McAfee 2010 Internet Security

Internet Security Suite

McAfee 2010 Internet Security

Verdict: Even with its minor issues, McAfee Internet Security 2010 is a decent product to own, provided you overlook its overall memory consumption when idle.

Specifications

Rs 2,499 (3 users)

www.mcafee.com

System Requirements

OS: Windows XP SP2 / Vista / 7; RAM: 256 MB; Disk space: 200 MB

Contact     McAfee India

Phone       080-66569000

Email custserv_apac@mcafee.com

McAfee has been under the scanner of late, not only for their product’s user interface that they’ve kept unchanged for approximately two years, but also for being a memory hog. However, the new McAfee Internet Security 2010 is slicker and easier to use. Installation was a breeze, but not quite the fastest. It takes a good 10 to 15 minutes to install, which is quite long considering that competing products install in less than 5 minutes.

However, compared to previous versions, the interface has a very refreshed and clean look that allows you to navigate easily. But while the new interface is surely smoother, it may take a little time to get used to. The face of the security suite gives a quick overview of the status of your machine, where a green bar signifies a protected machine, while red indicates that real-time scanning or firewall is disabled. However, irrespective of the status bar, the interface itself shows the status of individual items, such a real-time scan, updates, firewall, and subscription.

The bottom half displays a whole list of features that, again, can be accessed with ease; something that the previous versions failed to deliver. The features include virus and spyware protection, web and e-mail protection, data protection and backup, home network, and PC optimization. Besides this, you can also access and configure individual settings without much of a hassle. For advanced users however, this little suite might just not suffice, as there actually isn’t much to change. What you get with McAfee Internet Security, is a very basic security suite that doesn’t need too much interference to have it up and running. As always, the Internet Security Suite comes with the normal QuickClean and Shredder options. As the names suggest, QuickClean allows you to delete unwanted shortcuts and temporary files, while you can use the Shredder to delete files beyond recovery.

What will really get on your nerves, though, is making modifications to the overall settings. Firstly, you can’t go back to the menu that you came from. This forces you to close the configuration window, which takes you back to the applications interface. A navigation button that displays a detailed list of features is also provided, but again, it’s inconsistent when accessing various settings. Secondly, the screen has a limited viewing area and it cannot be maximized, thus leaving you to scroll a lot. In comparison, it might not have a flashy interface to match that of Norton or Kaspersky, but it does a good job at securing the PC it is installed on.

Taking performance into consideration, McAfee Internet Security was pretty much at par with the competition. There were no noticeable system slowdowns that normally affect the overall performance of the system. The major drawback was the time taken to install the product. Another point of concern was its memory consumption. Irrespective of its overall performance, 90 MB when idle is a little too much to be comfortable with. The firewall doesn’t get in your face, and automatically assigns settings required for applications that need Internet access. Moreover, the suite also comes with a parental control feature that allows you to set permissions, allowing you to specify browsing schedules and filter unwanted sites for a specific user.

McAfee Internet Security 2010 might not be an award-winning product, but you really need to give credit to the fact that they’ve finally let go of an interface that never saw change for approximately two years. 

– sandeep.balachandran@chip.in