybe they should be upgraded. There might be hope in Nod32. I found it by mistake. I don't work for them. Look up Este on Google Reviews and you will find out about them. I have had no problems with them and they seem to be better at tracking down the virus nasties. look at the differnt tests that they have detected 100%. Not perfect - but at least my dll's are behaving.

User Rating: 3/10

crash 101

Pros:

Cons:

Review: one thing McAfee can't seem to get away from is sucking system resources like no other virus utility does

User Rating: 7/10

Its great but...

Pros:

Cons:

Review: Ya great usability, great software overall but the problem lies in the fact that it is always present in the background eatting up your RAM and slowing your computer down.

User Rating: 10/10

No Fuss Does the Job

Pros:

Cons:

Review: This is ( I think ) the only anti-virus that currently works with XP. Never could get on with Norton's which is too invasive for my liking and McAfee was the only one able to deal with a virus I picked up.

User Rating: 10/10

I dont care But...

Pros:

Cons:

Review: Those people complaining must have some really crappy computers, time to upgrade guys. 2 Ghz are out.

User Rating: 10/10

I dont know what other ppl are saying

Pros:

Cons:

Review: Those ppl giving bad reviews most be the competitors or McAfee because they sound mad, and I have had no problems with this software.

User Rating: 10/10

Great Tech Support

Pros:

Cons:

Review: They help me from install to setting up custom settings. Only 2.95 an hour, I check the competition and they are more expensive.

User Rating: 10/10

FOUND 3 Viruses Immediately

Pros:

Cons:

Review: Great, didnt even know I had those viruses, very happy. :) Die Bin Laden!

User Rating: 10/10

Excellent Protection and Full Firewall Protection Included To Boot!!!

Pros:

Cons:

Review: VirusScan has always been an excellent choice and this new version follows the new Windows XP look and feel. Now I can keep my protection up to date with ease as they've added a new automated updating system to keep ahead of new threats. And here's the clincher: this new version of VirusScan includes the new McAfee Firewall with intrusion detection! What an excellent deal. I've used some of the freeware firewalls out there, but this one has more advanced features that you just can't get with those. A great buy all around.

User Rating: 5/10

Just call it shovel-ware.

Pros:

Cons:

Review: This has to be one of the worst utilities that I have had the displeasure of trying to use. Pure junk - do not waste your money on this.

User Rating: 3/10

Slick Interface, lousy programs

Pros:

Cons:

Review: Tried 5.21, it really sucked. Read initial reviews on how much improved it seemed. Decided to buy it. Installed antivirus and firewall. Installation went flawlessly. I made sure to install all available updates. I found the XP style interface attractive. I initially thought I would love this product. The first thing to act up was the firewall. It has its own alert sounds to let you know when there's an intrusion.....my system was constantly beeping....but it wasn't the intrusion alert. It was the standard Windows beep......it did it moreso when I wasn't dialed into my ISP, but still did it when I was dialed in....annoying...which made the firewall useless. I uninstalled it without a problem.... I first began to notice that it was slowing down my P II 266 system when mouse movements became very jerky.....then I checked McAfee's website and saw that they had released the weekly DAT update.....it was set to automatically download and install any updates. That night, I got online, and surfed, and surfed, expecting it to have downloaded in the background as it was set to do.....hours later, it did not.....so I decided to go into the McAfee Central program and click Update. It found the update, downloaded it and purported to install it. But the program indicated that nothing had actually been updated. Figured a reboot would do it. Nothing. Went into the updater utility itself, and told it to try again, this time it downloaded AND asked me to reboot, so I figured it worked. No go. I suppose it may do something if I manually download them from the web, but who wants to be forced to do that? I uninstalled it, which went surprisingly smoothly, and intend to reinstall Norton 2001 and upgrade to 2002. The "4" is for the pretty interface and the program it would have been if it had worked as advertised. THe other scores reflect what was actually delivered. I liked the design of the software, and honestly would have given the features a 5, but with it's many other shortcomings, I just can't bring myself to do it.

User Rating: 3/10

Pain at Start, Good once running

Pros:

Cons:

Review: Insatlled on an XP Pro machine - PIII 733, 512 RAM - Computer shut down once reaching login screen. Freshly reinstalled XP, and it was the first thing to go on. Disabled firewall, but McAfee wouldn't allow outlook to get my email, or my jornada to sync. Tech support was non-existent. Disabled offending features, and voila. So, it's providing basic AV protection. Would have been nice to use the goodies. Still won't go with Norton cause it's such a memory hog. Peace

User Rating: 7/10

Virus Scan is great! But....the Firewall is a bust.

Pros:

Cons:

Review: I installed VirusScan 6.0 packaged with Firewall on a new hard drive with a clean installation of Windows 98 S.E. Firewall would not run. After 30 minutes of waiting to chat with a technician, he advised me to install it in Safe mode. After this Firewall would run, but would not ask me which applications to allow or disallow access to the internet, and would not reconize manual entries for this either. Very frustrating.

User Rating: 1/10

The worst product and support EVER!

Pros:

Cons:

Review: After I installed the VirusScan 6.0 and its FireWall, I can't get online. The only way to get support is through online chat. I waited for over 30 minutes to finally chat with support and it did not resolve the problem. I told them I wish they provide phone support in which they told me they do have phone support at a price of I think $2.99 per minute. If any of you have tried phone support with anything, you know that you are going to spend some time (in this case big money). I still can't get on the net, and VirusScan refused to be unistalled cleanly... Save yourself headache and frustation unless you want to go to your local library and get online there to complete your refund form. That's exactly what McAfee customer service asked me to do!

User Rating: 3/10

Not a finished product...

Pros:

Cons:

Review: 1. VirusScan failed to install 2. Has to uninstall previous version before you can install the new one 3. Has to update to v6.01 before it will work 4. Firewall is so not ready, that it doesn't even have MS certified/Signed drivers 5. Firewall v3.01 patch doesn't work 6. Doesn't handle W2K's unicode support 7. Takes a long time to start up (on my P3-450 w/ 384MB of RAM and DMA/33 Harddrive) 8. Save your money and get something else 9. Can't reach tech support (it's been 10 days since I sent my e-mail, and nobody actually on the online Chat) 10. Save your money and get something else...

User Rating: 10/10

Psycho ex-boyfriend!!

Pros:

Cons:

Review: My psycho ex-boyfriend is a hacker (wannabe!!) and he put a trojan on my computer which is how i think he got all my passwords! I found out he was reading and deleting some of my emails. Well i installed mcafee virusscan and it found some trojans and deleted them all!! The firewall it comes with also lets me know when he's "trying" to hack into my computer!! I love it!! :-D

User Rating: 10/10

Total protection!!

Pros:

Cons:

Review: I feel total security with VirusScan and the included Firewall installed on my computer. And the DATs are even updated automatically!

User Rating: 9/10

reallly good - apply the updates and get rolling!

Pros:

Cons:

Review: I like the HAWK feature and the PDA scanner - also this version is MUCH easier to configure than before. My company uses the McAfee product on our network which has a different interface and they chose McAfee because it wins all of the awards for effectiveness in finding new viruses. I haven't tried the firewall yet - but it comes FREE so I'll use it when I'm ready. (the PDA scanner is free also; it used to be a $20 product - so I think it's a value)

User Rating: 4/10

Very Unstable

Pros:

Cons:

Review: My computer worked fine until I installed this on my pc. It then resulted in fatal exception and page fault errors continoously. My computer works fine though when I deactivate Mcaffe from running the background...so basically, its useless and offers no protection.

User Rating: 10/10

Fantastic product!

Pros:

Cons:

Review: I upgraded from McAfee VirusScan 5.21 & couldn't be happier. The firewall feature is great. I got v6.0 for free because NA offers a free 90 day upgrade. You can't beat that price!

User Rating: 7/10

Has the best features (HAWK) avaialable

Pros:

Cons:

Review: The only problem with the previous version of VirusScan was the updating. This has been fixed in their Instant Updater. WOW!

User Rating: 3/10

It's a Dog

Pros:

Cons:

Review: I've blindly used VirusScan 4.0 & 5.0. I decided to try 6.0 when I built a new pc, and it completely dogged out a fresh install of Win98SE. Try something like PC-Cillin 2000 which won't cause your system to crash!

User Rating: 5/10

Awful-computer runs slow & crashes

Pros:

Cons:

Review: I have Windows 98. I am constantly freezing & forced to just power down. When it not frezzing my computer it is making it run very very sluggish. I sent them an email & received no response. Of couse everything I read since a bought it agrees with me. I will be unstalling this awful product. What good is a safe computer that you can't use?

User Rating: 10/10

looking for new AV

Pros:

Cons:

Review: I am not sure what these guys are talking about. Norton has a major security breach in their updater and you need to pay for their horrivle support too.

User Rating: 8/10

Virus scan 6

Pros:

Cons:

Review: I just got the latest version, I had been a Virus scan user but started using Norton a few years ago. This new ver is much better than Norton, and includes the firewall for free.

User Rating: 1/10

What a let DOWN!!!!!

Pros:

Cons:

Review: Tech support on-line not very good. And uninstall it as they say good LUCK!!! I had to reinstall my O.S. WIN 2000PRO. Good luck for anyone how purchases this. You can't restart your computer, plus I couldn't use add remove programs.

User Rating: 2/10

Not as good as version 4 was...

Pros:

Cons:

Review: In the Version 4.0 days, mcafee was one of the best AV's, now, in the 2001 era it appears to be really confuse, plus updates are hardly donde succsesfully. I'll tell you what, im going right now to buy Norton System Works 2002, cya.

User Rating: 3/10

HARD TO USE!!!!

Pros:

Cons:

Review: This came pre-installed on my machine. The setup procedures are very confusing. In addition, it's very invasive as it keeps trying to log on and is constantly downloading soemthing in the background. I've used other AV packages and this one has been the most difficult by far. I uninstalled after 3 days of annoyance and paid for a decent package.

User Rating: 1/10

impossible to install. Nearly impossible to use.

Pros:

Cons:

Review: After installation, system (PIII, W2K) experience shutdown problem. System will not shutdown. If product is uninstalled, shutdown returns to normal (less than 1 minute) Using their online tech support was no help either, was told by 3 different support personnel. Suggestion was 1. Uninstall then perform safe mode install. 2. Uninstall then reinstall. 3. Uninstall then safe mode install with registry change. None of the suggestion work.

User Rating: 10/10

Finally a 360% turn

Pros:

Cons:

Review: Now they can say they are the best..no more memory leak also you get Mcafee firewall easy to use..Norton 2002 is the same as last year but Mcafee went all out..I am keeping this one 6.0

User Rating: 7/10

Non-intuitive interface, poor web site

Pros:

Cons:

Review: Installed on system running Windows XP with 1 gig AMD Thunderbird, 512 Megs ram. Installation was fairly easy, only slightly confusing. (Didn't install the firewall, which is included as I'm using Nortons Firewall).Program crashed once in the past 4 days for unknown reason(s). User interface not very intuitive and somewhat confusing. When I was notified of a downlaod update, it asked if I wanted to download, which I did. It downloaded OK, but during the automatic install I recieved an error 15. Went to McAfee's website, which is confusing and not real informative or up to date as it says this version will be on store shelves soon. (I've had it almost a week). Phone support is $2.95/Min. and an answer from the hard to find email address says 4-5 days. I've always used Norton Products. I'm going to return this any buy Norton System Works 2002, as it is a pretty good value for what it includes.

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McAfee VirusScan 6.0 specifications

  • General
  • Category Security applications
  • Subcategory Security - desktop antivirus
  • Version 6.0
  • Language(s) English
  • License pricing Standard
  • Localization English
  • Software
  • License Type Complete package
  • License Qty 1 user
  • License Pricing Standard
  • Platform Windows
  • Distribution Media CD-ROM
  • Package Type Retail
  • System Requirements
  • OS Required Microsoft Windows NT 4.0 , Microsoft Windows Millennium Edition , Microsoft Windows 95 , Microsoft Windows XP , Microsoft Windows 2000 , Microsoft Windows 98
  • Min Processor Type Intel Pentium - 100.0 MHz
  • Min RAM Size 32.0 MB
  • Min Hard Drive Space 33.0 MB
  • Peripheral / Interface Devices CD-ROM
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