McAfee Internet Security 2009

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Introduction

McAfee has the desktop market share of about one third and is now the second place after Symantec. Although the updates over the years have increased, the detection was always behind and chased McAfee in recent years.

Fortunately for the manufacturer, the security technology is not stopped and there was an in-the-cloud technology developed by McAfee called Artemis. Checksums of PE files into a central server and there are dangerous and safe compared with stocks. One technology that perhaps with some variations by other manufacturers is used. Strangely enough Artemis is not standard in the desktop products from McAfee, but a separate installer executed.

Anyway, just look back. In 2004, for the first time with McAfee Security Center as part of its suite. The security center served as a replacement for the Windows Security Center and was also available as separate download.

Where everything is blue in 2004, was suddenly all red in 2005. And not a little red, very red. Also, the suite is still a virus scanner called VirusScan, Personal Firewall called a firewall, a spam filter called Spam Killer and Privacy Service called parental supervision.

Much is something that is not changed, because even in version 2009, those components still exist. But what is there or just changed? You read in this review.

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Installation and interface

The installation of McAfee is very simple, but very limited. You necessarily not need to choose the location you want to install, the only thing that may be chosen which components should be installed. Once you have chosen is first quickly checked on the PC malware present.

If you are an old version of McAfee Internet Security (or any McAfee product you use) and this is on a CD-ROM, then during the installation automatically checks for newer versions and is also immediately installed. In our test worked, although McAfee itself, but oddly enough not the latest version.

After the installation is completed must be recorded you will receive updates And that is your natural. The installation takes about five minutes on the McAfee download servers are not so quick and amazing it took about half an hour before the 40 MB of files were inside.

McAfee Internet Security 2009 is not one of the fastest suites. After install start the PC up to 50 seconds slower. The RAM usage of the suite is approximately 100 MB and a scan takes to convert an AVI file eight seconds longer than normal. Without scan, it takes only two seconds longer, which in turn a quick time. In the performance test of Pass Mark McAfee is down about the same bus. The suite was the second slowest and got only 77 points of 204.

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Interface & design
The registration is completed then the well-known McAfee Security Center and you will know the interface of the program is very striking. Gray and gray, perhaps industrial. Compared to last year and the year is almost nothing changed. A conscious choice McAfee because the user does not want to confuse everything each year at a different location to continue.

What is also striking is the status of the program. Is everything okay, you'll see the big green check in mid-top of the screen. However, a crucial part off, then that check a large cross and a button that lets you offer all the security problems can resolve.

There are four categories in which McAfee protects your computer and files, internet & network, e-mail & IM, and parental supervision. When you click one of these parts, appears in the right services for the safety of the care component and what do not. Moreover, there are two menus in the security center. A basic and advanced menu. The basic menu is missing some links to tools.

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Antivirus and firewall

In the field of viruses found McAfee scores the last years mediocre And unfortunately, that this year is no different. To increase the effectiveness of McAfee VirusScan, the antivirus component of the Internet Security version to provide, I quote again AV Comparatives.org. It took a score of Standard and managed 84.4 percent of the malware to cope. However, it should be noted that McAfee and Microsoft gave the least false positives.

The detection story changes in the installation of the McAfee Active Protection plugin for the edition of last year is available. Active Protection is a cheap name for Artemis. After the installation of this plug-in retrieves McAfee suddenly a detection score of 99 percent, with a lot more false positives but there is to work.

Other approvals that McAfee has been composed of multiple VB100% awards and ICSA Labs and West Coast Labs certification for virus detection and removal. AV-Test.org was slightly less positive about VirusScan. It got a rating 'Very Good' for FPs, 'Good' for pro-active detection and 'Moderate' on-demand detection of viruses and spyware. This test was not Artemis.

Out-of-the-box detection is so against, but with the above extension, this simple toppers as Norton and Kaspersky at. It is expected that not long before McAfee desktop products default decision to equip with this new technology.

Once a virus is downloaded from the web, goes directly into McAfee and reset the download stop. Even when performing a virus is immediately quarantined. The same goes for virus attachments sent or added via e-mail. Remarkable detail is that when all was protection, McAfee has added Annex virus detected and placed in quarantine.

If the computer scanned to be something that happens by default every week but there are plans can be chosen from a quick scan, complete or custom scan. During the scan, however, was the interface of the program several times down. And there are more problems. The user can take a scan items that could not automatically be solved. At one time McAfee has simply said that the file is not removed and could be called almost literally dead fun 'next scan better.

About the test drive did McAfee 7 minutes and 42 seconds. A pretty good time for the top of the test suites ends. Many suites do about this test drive about ten minutes, with the fastest Panda 2009 that 5 minutes did.

The update of the program is very simple. Where in earlier editions, Internet Explorer should be launched via ActiveX program to work, it's this time with a simple push of a button and a icon in the taskbar appears, which means that all updates are installed. Checking for updates is already automatic. McAfee VirusScan receive on a daily virus definition updates.

Firewall

You could almost forget that McAfee Internet Security also includes a firewall if you use the program. When using a Windows XP PC, there appeared not a pop-up that asked what it had to do with a particular program. There is a good database of good and bad programs available in the McAfee firewall. Sole point of concern is how well the firewall is resistant .

In a test got the firewall level 2, which is the second lowest level. It was the McAfee product as simple as possible, to the detriment of the firewall. However, it should be noted that this is a logical decision because most users are unable to decide which program is and what not connect to the Internet may take.

By default, the firewall mode automatically, which means that all outgoing traffic is allowed. Is the level higher than standard to both inbound and outbound traffic monitored, and the firewall on stealth than the computer invisible on the Internet.

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Antispam and parental control

Antispam

Where the other components a bit from the paint will know the spam filter correctly or to convince. First there is integration with Windows Mail, Outlook Express, Microsoft Office Outlook, Eudora and Thunderbird, and spam can be filtered in POP3, webmail, POP3 and IMAP accounts.

The filter can work with five different levels. It is also possible to set up filters, friends to add, import address books and decide what to do with the spam to be done. The results speak for themselves McAfee has worked on the spam filter in version 2009 of its suite. Half a percent of all legitimate e-mail was mistakenly marked as spam, compared to one percent of spam in the inbox was right. Very good results.


Antispam settings

Parental Controls
McAfees parental supervision is almost unchanged from last year, which is unfortunate. Like the competition McAfee linking accounts to Windows accounts. Once set up to search engines, websites (by age groups and by types of sites) and images are filtered. A function that works only moderately.

There may even still be added as well as websites banned keywords. It is also possible to time for users to submit. Through a scheme to hours every day of the week selected and blocked or allowed.

The selection of hours and days not worked. When you click on an hour is only red (which means that that day is blocked) if your in a down with the scroll bar on the right. It took a while to figure how exactly it, but it is very annoying.

Parental supervision only works on non-administrator accounts. On Windows Vista, this is not a problem on Windows XP, many programs are not in a limited user account thus leads to problems. According to McAfee has taken this decision because otherwise the children will circumvent parental supervision.

Other Security

To the identity on the Internet to use the McAfee SiteAdvisor tool, which in 2006 was available. Site Advisor works in both Mozilla Firefox and Internet Explorer, but that's included. The small plug-in is not of itself anti phishing tool, but just after or websites are safe or not. That is if they do not distribute spam and malware. Although this is a very good idea, it works in practice is not always optimal.

Thus has it that secure websites is a yellow rating, and that again sites a green rating, because the whole Web Site Advisor and therefore may take a while before a site is reviewed.

McAfee SiteAdvisor is also phishing protection, but uses a different test mechanism. If a phishing site is detected, the user is redirected to another page. This message can always be circumvented. Contains McAfee Internet Security 2009 free version of Site Advisor, and the plus version only for the Total Protection edition of the McAfee software. Last year you got Site Advisor Plus with the security suite from McAfee

Back-up & other tools
As one of the few is McAfee in his package backup tool built. Well built, it's a program in a separate interface to be launched. Back-ups can only McAfee Backup and Restore stored on a CD, DVD, hard drive or network location, and not as with other competitors in an online location. It is also possible to place in the monitor and back-up plan.

Standard searches McAfee files in six categories: e-mail, images, documents, videos, music and financial files. In all these categories are all supported file formats, but these are all enabled by default .

Another tool that has the McAfee suite, is a network to other PCs with McAfee software to manage. In this network, all devices and the one with the McAfee software is also the status of the Security Center appears. If something is not correct, then this remote will automatically be resolved. The options are not very extensive. However it is possible to EasyNetwork files and devices with other computers on the network share. Easy Network operates as a separate application and has very little to do with security.

Other tools are visual tracking attackers, password safe to ensure that sensitive information should not put the PC left and a traffic monitor that the current network traffic from the PC display.

The last extra tool to maintain your computer. In this section of the Security Center is a link to the disk defragmentation application. Also McAfee Quick Clean, which the computer can be cleaned up. Quick Clean is very similar to the clearance standard tools of Windows, but for more. There is also a registry, ActiveX, file cache and browser history cleaner available. In addition, files can be removed safely, so they are very difficult to get back. Quick Clean can destroy files seven times

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Conclusion

McAfee Internet Security 2009 is still one of the most extensive suites today on the market available. The main components, the personal firewall and protection against malware falls a bit against. Except where Artemis is activated, then suddenly McAfee top virus detector.

Parental supervision is very good, albeit not very extensive and also contained a rather annoying problem. That seems now to be resolved. It works only on limited user accounts and also can be problematic. Very different is the in the spam filter, which greatly improved this year and scored very well.

Besides a few extra tools and free protection for the mobile phone to a McAfee Internet Security license, the suite also has as one of the few backup component. But whether this can create other problems, I think not.

Plus Points
Very extensive.
Good spam filter.
Artemis provides good detection.
Personal firewall stopped.
Back-uptools.

Downsides
Personal firewall is not resistant to leak test.
Virus detection without Artemis leaves to be desired.
Slow and some bugs.



Developer:McAfee License: Up to 5 PCs

Antivirus: 7.5
Firewall: 6.5
Parental control: 8.0
Antispam: 9.0
Performance: 7.0