@ About and Virus protection @

I bought this software because I thought at least if I get a virus, this thing will remove them, and it when it scans files it won't let me download them when it sees them. Unfortunately I have had a few problems with the software since installation.

The first problem occurred when I downloaded some work files, it kept telling me the files were infected, and then immediately after downloading them I scanned and they were clean. A little over sensitive perhaps, but I continued to download since I knew they were from a trusted source.

The next problem is the complexity of the software. When you load it up you are given a menu of several different options, followed by more menus and different settings and options. There is also an advanced menu which is mostly in jargon I can't understand and has options which don't make any sense, for example, it asks if you want to block all third party cookies. No need for this, since my Internet browser does it for me. That would just cause a fight between the two if one has a set of instructions different to the other.

The software likes to take over and keep nagging you when you haven't run a scan for a while, try to download anything at all, and then gives you lots of pop ups about internet security certificates when the site is clearly clean and after scanning, has left no viruses.

@ Scans and Accuracy @

Mcaffee does at least give you the option to choose the scan you want on your computer, and if you have lots of files you don't want to be running a full scan all the time so you can pick out files to scan, or if you don't have time, you can run a quick scan which for me takes 30 minutes. A full scan lets mcaffee run through all of your files and seek out viruses and spyware, but this takes an age to complete.

For me I have returned to the computer after three whole hours since I hit start and it was still running. If you run a full scan regularly though work doesn't build up and it won't take as long. You can also set it to run scans in the background and perform what it calls "scheduled scans" so you can set it to run a full scan every Thursday at 23:00 hours if you know you will be online then. Very convenient way to not forget a virus scan.

Actually detecting spyware is a downfall for mcaffee because when I ran spybot search and destroy immediately after my first full scan it came up with a few things mcaffee had missed. (spybot found four pieces of spyware.) Not very accurate although it did pick up a few pieces from casino downloads.

@ Overall @

Not the best anti virus, and probably one of the most confusing. It does overreact a bit when you download things from the web but in a way this is useful because I'd rather have it nagging me than get infected. Smart software and on the whole, a little expensive - You can get cheaper anti virus software but Mcaffee does the job. It's not perfect so I would recommend getting used to the software when you install it at first to learn your way around and operate things you need to. E.g setting the auto scan.