# Should I pay McAfee to speed up my computer? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [June 17, 2024, 10:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-pay-mcafee-to-speed-up-my-computer/1003000 "2024-06-17T22:16:56Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![gnoitall](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bb73d2/32.png) [@gnoitall](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gnoitall)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2024, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-pay-mcafee-to-speed-up-my-computer/1003000/21 "2024-06-18T17:53:06Z")
FWIW, the title of the thread particularly brought extortion to mind, like “should I pay McAfee to go away and stop bothering me?” Thankfully, you can do that without paying them. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2024, 6:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-pay-mcafee-to-speed-up-my-computer/1003000/22 "2024-06-18T18:22:23Z")
McAfee has been bloatware for a long time. I don’t recall when that started but [there was an incident in 2010 in which an update bricked millions of computers running Windows XP.](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/McAfee#DAT_5958_update) ---
**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:** [June 18, 2024, 6:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-pay-mcafee-to-speed-up-my-computer/1003000/23 "2024-06-18T18:32:53Z")
> [@PastTense](#): > > If it’s a traditional disk drive replacing it with an SSD will speed your laptop up. Yeah, I recently got a new computer, and while I’m seeing improvements in a number of domains, the biggest is that, thanks to the SSD, everything starts up nearly instantly: Both the computer itself booting up, and apps opening. That said, dumping McAfee will probably also make a big difference in speed. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2024, 6:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-pay-mcafee-to-speed-up-my-computer/1003000/24 "2024-06-18T18:47:56Z")
What sucks is that McAfee can sometimes be a pain to uninstall. The uninstaller can often leave junk behind. [Here’s a guide](https://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/forum/all/guide-for-completely-removing-mcafee/5faf0655-10c1-4315-bc7b-2d91065e6a6a) that can help you if that happens. ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2024, 8:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-pay-mcafee-to-speed-up-my-computer/1003000/25 "2024-06-18T20:32:06Z")
> [@Skywatcher](#): > > McAfee has been bloatware for a long time. I don’t recall when that started In ‘99 when my professional IT career had first started (in a computer store) we were dealing with the ramifications of people installing a product called McAfee Safe & Sound on their computers and ruining them. It slowed their machines to a crawl, caused crashes, and often blocked them from doing regular tasks. It was like getting a guard dog to protect your home that attacked you every time it saw you. The software is so old I can’t find any info on it, but I did see a disk being sold on eBay as a collector’s item. No joke. [![](https://i.ebayimg.com/images/g/5iUAAOSwMSRddQ-U/s-l400.webp) ](https://i.ebayimg.com/images/g/5iUAAOSwMSRddQ-U/s-l400.webp) (That image is from the eBay listing.) So yeah, it started a long ass time ago. ---
**Author:** ![Shoeless](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shoeless/32/7099_2.png) [@Shoeless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shoeless)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2024, 10:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-pay-mcafee-to-speed-up-my-computer/1003000/26 "2024-06-18T22:19:45Z")
John McAfee himself tells you how to uninstall McAfee Antivirus. [https://youtu.be/yIaNZXgDtRU?si=ruTov7Ixd3xUUJ71](https://youtu.be/yIaNZXgDtRU?si=ruTov7Ixd3xUUJ71) (Link blurred - definitely NSFW) ---
**Author:** ![Mama\_Zappa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/71e660/32.png) [@Mama\_Zappa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mama_Zappa)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2024, 10:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-pay-mcafee-to-speed-up-my-computer/1003000/27 "2024-06-18T22:31:34Z")
Years back, I temporarily used a utility called ccleaner to identify junk and duplicate files on my laptop. I was stunned at how much crap there was. I don’t know that it sped things up any, but it didn’t hurt; if your hard drive is too full, tasks can be slowed down. I don’t know if that is still a reputable tool; IIRC, at the time it was free for a trial period. ---
**Author:** ![Mama\_Zappa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/71e660/32.png) [@Mama\_Zappa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mama_Zappa)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2024, 10:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-pay-mcafee-to-speed-up-my-computer/1003000/28 "2024-06-18T22:33:23Z")
> [@puzzlegal](#): > > My Dell came with McAfee pre-installed, too. And it took some work to remove it. McAfee must bribe the manufacturers to load it. They do indeed: [Pre-installed software - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pre-installed_software#:~:text=Often%20new%20PCs%20come%20with%20factory-installed%20software%20which,instructions%20on%20how%20to%20opt-out%20or%20remove%20them.) Oh, and anyone who DOES remove McAfee (or whatever), obviously make sure you have something else like Windows Defender turned on. ---
**Author:** ![Askance](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/askance/32/8281_2.png) [@Askance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Askance)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2024, 12:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-pay-mcafee-to-speed-up-my-computer/1003000/29 "2024-06-19T00:06:41Z")
> [@BigT](#): > > What sucks is that McAfee can sometimes be a pain to uninstall. The uninstaller can often leave junk behind. Most AV apps are deliberately made hard to fully uninstall, as that is what some malware tries to do. You should use free utilities like Ccleaner and Revo Uninstaller to make sure they are 100% gone. ---
**Author:** ![Askance](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/askance/32/8281_2.png) [@Askance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Askance)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2024, 12:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-pay-mcafee-to-speed-up-my-computer/1003000/30 "2024-06-19T00:07:58Z")
> [@Mama\_Zappa](#): > > anyone who DOES remove McAfee (or whatever), obviously make sure you have something else like Windows Defender turned on. WD ought to be enabled automatically when there is no other AV app installed. ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2024, 12:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-pay-mcafee-to-speed-up-my-computer/1003000/31 "2024-06-19T00:34:20Z")
> [@Askance](#): > > You should use free utilities like Ccleaner and Revo Uninstaller to make sure they are 100% gone. Revo is nice. I’ve used it multiple times to get rid of stuff that didn’t want to uninstall cleanly. And I use Windows Defender. I was using Malwarebytes (the paid version) until recently because that software has helped me find and remove malware (as part of my job) over the years and I figured hey, it should be good enough for my own computer too. Meh, even that slowed my system and was a pain at times. Not as bad as most but still. Defender is free, gets updated when Windows is updated (since it’s part of the OS) and does a remarkably good job of protection. And it’s part of Windows so it’s pretty seamless. Even my government agency I work at uses it now for our systems. That made me feel a lot better about swapping to it. ---
**Author:** ![Ulfreida](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ulfreida/32/8014_2.png) [@Ulfreida](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ulfreida)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2024, 12:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-pay-mcafee-to-speed-up-my-computer/1003000/32 "2024-06-19T00:35:51Z")
> [@ftg](#): > > IMHO, McAfee is the go-to company for slowing down your computer. Get rid of all McAfee software off your computer and don’t ever let it load on your computer again. THIS THIS THIS. I had a hell of a time scraping its nasty tentacles out of my laptop when I inadvertently invited it in. BAD NEWS. ---
**Author:** ![don\_t\_ask](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@don\_t\_ask](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/don_t_ask)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2024, 4:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-pay-mcafee-to-speed-up-my-computer/1003000/33 "2024-06-19T04:32:11Z")
I have used the free version of [Glary utilities](https://www.glarysoft.com/) for many years now. I do the occasional cleanup, it keeps all my software and drivers up to date. Once in a while I do something more exotic. I used to carry it, and a few other tools, around on a usb drive to clean up friend’s PCs while I visited those folks who never did any PC housekeeping. Often it made startling differences. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2024, 10:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-pay-mcafee-to-speed-up-my-computer/1003000/34 "2024-06-19T10:56:58Z")
> [@Askance](#): > > > [@Mama\_Zappa](#): > > > > anyone who DOES remove McAfee (or whatever), obviously make sure you have something else like Windows Defender turned on. > > WD ought to be enabled automatically when there is no other AV app installed. Yeah. I didn’t remember exactly what the chain of events was, but windows defender showed up with very little effort on my part. ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2024, 11:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-pay-mcafee-to-speed-up-my-computer/1003000/35 "2024-06-19T11:01:34Z")
> [@Mama\_Zappa](#): > > Years back, I temporarily used a utility called ccleaner to identify junk and duplicate files on my laptop. I was stunned at how much crap there was. > > I don’t know that it sped things up any, but it didn’t hurt; if your hard drive is too full, tasks can be slowed down. CCleaner used to really help when I had a tiny C: Drive which was constantly filling up with temp files. Clearing that space once a month definitely stopped it chugging. That was several years and two OS’s ago, though. I currently have a very large SSD and probably don’t need to police my Temp folder quite so much. ---
**Author:** ![Saint\_Cad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saint_cad/32/18907_2.png) [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2024, 12:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-pay-mcafee-to-speed-up-my-computer/1003000/36 "2024-06-19T12:47:18Z")
The McAfee company is as crazy-ass as John McAfee was. I think they only survive because of the reputation they built up with _Scan_ and _Clean_ 40 years ago. ---
**Author:** ![bobsmom101](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bobsmom101/32/2867_2.png) [@bobsmom101](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bobsmom101)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2024, 3:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-pay-mcafee-to-speed-up-my-computer/1003000/37 "2024-06-20T03:44:25Z")
OK, y’all have convinced me to dump McAfee when the current sub is up. But one of the reasons I subscribed to them many years ago was that they claimed the subscription would also “protect” my phone and tablet. So I looked at my account and they are still claiming that 5 “devices” are protected. I assume they include my current laptop, tablet, and phone plus a former phone and tablet. But nowhere in my account do they explicitly name any of the devices, and there aren’t any McAfee apps on my phone or tablet. Is this more smoke & mirrors? And how do I keep malware off the phone and tablet? I thought McAfee was doing it. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2024, 4:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-pay-mcafee-to-speed-up-my-computer/1003000/38 "2024-06-20T04:00:21Z")
I have trouble believing that McAfee is protecting any device that it isn’t installed on in the first place. ---
**Author:** ![DWMarch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dwmarch/32/1010_2.png) [@DWMarch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DWMarch)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2024, 4:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-pay-mcafee-to-speed-up-my-computer/1003000/39 "2024-06-20T04:01:08Z")
> [@bobsmom101](#): > > So I looked at my account and they are still claiming that 5 “devices” are protected. I assume they include my current laptop, tablet, and phone plus a former phone and tablet. But nowhere in my account do they explicitly name any of the devices, and there aren’t any McAfee apps on my phone or tablet. Your five devices are whichever ones you explicitly installed this software on and it will count devices that you are no longer using. I personally have never had any issues with malware on my phone. But I only get apps from the official (Google) app store. The worst things I have to deal with on my phone are advertisements because someone in the industry saw that scene in “Ready Player One” where the corporate guy said you could cover the screen in 90+ percent ads and decided that was a good idea. I haven’t done deep research into how to get an ad blocker going on a Pixel phone that will work across the whole system. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2024, 4:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-pay-mcafee-to-speed-up-my-computer/1003000/40 "2024-06-20T04:01:51Z")
> [@bobsmom101](#): > > there aren’t any McAfee apps on my phone or tablet See? They’re protected from it! [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-pay-mcafee-to-speed-up-my-computer/1003000.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-pay-mcafee-to-speed-up-my-computer/1003000.md?page=3)