McAfee Total Protection provides an impressive suite of features, such as tracking remover, password manager and VPN. In addition, identity theft protection services with limited power-of-attorney restoration services and parental controls are provided as well.
The app’s user interface is smartly designed, featuring quick information on its left rail and options to run security scans and update software in its main panel. In search results pages, Web Advisor colours links that could potentially contain harmful sites so they’re easy to spot.
Antivirus
McAfee Total Protection has an excellent malware detection rate and provides many extra features, such as VPN services and Wi-Fi security scanner. Furthermore, this product boasts system tune-up tools to speed up slow computers or clear away junk files – making it a good option for those seeking full device protection without minding paying a monthly subscription fee.
McAfee offers its security suite at multiple price tiers to fit the needs and requirements of different users, depending on how many devices require protection and the level of security desired. Their website lists these tiers with prices and feature summaries; some notable differences among the plans are license inclusion rates and subscription costs (Total Protection Basic costs $35 annually, while a subscription to their Premium plan provides 10 devices as well as identity theft protection).
McAfee’s antivirus earned a perfect 100% malware detection rate during our tests, proving it can detect even the most elusive threats such as Trojans, ransomware (which locks your computer until payment is made to unlock it) and keyloggers which record keystrokes and steal passwords.
McAfee’s antivirus provides excellent protection from malware infections by constantly monitoring your system and blocking anything it considers suspicious. In addition, its handy spot-scanning feature enables you to scan specific files more closely; other security suites offer this through right-click context menus while McAfee provides it through an in-suite window.
You have the choice between quick or full scans, and there’s even an option to autoscan all files as they’re saved. Unfortunately, unlike some other suites, this one does not allow users to drag-and-drop files directly into its window for scanning; an essential feature for those who regularly utilize multiple file formats.
McAfee Total Protection offers 24/7 customer support and has an expansive FAQ library. Their tech support crew can be reached through social media, website chat and telephone; plus there’s even a money-back guarantee with all plans if they do not opt out before their initial term has ended.
Firewall
McAfee Total Protection provides an effective firewall that keeps threats out, even on networks that are less than secure. This feature is especially helpful when using public Wi-Fi since it prevents malware from infiltrating devices connected to it such as phones and tablets. In addition to blocking threats outright, McAfee’s firewall also includes additional safeguards like vulnerability scanners that monitor for vulnerable apps and real-time scam protection that alerts you of websites trying to take your personal information.
McAfee’s firewall malware scanning engine stands out among our tests as being rapid and accurate; with 100% detection rate for virus and trojan threats. Furthermore, USB sticks are also scanned for potential viruses or malware infections by this program – another nice added touch! Furthermore, parental controls offer tools allowing parents to block specific websites or apps and set screen time limits for kids; its Safe Family feature tracks location while monitoring children’s online activity as well as blocking unsafe sites and apps that might otherwise harm them.
System Tune-Up Tools from Tune Up Suite are also strong, helping optimize system startup time and clear out junk files to speed up a slow computer. Unfortunately, however, this suite only works while your PC is online – it won’t do much when offline.
All McAfee plans come with a 30-day money-back guarantee, and you can select single device, multi device and family plans to suit your individual or family needs. For individuals needing basic malware protection along with some extras the Plus plan may be suitable; premium and advanced plans offer comprehensive identity theft protection in larger households.
McAfee offers free trials for its products on Windows, Mac, and Android devices for up to one month before you’re charged; just remember that in order to avoid being charged you need to cancel seven days prior to the end of your trial period! McAfee provides 24/7 live chat as well as an extensive customer service portal if any problems arise during this trial period.
Parental Controls
McAfee Total Protection’s Parental Control feature is an efficient tool that imposes multiple filters on your child’s online presence and provides a detailed report about all their activities – such as which websites they’ve visited and any suspicious chats on social media that might occur.
Set specific times when your children can access the internet and restrict certain apps from use, while keeping track of how much time your kids spend playing games on their devices and monitoring which games they can access (blocking any too violent or adult themed ones) as well as monitoring their location to prevent wandering off into potentially unsafe areas.
This software notifies you if any activity violates the preset rules you’ve established for yourself and/or your children, such as violating preset rules on social media accounts or publishing offensive language or personal details online. Furthermore, YouTube video filters only permit viewing those with appropriate content while blocking games which require an internet connection or online multiplayer feature of web-browser integrated games; additionally this tool can filter social networking and instant messaging apps like AOL ICQ MSN Yahoo while recording and monitoring conversations by children using these applications.
Notable among its many features is that it allows you to filter the emails sent by your children, block sexually suggestive keywords or phrases and alert you whenever your child tries inserting these in search engines or chat boxes; and prevent your kids from posting inappropriate images onto blogs and forums posts.
App control is a useful feature that enables you to filter apps on your child’s device based on 50 categories. This makes it possible for educational apps, while blocking others such as puzzle and action games. Furthermore, custom profiles can even be created for each child.
McAfee Total Protection offers another unique feature – password protection of parental controls. Not available from other competitors, this makes managing your child’s online activity simpler. In addition to anti-virus, firewall and VPN features, McAfee Total Protection also features anti-spam filtering as well as email filtering; however its interface may be challenging due to being spread across various apps with limited support library available.
VPN
McAfee Total Protection’s VPN feature encrypts your web traffic, keeping your IP address private and helping prevent data breaches. While not as efficient as standalone VPNs like ExpressVPN, McAfee’s identity-theft protection alerts if any databases breach occur containing your email address as part of its suite of features.
This VPN employs bank-grade 256-bit AES encryption for secure protection across desktops, laptops, iOS and Android devices. By default its server location is in the US which may not be suitable for privacy-conscious users as US companies engage in surveillance and data collection practices – however you have options when choosing where you would like your default server location to be set at! Luckily you can change its default server.
Notable lacking features include its lack of a kill switch – something many premium VPNs provide – and limited server locations; although it covers 23 countries, they lack cities optimized for streaming or gaming, and don’t allow you to select your own IP address; another feature offered by premium providers.
Though the VPN’s performance is generally excellent, you may still get faster speeds by selecting a different server location. My tests showed that switching to New Zealand significantly increased both download and upload speeds; unfortunately it’s difficult to do that without changing application settings on mobile devices.
McAfee VPN’s user experience can vary, with its app often experiencing instabilities such as freezing up on certain Android devices or disconnection issues in Chrome extensions. Most issues have since been addressed through updates; its latest version should now be more stable for most users.
McAfee provides a solid suite, featuring efficient malware detection and an intuitive user experience. Unfortunately, its biggest limitations include no dedicated defense against webcam hijacking and no hardened browser for online commerce, along with detection gaps from competing brands that detect more malware. If you want a truly exceptional security suite, consider Bitdefender, Kaspersky or Norton instead.
