The main rival to Norton AntiVirus in the UK, McAfee VirusScan is a popular program that you'll see in the shops and preinstalled on PCs. In previous tests it's been a close-run thing between these two, with the end result coming down to a few pounds on renewal fees or the odd missed Trojan.
In this regard there is no change. They both cost the same, as McAfee has put up its prices. Their detection
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rates are similar, although VirusScan caught one extra Trojan. We're not happy the two market leaders missed Trojans you could encounter on the internet. The fact VirusScan found this extra Trojan gets it an extra point.
We were tempted to remove the point for the outdated interface. Last year McAfee highlighted the package's new interface (changed from blue to red). It hasn't even bothered with a colour change this time.
You only need to register the software once when you install it. But McAfee's system is annoying and clunky. It relies on ActiveX and pop-ups that add unnecessary complexity to getting updates you've paid for. Now Windows XP Service Pack 2 includes protection against sites opening pop-up windows in Internet Explorer, you may struggle just to get things working.
VirusScan is OK, but other programs look nicer, work better and cost less. If you have a copy installed, wait until the year of updates expires then switch to one of our award-winners.
SPECIFICATIONS:
ANTI-VIRUS SOFTWARE Requires Windows 98 or later, Pentium 150MHz processor, 32MB RAM, 40MB disk space
