Mcafee onecare

Most of Total Protection's features can be accessed through the main Security Center application, which provides an at-a-glance indication of the status of all the features.

From there you can also configure each component or explore its operational details. Even using Security Center as a home base, there is so much functionality in the product that it's sometimes difficult to find or tweak specific settings. The interface requires a lot of "drill down and resurface" action to explore.

One of the best additions to McAfee's suite is Site Advisor, which it recently purchased from the developers. This browser add-on for Internet Explorer or Firefox checks the sites you visit against the information Site Advisor has collected about malicious downloads, spam, and relationships with other, possibly unsavory, sites.

At the moment, Site Advisor is also available as a separate non-beta download, and it's worth the effort. In addition, there is an Internet backup feature that saves files to a McAfee Web site. The site provides up to 1 GB of online storage with the option to purchase additional space, but the purchase option and pricing are not available during the beta period. By default, the backup saves only the files in the My Documents directory, but an Explorer-like interface lets you add other folders to be saved.

Beyond just security, Total Protection also simplifies access to several system maintenance tasks. It includes junk file cleanup, removal of privacy-related data such as auto-complete data or browser cookies, and a registry cleaner. Now, with the release of McAfee Total Protection and Symantec Norton , the differences among these three super security suites are revealing. McAfee and Symantec offer many more unique features than Microsoft which is new to the consumer security arena.

Overall, we found OneCare doesn't provide as many unique features and often repackages tools already available for free within the Windows operating system, windows Defender, or within Internet Explorer 7. And Windows Live OneCare fails the latest independent antivirus testing.

Like the other super security suites, the price for Windows Live OneCare includes installation on up to three different PCs for example, two desktops and a laptop. The Windows Live OneCare interface lacks icons, graphics, and sophistication. A toolbar across the top displays current system status and alerts, such as a reminder to activate your service if you are still in trial mode.

The left-hand navigation offers to start a scan for viruses and spyware, start a backup, restore from a backup, configure options, and seek help. Each of these modules displays a color-coded status and a brief explanation with an option for more details. Upon reboot we found no registry entries and no system folders for OneCare.

Unique to Windows XP users are Microsoft's own antivirus engine, two-way firewall protection, and backup and recover. Within Windows Vista, only the antivirus engine is unique; the two-way firewall and the backup and restore are features built into Windows Vista. The Microsoft antivirus engine is based on GeCAD technology, a Romanian security company that the software giant bought several years ago.

Unlike the antivirus applicationss from McAfee and Symantec, Microsoft's antivirus protection is basic and only allows you to configure what drives to scan, how to scan them, and how to handle infections if any. There are no options for heuristics , antirootkit protection, or any of the bells and whistles we've come to expect from more mature antivirus products on the market today. For antispyware protection, Microsoft includes its Windows Defender technology, which anyone can download for free.

For antiphishing, antirootkit, and behavior monitoring, OneCare uses Internet Explorer 7, which is also available for free. Windows Live OneCare brings two-way firewall protection to Windows XP, however, we could find very little direct evidence. Archived Forums. Sign in to vote. Friday, August 22, PM. PC Safety Scan is a quick way to check for and remove viruses. This phone number is for virus and other security-related suppor free of charge.

I hope this helps, Lori MS. Monday, August 25, PM. Agreed, Barnsie. I don't know what else to make of it. Good health to you all, Darrel. Thursday, September 11, PM. Friday, September 12, PM. Terms of Use.