McAfee Internet Security 5 review

McAfee is finally getting the balance right with its PC security software. It traditionally held the view that more is better, resulting in bloated software bundles with extraneous utilities. Not so with the new Internet Security 5 package - the key components are VirusScan Home Edition 7 and Firewall 4, along with measures to prevent private information on your PC being accessed or sent over the Internet. The inclusion of file shredder and clean-up utilities shows McAfee still can't resist throwing in a few extra toys, but these don't hinder general operation.

A brief interview phase during installation asks for personal and financial details that Internet Security 5 can prevent from leaving your PC. You can also declare extra users, which allows parental controls to be applied that automatically check website content, only allow specific apps to run, monitor newsgroups and block access to chatrooms. With this activated, you'll now get two logon prompts at start-up - one for Windows, and a second for Internet Security 5 to determine what security to enforce.

A single interface offers easy access to the three main components, and a home page for each provides a rundown on status, alerts and messages. Firewall settings can be accessed instantly from any home page, so you can block all traffic, apply filtering with a single mouse click or view a graph of network traffic.

Firewall 4 is probably the most complex piece of the suite, as it requires instructions about which apps should be allowed to communicate with other PCs or the Internet. When a dubious activity is spotted, the software throws back a pop-up window showing what the violation is and requests an action - something the A-Listed BlackICE PC Protection (see Reviews, issue 93, p134) does automatically. However, McAfee makes a valiant effort to explain what it all means and, once it's been dealt with, you'll only be troubled by the alerts in the System Tray.

A new backtracking tool is provided, but during testing we found BlackICE to be far more proficient at gathering information about intruders. However, general Internet activity now comes under much closer scrutiny, and Internet Security 5 offers plenty of tools for clean-up operations. You can cover your online tracks more easily, most recently used file lists can be automatically cleaned, as can browser histories, while strict cookie controls provide more than a crumb of comfort.

The Home Edition of VirusScan loses a few of the Professional Edition's features, but still offers good anti-virus measures. A real-time scanner checks files on creation, renaming, copying or execution, and will block access if it detects any dubious coding. Email attachments don't escape either, and McAfee's HAWK (hostile activity watch kernel) adds an extra layer of safety by rooting out suspicious email activity.

The main competition undoubtedly comes from Symantec's Norton Internet Security suite, which offers seemingly identical features at a similar price. However, Norton is a better choice if virus protection is your main priority, as it includes the A-Listed Norton AntiVirus 2003 (see opposite), whereas McAfee gets the thumbs-up for its superior firewall measures, which we found easier to use than Norton's. It's a case of your priorities really, but with its accessible components and everything integrated into a neat interface, Internet Security 5 is a well-priced and complete security solution.

Author: Dave Mitchell