McAfee Firewall Plus 2005 6.0 review:3 stars (Take the time to learn how to use it...) - The complaints from users here show, primarily, that they haven't made a sincere effort to learn how to use the product...

Splash Screen at Start-up:
I, too, wanted to disable this, but instead of complaining that I didn't know how to do it, I took the time to find the answer. Below are the instructions for version 6, on an XP Pro SP2 computer. If you're using a different operating system, these may or may not apply, but give it a try. If you're still using Service Pack 1, then you're just begging for trouble.

1- Right-click the McAfee tray icon (the "M" by the clock)
2- Select "Updates"
3- Click "Configure"
4- Click "Advanced" (...and from there, you'll find what you need.)


Another complaint was about the pop-ups; same thing - take the time to look at the settings, because you can change or disable these, too (by the way, the pop-ups annoying, but they're not advertisements; they're "alerts" from McAfee, warning about new threats, new updates, subscription expirations, etc.). If you want to disable them entirely (you'll get no warnings at all), follow the same steps outlined above, and you'll see the options for the Security Alerts settings. If you only want to see the important alerts ("Red Alerts"), right-click on the M, select Personal Firewall, then Utilities, then click on Alert Settings.

Another complaint concerned AOL not working w. McAfee Firewall. Personally, I would've deleted AOL before deleting McAfee, but that's a whole other issue... Very basically, firewalls restrict things from coming into & going out of your computer. They're usually pre-configured to allow certain essential things to work without restriction, but they can't read your mind. Sometimes, you'll have to tell it what you want to allow & disallow. So if AOL was working before you installed McAfee Firewall, and it didn't work after, you need to tell the firewall to allow AOL access, via the Internet Applications settings.

As for McAfee support, yeah, they're not so great. You're better off going to the Support Forum, where other McAfee users post questions & answers. Just Google "mcafee forums" and you'll find it.

I use McAfee Firewall because it was given to me, but there are better products out there. Do a little research, and if you find that McAfee's is the right one for you (and if you can get it for less than $20), you'll be fine; just take the time to learn the settings.1 stars (Macaffe Firewall) - I would never purchase Macaffee Firewall Plus 6.0 ever again. After I installed the product I could not connect to the Inernet using AOL. I called tech supportt ($2.95/minute) and could not resolve the problem after a twenty minute phone call. I uninstalled the Macafee Firewall and my AOL went back to working normal. If you are using XP service pack 1, do not purchase this product. If you do, you will spend endless hours trying to resolve the problems. Look elsewhere for a firewall product.3 stars (Essentially the same as version 5.0.) - McAfee's Personal Firewall Plus version 5.0 was almost unilaterally panned by everyone who reviewed it. I'm not sure the reviews are going to be much better this time around either.

As I stated in my title, version 6.0 is not much different from its predecessor. The only real change is the engine underneath the program. Only time will tell whether or not the improvements in this area are enough to satisfy the critics.

Before I get into anything else McAfee related, let me review the actual firewall program itself.

In May 2004, I finally moved out of the dark ages and moved from a dial-up connection to DSL. On the advice of a friend, I purchased a firewall program for the first time ever. Because I already used McAfee VirusScan (yes, I'm a glutton for punishment), I chose to buy Personal Firewall Plus version 5.0.

Unlike many of the reviews I read, I did not have any system problems as a result of installing or uninstalling version 5.0. So far, version 6.0 has not given me any problems either. The interface is very easy for me to use, the settings give me just enough adjustibility to do what I need to do, and I have never had a problem with the program starting itself when I boot-up my computer.

For someone like me, who is completely port illiterate, McAfee Personal Firewall Plus has done exactly what it is suppose to do: block the bad stuff from reaching my computer.

If I was rating the firewall only, I would give it a 5-star rating since I have never had a problem with it and it does what I need it to do.

Ah, but this is McAfee we are talking about. And when you buy a McAfee product, you also end up buying the stupidity of McAfee. There are three reasons why McAfee Personal Firewall Plus only gets a 3-star rating from me:

REASON 1: McAfee has a habit of messing up their programs through the update features, especially the Security Center pop-up advertisement, uh.... I mean feature, that automatically comes with all McAfee products. So far, none of their update bugs have affected me where Firewall Plus is concerned (wish I could say the same about their VirusScan product). But this is McAfee we're talking about, and I have full confidence that sooner or later they'll figure out how to screw up Firewall Plus during an update.

REASON 2: As reported by many a reviewer, McAfee's customer service department is a joke. Their live instant messaging service has yet to ever resolve a customer's problem (an overstatement, I'm sure...... but not by much). And their paid service isn't much better. I know many people who refuse to purchase anything McAfee because of past experiences with their customer service department. Can't say I really blame them.

REASON 3: I cannot stand the blatant McAfee advertisement that is known as Security Center. The splash screen that appears everytime you start your computer (and for which McAfee refuses to allow us to turn off) is nothing more than a pop-up advertisement that you pay to have installed on your computer. This splash screen is oh-so-nice in telling you what McAfee products you have yet to install on your computer. It doesn't matter if you are using a competitor's product. Security Center doesn't bother to check to see. It just forever tells you that you don't have McAfee this or McAfee that.

Bottom line: If you are having problems with Personal Firewall Plus 5.0, and you haven't already thrown McAfee out of your window for it, then go ahead and upgrade to 6.0. Otherwise, it's not worth spending the time or money to get this version.
McAfee Firewall Plus 2005 6.0 Features:
Computer software (programs)
Network (Networking)
Security
Internet security filter filtering
CD
Safeguards your online financial transactions
Protects your personal data from online intruders
Updates automatically to protect against new threats
Inbound-Outbound Monitoring

McAfee Firewall Plus 2005 6.0 is the CD-ROM version. The full version can be purchased by clicking on the "CLICK HERE TO ORDER" button below for around 34.99USD.