Operating behind the scenes are some useful new tools: McAfee SystemGuards and McAfee X-ray for Windows. McAfee SystemGuards are behavioural monitors that check for unusual system activity and enlist the appropriate protection when necessary. McAfee X-ray for Windows detects and removes rootkits, malicious code that hides deep within the Windows system kernel. McAfee's current approach to both the behavioural analysis and rootkit prevention is conventional, and perhaps future releases of McAfee Internet Security will include more advanced enterprise technology from Citadel, a recent McAfee acquisition.
Speaking of acquisitions, we like McAfee SiteAdvisor, a superior antiphishing tool McAfee acquired last year. SiteAdvisor plugs into both the Firefox and Internet Explorer browsers. In informal testing, SiteAdvisor was more aggressive than the native antiphishing tools within Firefox and Internet Explorer. For our tests, we looked at five recently identified phishing sites posted on DSLReports.com/phishtrack; Firefox and Internet Explorer both identified four of the five as suspicious, but SiteAdivsor identified all five, as did our control application, the stand-alone Netcraft toolbar. McAfee SiteAdvisor is available as a stand-alone application either for free or with additional features for a fee.
McAfee's Parental Controls feature includes new methods of discerning and blocking offensive images from e-mails. Despite the name, even households without children may have use for this feature. Norton makes its parental controls optional, via download, but ZoneAlarm includes them within its suite.
Despite the increasing popularity of wireless networks in the home, none of the Internet security suites we've reviewed this year has included the ability to configure WEP or WPA protection on common household wireless routers. McAfee comes the closest, however, selling a stand-alone McAfee Wireless Protection app. We see little point in this product selling on its own, although it is included the much more complete McAfee Total Protection package. It belongs within the Internet suite.
Performance
McAfee VirusScan improves its scores on ZDNet Australia sister site CNET.com Labs' performance tests over those of last year in all cases, except in our boot-time test. On our iTunes test, VirusScan Plus gained ground compared with last year, taking 196 seconds as opposed to 243 seconds last year. On our Sorensen Squeeze test, VirusScan Plus also improved, taking 329 seconds compared to 337 seconds last year. McAfee showed the most improvement with individual file scans, taking only 116 seconds this year as opposed to 368 seconds last year. But in terms of boot speed, McAfee lost the most ground, taking 88 seconds -- the most of any antivirus product we tested; it took 62 seconds last year.
To determine how well a product will protect your PC, we refer to test results from two leading independent antivirus testing organizations. In the latest test results from AV-Comparatives.org, McAfee VirusScan 2006 earned an Advanced (second-highest) rating, catching 92 percent of all malware tested, and from Checkvir.com, McAfee VirusScan 2006 was one of eight products to earn its Standard (highest) rating.
Suppport
Like Symantec, McAfee put its resources into improving its technical support. Unlike Norton Internet Security 2007, McAfee Internet Security Suite 2007 doesn't offer any downloadable manuals. And unlike both Trend Micro and ZoneAlarm, McAfee doesn't include a tutorial. What McAfee does provide is a contextual knowledge base, asking you a series of questions. Should the knowledge base fail to answer your question, you're taken to another window where a remote scan will attempt to diagnose what is wrong. If none of these solutions work, you're given more options, including online chat, user forums and e-mail.
Despite the interface redesign, McAfee Internet Security Suite 2007 feels like a grab bag of security and system performance tools. By refocusing its product line on antivirus plus firewall, Internet security and total protection, McAfee is on the right path, but McAfee Internet Security Suite 2007 feels heavy, resourcewise, without having any new technologies added. The code for next year should be leaner, should run with fewer processes across all computers, and should include some advanced rootkit and behavioural monitors, such as those found in Norton Internet Security 2007. And McAfee needs to simplify its interface even more next year, dispensing with the two tables of content and submerging the eye candy in favour of the tools that are most useful. In our opinion ZoneAlarm Internet Security 7 remains the only Internet security suite that strikes the right balance between overall ease of use and the right tools for today's threats.
McAfee Internet Security Suite 2007
Company: McAfee
RRP: AU$99.95
7%
3%
Not only does it "clean" those files mentioned, it totally wipes out your "Sent" folder. So if you archive there for job tracking purposes, forget it. Because it also wipes out ALL of your restore points on XP! So no way to recover what it destroys. Even their own technicians don't seem to be aware of this.