I’ve been running McAfee for virus protection for several years. Came with the computer, I’ve paid for the annual renewal, it usually updates itself when I connect to the internet (dialup connection) and generally did what it was supposed to do.
Somewhere in the last few months one of the fuckwits at McAfee made a small change to the update routine. If I don’t happen to connect to the internet for a few days it gives me warning message next time I boot the machine - as it always has. So I click on the big red M and check for updates manually, same as I have done for the last few years.
But now McAfee keeps coming back with the message “To install McAfee programs, you must download the McAfee Download Manager”. I don’t want o install a program you damn chimpanzee, I want to update the virus data file! I ran this download one time and on dialup it takes several hours. After it’s done, it then downloads the data file in about 5 minutes. I already have Download Manager, just send me the data I want!
I’ve tried their web site for help but the geniuses there have done an excellent job of insuring that it’s impossible to reach help in under 2 million keystrokes.!!
Get AVG. Get Ewido. Get them both FOR FREE before giving any money to the evil empire of Symantec.
Seriously.
Doors and Ford are right. AVG is better, and free, and if you really feel you must pay for software, you can get the commercial version of AVG/Ewido and it’s still a hell of a lot better than Norton and McAfee.
If I got the AVG, could I uninstall McAfee? I find that McAfee hogs the CPU for several minutes when logging in, apparently checking every single file on the machine. If I used AVG would I boot faster?
Absolutely. Yes to both questions. Install AVG first, then remove McAfee. SOP for the two Dell laptop purchases in the Prefect home. For the family and friends who want their computers optimized, replacing Norton or McAfee with AVG is the first step.
Has anyone else been using AVG anti-spyware? I love that app. I am going to purchase the license for the AVG Internet security for two computers for two years very soon. The anti-spyware pro version has much nicer automation. Since installing it, I have had no spyware that Spy-Bot or Ad-Aware have found.
Thanks to all for the suggestions. I’ve never suffered from the concept that I **must **pay for software, so I’ll download this tonight and kiss McAfee goodbye.
There is no benefit to running two anti-virus programs, since they all share information about new viruses that are found.
There are several potential problems, including using a lot of system resources, and possibly tripping over each other when both try to clean the same problem.
Just as an afterthought, after you uninstall McAfee you may want to run the AVG install again. Some AV programs uninstall competitors as part of the install process without telling you.
I don’t think that’s actually true. There are reasons why it may not be a good idea to use multiple AV programs, but they’re not all the same in terms of the malware they will effectively detect and remove. I’ve seen infected machines that needed a multi-pronged approach to completely disinfect.
I run AVG Pro on my laptop, and I can’t say enough good things about it. It does its thing automatically and I don’t even have to think about it. It also doesn’t hog system resources unless you have a very old system with next to no RAM. When I replaced my laptop, I was able to download it again without paying for a second license.
And, FTR, Norton came with my laptop. It had all sorts of problems downloading the new updates, so I uninstalled it. I am now a happy clam.
Since this is the Pit, home of the pile-on, don’t even fucking think of getting Norton! I actually use McAfee (it came with my laptop, I don’t find it very intrusive or hoggish, of course I have tweaked it some), however if you do feel it necessary to pay for software I recommendTrend Micro
Every complaint you had about McAfee applies to Symantec (Norton).
When I started this job, my predecessor had Norton installed, paid up subscription, etc. POS would pop up a window every freaking 2 minutes wanting it’s subscription paid, wanting to download crap, warning of doom if I didn’t. Only by leaving the GD pop-ups open, and moving them off the edge of the screen was I able to get any work done. Uninstalling that piece of garbage has been the single greatest improvement to this machine.
