McAfee Internet Security 2010

Posted 04/14/2010 at 4:18pm | by Paul Lilly

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Rodney Dangerfield of AV finally earns our respect

When McAfee told us it completely re-engineered its security suite from top to bottom, we agreed to include it in this roundup knowing full well we had probably been duped like the guy who drives off the used-car lot without a warranty. We were wrong.

To our eyes, this is a completely revamped McAfee. MIS 2010 rolls off the lot with a much-improved UI over previous versions, and manages to balance ease of use with a high level of customization. For those who care to do so, McAfee makes it easy to dig deeper into each of the main menu’s modules, but you’ll never feel lost or overwhelmed.

McAfee's redesigned home screen now includes a big green bar intended to give you warm fuzzies when your system is free from malware.

Underneath the hood sits a more performance-oriented engine than what you would expect from a McAfee product. Where last year’s version felt like a dilapidated Pinto, the 2010 model has all the makings of a sporty sedan. To reduce the time it takes to scan a system, McAfee caches files and puts together a white list of files it can safely skip. Depending on how clogged your hard drive is, McAfee claims this can result in up to eight-times-faster scans (we saw a 50 percent improvement).

Adding value to an already fleshed-out security suite, McAfee includes a few thoughtful extras, including 1GB of online backup space. There’s also a QuickClean module, which streamlines the process of deleting temporary files, and a file shredder for more securely deleting your data.

McAfee cruised through our malware tests with little incident—that is, until it let a malicious file write a registry entry blocking access to the Task Manager. To McAfee’s credit, it did neutralize the actual virus responsible, but the fact that it let a program write to our registry worries us, and cost the product a 9 verdict and a Kick Ass award.

<< Back to the Antivirus App Roundup Page

• Norton Internet Security 2010
  

• ESET Smart Security 4
  

• Avira AntiVir Free Edition
  

• Microsoft Security Essentials

• Avast! Internet Security
  

• Trend Micro Internet Security Pro 3.0

• BitDefender Internet Security 2010

• Panda Internet Security 2010
  

• Comodo Internet Security Pro

McAfee Internet Security 2010

The Good

Reduces scan time by creating a list of files it can safely skip. 1GB online backup space. Customizable UI.

The Bad

It allowed a malicious file to write a registry entry.

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