Getting started with McAfee Antivirus is quick and easy! Follow these simple steps to set up and start protecting your devices:

1. Download the Installer

Once you’ve purchased McAfee, log into your McAfee account or click the Download link from your email receipt. The installer will be downloaded to your device.

2. Install McAfee Antivirus

Open the downloaded file and follow the on-screen instructions.

Click Yes to grant permission for McAfee to make changes to your device (necessary for installation).

Accept the license agreement and select the install location if prompted.

3. Sign In or Create an Account

If you already have a McAfee account, sign in using your credentials. If you're new to McAfee, you’ll be asked to create a new account to activate your subscription.

Your McAfee account allows you to manage your subscriptions, device protection, and settings all in one place.

4. Complete the Setup

After installation, McAfee will automatically perform an initial system scan to ensure your device is clean and secure.

You may also be prompted to activate additional features, such as web protection and identity theft monitoring.

5. Customize Settings (Optional)

Access the McAfee Dashboard and adjust settings to fit your needs:

Real-Time Scanning: Make sure real-time protection is enabled.

Firewall Settings: Check the firewall configuration for added security.

Scheduled Scans: Set up automatic scans at convenient times.

Updates: Enable automatic updates to ensure you always have the latest virus definitions.

6. Start Using McAfee

McAfee will now run in the background, continuously protecting your device. You can also manually initiate scans, check security alerts, or adjust settings from the McAfee interface.

7. Install on Additional Devices (if applicable)

If your plan covers multiple devices, simply follow the same steps to install McAfee on your other devices (PC, Mac, smartphones, tablets).

8. Stay Protected with McAfee

Enjoy worry-free browsing, shopping, and online activities, knowing McAfee is actively working to keep your devices and personal data safe.

McAfee’s WebAdvisor consistently excels in this test, achieving a score of 100% both in its last evaluation and this one. Other products that also reached the 100% detection rate include Guardio, Trend Micro, Norton Genie (which focuses specifically on phishing), and the antivirus features of VPN-based security tools like NordVPN Plus and Surfshark One.

Additionally, McAfee’s macOS version also scored a perfect 100% when tested with the same samples.

McAfee's ransomware protection is integrated as an additional layer of real-time protection rather than functioning as a standalone feature.

I found a way to test McAfee's ransomware protection. I maintain hand-modified versions of all my samples to evaluate the flexibility of malware detection. For this test, I created a new set of altered samples that had never been seen before. McAfee successfully detected and eliminated most of these immediately upon launch, specifically identifying about half of them as ransomware.

If you haven't checked out McAfee’s antivirus in a few years, you'll notice that much has changed beyond just its appearance. For one, it no longer seeks out and fixes missing security patches; you'll need to handle that yourself. Additionally, the App Boost and Web Boost features, which were not crucial for security, have been removed.

McAfee used to feature a network tool called My Home Network. In previous versions, this allowed users to pair McAfee-equipped computers for remote management and identify devices on the network that lacked McAfee protection. However, remote management has been discontinued, and the current version of the antivirus no longer includes My Home Network.

McAfee’s Protection Center and Protection Score are designed to promote good security practices by rewarding users with higher scores, but these features are primarily relevant to McAfee’s security suite line. In the current standalone antivirus, there is no connection to the Protection Center.

It makes sense for McAfee to remove features that are infrequently used or challenging to maintain. However, for those who valued the now-removed features, their absence is likely to be disappointing.

McAfee’s designers are clearly refining which features users want the most. A couple of features that disappeared since my last review have made a comeback.

You might expect the Tracker Remover feature to prevent web ads and trackers from profiling you, but it actually focuses on cleaning up traces of your computer and browsing activity. The secure deletion tool, File Shredder, enables you to permanently delete sensitive files beyond the possibility of forensic recovery.

Anyone who gains access to your computer can create all sorts of issues. Even without malicious intent, they might snoop around and discover your activities. The Tracker Remover feature helps address this by wiping temporary files and emptying the Recycle Bin right off the bat. It also clears cookies and browsing history from Chrome, Edge, Firefox, and Internet Explorer. While similar features in other security applications may offer more comprehensive cleanup—such as erasing lists of recently used documents and browser cache files—McAfee’s scan is quick and straightforward.

When you delete a file in Windows, it goes to the Recycle Bin, allowing you to restore it if you realize you made a mistake. However, even after you delete a potentially incriminating file, authorities can confiscate your computer and recover that file in the same manner. Secure deletion, commonly referred to as file shredding, ensures that once you delete a file, it remains permanently deleted, even against forensic recovery methods.

You can right-click any file or folder and select "Shred" from the context menu, or you can open the File Shredder within the main app to shred the contents of the Recycle Bin, the temp folder, or any folder of your choice. Be cautious; once files are shredded, they are permanently gone. By default, McAfee performs two shredding passes, which is sufficient to thwart most file recovery software. If you believe authorities might conduct hardware-based forensic recovery on your computer, you have the option to choose three or five passes for added security.

You've seen how WebAdvisor can direct the browser away from websites that host malware and phishing scams. The browser extension also color-codes results in popular search engines, allowing you to quickly identify whether a site is safe, dangerous, or untested before you even click on it.

By default, McAfee only highlights results from its own Secure Search engine, which it actively encourages you to install. If you prefer to continue using Google, DuckDuckGo, or another popular search engine, you can easily adjust the settings. Simply click the WebAdvisor extension icon in the toolbar, then click the gear icon at the top. From there, select the Preferences tab and scroll down to choose the option that says, “Tell me if a search result is safe in any search engine.”

You don't need to change any settings to receive notifications about dangerous links on your social media pages. By default, WebAdvisor highlights potential threats on platforms like Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Reddit, Twitter, and YouTube. While you can turn this feature on or off from the WebAdvisor settings page, I recommend keeping it enabled for added protection.

Ransomware attacks can be alarming and even terrifying, but cryptojacking is much more subtle. In this scenario, you visit a website that hijacks your system resources as part of a distributed network to mine for Bitcoin or other cryptocurrencies. It's important to note that mining for Bitcoin itself is not illegal; it’s how Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies are generated. The issue arises when a website or program secretly takes over your computer's resources to mine currency for someone else. While WebAdvisor used to allow users to customize its cryptojacking detection settings, it now includes this protection as part of its broader defense against various types of risky sites.