# Scam e-mails about antivirus software: Why always McAfee? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [August 10, 2023, 10:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scam-e-mails-about-antivirus-software-why-always-mcafee/988375 "2023-08-10T22:08:50Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Schnitte](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/schnitte/32/9033_2.png) [@Schnitte](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Schnitte)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2023, 10:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scam-e-mails-about-antivirus-software-why-always-mcafee/988375/1 "2023-08-10T22:08:50Z")
I regularly get e-mails about the upcoming expiry of my antivirus software, urging me to take action to stay protected. The e-mails are easily recognisable as scam or at least phishing attempts. But one thing that puzzles me about them is that the software that they pretend to be about is _always_ McAfee (which I have never had installed on my computer). Why is it that impersonating McAfee, as opposed to any of the countless competing products, is so popular among scammers? ---
**Author:** ![snowthx](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowthx/32/10660_2.png) [@snowthx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snowthx)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2023, 10:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scam-e-mails-about-antivirus-software-why-always-mcafee/988375/2 "2023-08-10T22:13:58Z")
It may be because McAfee is a name associated with anti-virus stuff, perhaps more than any other. Scammers assume everyone has heard of McAfee, and that most people consider their computer an appliance and don’t really know what’s installed. ---
**Author:** ![Cervaise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cervaise/32/16693_2.png) [@Cervaise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cervaise)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2023, 8:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scam-e-mails-about-antivirus-software-why-always-mcafee/988375/3 "2023-08-11T08:37:37Z")
McAfee is preloaded on many computers and/or comes as a “bonus” application with many packaged software downloads. Anyone who knows anything about computers immediately disables and removes McAfee from their machine and installs real security software. Scams like this are not targeted at people who understand their computers, generally. Ergo, if you blast out a hundred million emails warning about McAfee, you will hit a nonzero number of recipients who still have the McAfee default installation and don’t know enough about the computer to recognize the nature of the scam. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2023, 12:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scam-e-mails-about-antivirus-software-why-always-mcafee/988375/4 "2023-08-11T12:57:14Z")
Don’t Norton and Kapersky and whatever Microsoft calls their product also often come bundled? ---
**Author:** ![FinsToTheLeft](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/finstotheleft/32/2930_2.png) [@FinsToTheLeft](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FinsToTheLeft)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2023, 1:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scam-e-mails-about-antivirus-software-why-always-mcafee/988375/5 "2023-08-11T13:05:12Z")
Microsoft Defender is free, so the user never sees popups about their bundled subscription expiring like you do with the others. As @Cervaise mentioned, McAfee is bundled far more than the others with new computers. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2023, 1:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scam-e-mails-about-antivirus-software-why-always-mcafee/988375/6 "2023-08-11T13:07:16Z")
> [@FinsToTheLeft](#): > > Microsoft Defender is free, so the user never sees popups about their bundled subscription expiring like you do with the others. It never actually expires, but what relevance is that to the scammers? Tell people that it’s about to expire and they need to pay, and about the same people will believe you as the ones who believe you about McAfee. ---
**Author:** ![FinsToTheLeft](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/finstotheleft/32/2930_2.png) [@FinsToTheLeft](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FinsToTheLeft)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2023, 1:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scam-e-mails-about-antivirus-software-why-always-mcafee/988375/7 "2023-08-11T13:12:34Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > It never actually expires, but what relevance is that to the scammers? Having dealt with the number of threats that an expiring McAfee subscription with increasingly dire warnings, they follow the same pattern as the scammers. ---
**Author:** ![Horatius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/horatius/32/3572_2.png) [@Horatius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatius)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2023, 1:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scam-e-mails-about-antivirus-software-why-always-mcafee/988375/8 "2023-08-11T13:21:39Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > It never actually expires, but what relevance is that to the scammers? Because McAfee has brand recognition, even among the less-knowledgeable computer users. People in the target demographic for these scams probably wouldn’t have heard about Windows Defender, but probably have heard about McAfee. The hit rate of such scams is so low, they have to target the largest possible group to make decent money. It’s the same reason there used to be so few viruses for Macintosh computers - they just weren’t common enough to be worth the effort. ---
**Author:** ![RitterSport](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rittersport/32/6326_2.png) [@RitterSport](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RitterSport)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2023, 2:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scam-e-mails-about-antivirus-software-why-always-mcafee/988375/9 "2023-08-11T14:33:51Z")
I think I’ve seen similar scam emails for Norton. If you’re not expert enough to immediately rip out the pre-installed Norton or McAfee software, about a month in, you’ll start getting legitimate warnings that your free trial is going to expire and you better pay up to stay protected. So, the uninformed have probably already seen such warnings, but from the slightly less scammy AV companies themselves. ---
**Author:** ![Frodo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/frodo/32/302_2.png) [@Frodo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frodo)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2023, 4:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scam-e-mails-about-antivirus-software-why-always-mcafee/988375/10 "2023-08-11T16:13:13Z")
> [@RitterSport](#): > > f you’re not expert enough to immediately rip out the pre-installed Norton or McAfee software, about a month in, you’ll start getting legitimate warnings that your free trial is going to expire and you better pay up to stay protected. That’s why I buy the laptops for all my family members (my mom, my sisters, my aunt), have them sent to my house, uninstall all bloatware, activate windows defender and _then_ give their laptops to them (they refund me for the laptop). ---
**Author:** ![RitterSport](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rittersport/32/6326_2.png) [@RitterSport](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RitterSport)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2023, 5:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scam-e-mails-about-antivirus-software-why-always-mcafee/988375/11 "2023-08-11T17:03:43Z")
Yeah, I do a lot of bloatware uninstalling myself. ---
**Author:** ![Hari\_Seldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hari_seldon/32/5173_2.png) [@Hari\_Seldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hari_Seldon)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2023, 10:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scam-e-mails-about-antivirus-software-why-always-mcafee/988375/12 "2023-08-11T22:14:19Z")
Remind me how to get rid of McAfee. I know I did it once, but I have forgotten. ---
**Author:** ![TroutMan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/troutman/32/6721_2.png) [@TroutMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TroutMan)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2023, 10:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scam-e-mails-about-antivirus-software-why-always-mcafee/988375/13 "2023-08-11T22:54:44Z")
Assuming you have windows, type “Programs” in the search bar at the bottom. Select **Add or remove programs** from the search results. You’ll see a list of installed apps. Type McAfee in the search bar and click Uninstall for all the McAfee programs. I provide this advice with the hope that you have some other protection on your computer. ---
**Author:** ![EinsteinsHund](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/einsteinshund/32/8400_2.png) [@EinsteinsHund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EinsteinsHund)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2023, 10:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scam-e-mails-about-antivirus-software-why-always-mcafee/988375/14 "2023-08-12T10:45:14Z")
> [@TroutMan](#): > > I provide this advice with the hope that you have some other protection on your computer. In Windows 10/11, if you uninstall a third party antivirus, Windows Defender is automatically activated. So you don’t have to worry ever being without protection. ---
**Author:** ![bob\_2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bob_2/32/3341_2.png) [@bob\_2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bob_2)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2023, 12:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scam-e-mails-about-antivirus-software-why-always-mcafee/988375/15 "2023-08-12T12:14:14Z")
> [@TroutMan](#): > > You’ll see a list of installed apps. Type McAfee in the search bar and click Uninstall for all the McAfee programs. That’s fine but there will be some stray files left. I would download the free version (you may want to upgrade later) of Ccleaner and run the healthcheck followed by the registry cleanup - it will offer a backup and you should do that before letting it do its stuff. (Just because I never had a problem, doesn’t mean nobody else will.)