McAfee Total Protection 2011, 3 User (PC)

I've had Mcafee on and off for 4 years now and whilst not so impressed a few years back Total protection 2010 and 11 are the best antivirus I've had. Baring in mind no antivirus is perfect the thing that mcafee seem to have got right with this is speed. Basically all I use are the antivirus and firewall, i dont really need the other bits although they function well enough.
Its quick on start up and if you uncheck the 'use minimum resources' box it scans way faster than anything else i've tried. I had Vipre Pro for a month trial and whilst it was pretty good at detection, it was sloooow on start up, very slow to scan (double the time of mcafee) and incredibley irritating to train .. constantly wanting your permission to do simple tasks. AVG was no better and had poor detection compared to this. Norton was a resource hog. I've got a lean mean fighting machine for a PC and I like to keep it that way and mcafee helps keep it speedy and clean as anything else out there.

It works fine on windows XP by the way.

a tip for buyers, turn your windows firewall off when installing this (and keep it turned off) seems to avert any conflicts and confusion in the OS.

I bought McAfee Total Protection from Amazon because it was a whole lot cheaper than buying direct from McAfee. I have been using this for about 5 or 6 years now, and I wouldn't change to anything else. It is definitely total protection, and it just runs quietly in the background. I got free Internet Security with my new laptop, but I still bought McAfee to use instead. I totally trust it, and have never had any problems with it. The technical support is easy to use, and the technicians are very helpful and soon sort any problems out.

MCAFEE TOTAL PROTECTION- EXPENSIVE DOOR LOCK BUT DOES NOT PROTECT YOUR WINDOWS

I bought this package in January for my new build. Loaded Windows7 and McAfee "Total Protection" the same day plus updates. Windows7 nearly gave me a minor heart attack but, seriously, there is nothing can happen with an install that hasn't happened to somebody else and a fix can't be found on the internet. Long story short, my baby was up and running by the end of the day. Every box checked, every maintenance task scheduled. I thought I was safe.

Until today!!

Now, maybe I am naive but I had this weird idea that "total protection" means total protection. Alas, not so at McAfee. Today my baby played up, she slowed right down and the mouse would not scroll. I thought, "maybe there's an update going on". I was relieved when a pop up stated that McAfee "Total Protection" had just "upgraded" and needed a restart. OK. I did a restart. Unfortunately, as soon as I was back in "windows" I was informed that my virus protection was turned off. I tried to turn it on via McAfee control panel but it turned off again almost immediately, over and over and over. I tried turning it on via the Windows control panel but that wasn't happening either. For a stop gap I turned on Windows Defender.

This is when I contacted McAfee's live-chat online help. I am so glad I didn't phone. One hour and a couple of customer service agents later, a "specialist" informs me that I have probably got a virus.(Duh) But McAfee can help...

£49.99 for a tune up
£59.99 for a technician to access my computer to seek out and destroy the virus.

Yes, £109.98 to fix something that should not have happened. Remember, new build...virus protection from day one...obsessive, compulsive ticking and scanning.

I pointed out that I had already paid to ensure protection.
Response-
"Viruses, spyware, malware and all kinds of nasties can sneak in via the internet. You can put expensive locks on you doors but they are wasted if your windows are open."

Yes, a McAfee technician actually wrote that.

Let me be clear. I am not a computer expert, I built a computer for fun and a natural progression from upgrading a couple of computers. I have been using the internet for ten years and never once had a viral infection simply because I used protection. McAfee so called "Total Protection" has a hole in it. If it were a condom I would sue. (Actually, I might look into that.)

I have fix my computer.
1. I uninstalled McAfee
2. Downloaded a free trial of AVG
3. Scanned my computer ... no recognizable virus but two corrupted files
4. Scanned for registry errors and junk files ... horrified by the number of broken and corrupted links and files (I had actually used McAfee's clean up tool not so long ago)
5. Unplugged my mouse and plugged it back in ... working just fine now

And finally, in my opinion, McAfee Total Protection is rubbish. I have used Norton in the past and it is clunky but it never let me down like this. Bullguard was also good, as was PC Tools software. Yes, I've tried a few.

Perhaps, I am being a little harsh but £110 to "fix" a problem that should not have happened. ie software not actually working, is a rip-off.