McAfee Internet Security Suite 2007

Description:
McAfee Internet Security Suite with SiteAdvisor provides trusted PC and Internet protection so your whole family can enjoy online activities such as surfing the Web, shopping, banking, e-mailing and instant messaging. Always on, always protecting and always updating, McAfee delivers a worry-free Internet experience because it guards both your identity and your PC from viruses, spyware, e-mail and phishing scams, and hackers. With its new automated backup feature, McAfee Internet Security Suite with SiteAdvisor makes it easy to safeguard your most important photos, music, videos and files. If anything is ever lost or corrupted, you can restore files and data with just one simple click. In addition, the latest McAfee software and updates download automatically, so you never have to install anything manually when a new version is available. Also included in your subscription is McAfee NetworkManager, which simplifies control over the security of all your home PCs. NetworkManager plugs into McAfee® SecurityCenter, which has been redesigned to give you an at-a-glance view of your security status.

Features:
# Offers 8 in 1 protection for your identity, PC, and online experience.
# Shields your PC around the clock: always on, always protecting, always updating.
# Protects your PC from viruses, hackers and spyware.
# Backs Up photos, music, videos, and other important files automatically.
# Protects your online experience so you can surf the Web, shop, bank, e-mail and instant message safely and securely.

System Requirements:
Important: Your Operating System must be designed and tested to support English languages. This product does not support any versions of Windows prior to Windows 2000.

# Microsoft® Windows 2000, Windows XP Personal computer with Pentium-compatible processor 500 MHz or higher
# RAM: 256 MB
# Before Installation: 200 MB hard disk space
# After Installation: 125 MB hard disk space
# 800 X 600 or higher resolution
# Microsoft® .NET Framework version 1.1.4322
# Microsoft® Internet Explorer 6.0 or later
Note: To upgrade to the latest version of Internet Explorer, visit the Microsoft Web site at http://www.microsoft.com/

Supported e-mail programs:
# POP3 – Outlook Express, Outlook, Eudora, Netscape, IncrediMail, Thunderbird; Japanese only: Shuriken, Becky, PostPet
# MAPI – Outlook
# Web – MSN/Hotmail, or e-mail account with POP3 access
Supported instant messaging programs:
# AOL Instant Messenger 2.1 or later
# Yahoo Messenger 4.1 or later
# Microsoft Windows Messenger 3.6 or later MSN
# Messenger 6.0 or later
Required for toolbar plug-in:
# Outlook Express 6.0 or later
# Outlook 2000, XP, 2003, or 2007
# Eudora 6.0 or later
# Thunderbird 1.5 or later

McAfee Internet Security Suite Features

Firewall:
The McAfee firewall will keep intruders out and your personal information safe. It monitors your computer’s ports and all data that enters or leaves. With one click, you can lock down the firewall, which blocks all inbound and outbound network traffic between your computer and the Internet. It also stops remote connections from accessing your computer.

This suite will protect your Wi–Fi connection and ensure nobody jumps on your wireless network to take advantage of your Internet connection.

Antivirus:
McAfee is one of the few companies that submitted their software to all three testing labs, ICSA, Virus Bulletin (VB) and West Coast Labs (W.C.L.), and passed all three tests. The suite offers a variety of virus scanning options. You can scan files on demand, real-time or schedule your system scans.

McAfee’s website provides current information on potentially harmful viruses and virus hoaxes to keep you safe and informed.

Antispyware:
The ISCA also gave their approval for the antispyware function of the McAfee Internet Security Suite. This software will detect spyware of all kinds including adware, keyloggers, trojans, browser hijackers and more.

Other Security/Features:
In addition to the main security functions listed above, McAfee further protects your computer and personal information by scanning emails and instant message attachments. The software will detect problems, filter spam and notify you of potential phishing schemes. Phishing is creating a fraudulent email or website that appears to be a legitimate company, like a bank, credit card company or government agency. The goal is to collect personal information.

McAfee also has extensive parental control features that will filter web content by keyword, by using a blacklist or by image analysis. You are able to set up an account and customize web filters for each user.

We used the “Maintain Computer” function to clean out old and unused files. You can shred the files for privacy purposes if you want. From this screen, you can also reconfigure your PC for optimum performance.

Ease of Use:
McAfee’s main user interface is well organized so you can quickly access and configure the firewall, antivirus and parental controls. You can also access reports and logs so you can see exactly what functions have taken place and what the results are.

One downside to McAfee is that our email application slowed considerably as the security suite scanned our incoming and outgoing emails.

Ease of Installation/Setup:
We didn’t have any problems while installing this software. The initial setup is simple and the software has default settings so you don’t have to do any extensive configuring. McAfee integrates well with other programs like Internet Explorer and Microsoft Outlook.

Help/Support:
To answer your questions, McAfee provides tutorials, a user manual and FAQs. You can also contact customer support by phone, online chat and email. We used the online chat and Van was very helpful and answered our questions.

Summary:
McAfee Internet Security Suite provides the security you need to safely navigate the web. A virus or spyware can do thousands of dollars of damage and compromise your personal information. For $59.95, McAfee will protect your PC and leave you worry-free.