♠ Posted by Unknown in Software Tips
PRICE WHEN REVIEWED
£80 inc VAT (unlimited, personally owned
devices, 1 year subscription)
MCAFEE LIVESAFE 2015
REVIEW
MacAfee
LiveSafe, the top level in Intel Security's internet
security range, has a particular feature which may make it uniquely
attractive – it covers as many devices as you can throw it at, as long as
they're all yours.
The security software may be primarily Windows PC-based, but
there are apps for OS X, Android and iOS offering various levels of protection
and you can install them in any combination that suits.
The control screen in LiveSafe
Internet Security, which is pretty much McAfee Internet Security 2015, is an
uninspiring, mainly text-based affair, with large tiles for four main
functions, including Your Subscription, and smaller ones for Data Protection,
PC and Home Network Tools, and Parental Controls.
We wonder at
these choices – will the average customer really be more interested in his/her
subscription status (which only changes once a year) than vulnerability testing
or parental control? Also see: Best internet
security software 2014.
MCAFEE LIVESAFE
2015: INTERNET SECURITY TOOLS
McAfee LiveSafe Internet Security
comprises AV and anti-spyware, web and email protection – including a two-way
firewall – and comprehensive, encrypted password management via SafeKey and
Personal Locker. This keeps a small number – 1GB across all your devices – of
sensitive documents safe, online. There's a web browser guard and transaction
protection, too
There are a few things missing
that some other vendors include in their IS suites, the most obvious being any
form of backup, local or online. McAfee Total Protection 2015 includes 5 GB of
online storage from Mozy, but this hasn't been carried through to LiveSafe. The
only mainstream backup is from the Android app to your PC. There's little in
the tune-up area, either, except a vulnerability scanner which looks for
out-of-date applications and drivers.
The Mac version
is a shadow of the PC one, although the Mac OS is generally screwed down
tighter against malware. It includes LiveSafe and SafeKey, which, in itself, is
more than iOS devices get. There, there's just SafeKey and Personal Locker,
where you can tap into that 1 GB of Cloud storage. Also see: Best antivirus
2014.
MCAFEE LIVESAFE
2015: ANDROID APP
The Android App includes
McAfee Mobile Security, which handles backup to PC, warns of dodgy websites and
can take photos and wipe data remotely, as part of an anti-theft regime.
There's also SafeKey and Personal Locker in this one.
When we ran tests on LiveSafe
Internet Security, it took 1 hour 30 minutes to scan our 50 GB test basket and
looked at 17,995 files, giving a scan rate of 3.33 files/sec.
This is the
slowest we've measured, although the McAfee scan is said to include rootkits,
which some others don't. Repeating the scan checked the same number of files,
so there's no noticeable fingerprinting. (See also: Should you pay for internet security software?)
The software doesn't seem to put
much of a resource hit on a PC, reducing the time for a 1 GB file copy by just
3 percent. This is reflected in the results from the German test site, AV-Test
(www.av-test.org). In its most recent group test of Windows 7 packages, McAfee
Internet Security, the malware engine inside LiveSafe, too, scored a perfect
18/18.
It didn't slow
the AV-Test machines at all during their more wide-reaching usage tests and in
the Protection category the software was 100 percent effective against its
malware collection, and 99 percent effective on zero-day attacks. Under
Usability it gave no false detections, warnings or blockages at any time during
testing. It's one of the best set of results the site has posted. Also see: Best internet
security software 2014.
SPECS
OUR VERDICT
If you run a couple of home Windows
PCs, a Mac, a tablet and a smartphone, or a similar combination, McAfee
LiveSafe 2015 is an economical way of protecting them all and providing
anti-theft facilities on the mobile devices. While the feature set of the IS
component of the package may lack back-up and PC tune-up, the power of its AV
protection can't be denied.
