McAfee
Reviews and Complaints

I purchased McAfee Backup service last year to save and protect my valuable personal images from family events. I was running out of room on my HD and thought an offline service would be safer than an external HD. I backed up my entire HD; it took over a week. I then cleaned out my HD to add more images. MY MISTAKE. I found out last month, when I tried to restore some of those images, that they were gone! Now they won't return my calls or follow up on my complaints. I'm still trying. DO NOT USE THIS COMPANY!

Macafee customer service and tech support is the worst nightmare ever. Customer support and tech services are all in India and they do not care if you have a problem. Finally found the United States corporate office phone number on the internet and after documenting my problem, they sent me back to tech support and the whole goat rope started again.

After spending hours on the phone with customer service and tech service, nothing was ever resolved. It appears that they are following a script and can't comprehend anything that doesn't fit there. I will NEVER buy a Macafee product again. Support and customer service is so bad it makes "Peggy" look like a shining star.

As a computer expert, i can easily say McAfee is one of the worst antiviruses there is. It is terrible at scanning, hardly stops any viruses, is overpriced, clogs up your CPU, takes control of your computer, and never helps when you actually have a virus. Terrible product, not even worth pirating, let alone paying the terrible price of 130$ a year.

I have downloaded McAfee Mobile Security from Android Market on my Samsung Galaxy y mobile.
When I install that app on my mobile and accept McAfee Licence Agreement, it automattically sends 38 messages to my own mobile no. +[protected] (India) written "Verifying your mobile number on McAfee" and "Unable to Verify" . It wastes my Rs38.
Instead of sending 1 msg., it sends 38s..

I want my money back on my TATA DOCOMO no. +[protected].
I will never use this application again. McAfee Sucksssssssss!
Even NetQin Mobile Security is better.

Thanks!

We have used McAfee for a number of years and each time we have had to phone to ask for the automatic renewal to be taken off - especially as a great deal pricier than their own offers (at least 50%). We figured out the last time that there was avery convoluted way of switching off the automatic payment - we activated it. Unfortunately when we checked the credit card bill in November - the full non discounted amount had already been taken off our card. What is even more concerning is the fact that our credit card had expired and what we had was a new replacement. We have no idea how McAfee still managed to extract payment as the new details were never submitted. We called McAfee and was reimbursed - the customer service rep did ask if we wanted to renew at the lower price and we explained that their service has been so shoddy in the past and now that their rating was so low in protection although still pricey - we would be mad to stay. An unhappy customer who saw the light. Don't be apathetic - do the same.

According to several employess my email address has been edited from [protected]@windstream.net to [protected]@windstream.net. I keep getting messages that it's time to renew McAfee and my computer is at risk. The message still references my old email address of [protected]@windstream.net. I have an Order #CS1086269047 and the purchase was made online with my VISA 10/20/2011. Last contact with Tamela in the Phillipines on 10/31/2011 was that someone would contact me in 48 hours to assist me with uninstalling and re-installing McAfee. I have not heard from anyone and would like to get this taken care off immediately. Thank you Elizabeth Daniel

I have Mcafee antivirus installed on my PC. 6 moths ago it let the Windows Defender virus slip by and I had to pay $100 to have it removed. This week it let the same virus slip by, again. I contacted them. They said viruses change and it happens. They recommended several of their free services, which I tried to no avail. Then they suggested I use their paid service virus removal. So they want me to pay to have a virus removed that thier antivirus software I paid for let through. Uh.. no.. I'm not giving them more money just because their product failed to work. I'll have the geeks remove it and I'm switching to Norton.

I had McAfee years ago on an old computer. I've been getting both mail and emails requesting that my credit card be updated for my renewal subscription. I contacted McAfee notifying them that I no longer had that computer, and requested that they stop trying to obtain current credit card information. I spoke to someone in India. Not only did they have my wrong (old) email address, but my old address since I had moved. Yesterday, August 23rd, I received an email that was transferred to my new email account, that I was charged over $80.00 for a renewal on a computer I no longer had. I checked my credit card, and lo and behold they obtained my new credit card information. I knew I had taken off my auto-renewal since my computer was replaced, so not only did they go and put my account into auto-renewal, they fraudulently charged a credit card that had no balance and was not being used! I immediately contacted my credit card company and requested that they remove the fraudulent charges, close out my account and issue another card number. McAfee claims that they work with the banks and credit card companies to obtain the new information so that their customers do not have a lapse in subscription. THIS COMPANY IS NOT TO BE TRUSTED! THEY STEAL ACCOUNT INFORMATION IN ORDER TO GET BUSINESS. Any reputable company who wants your business would not do this, especially if you do not update your credit card number after it expires! There should be class-action lawsuit against them to prevent their stealing money from accounts!

I bought a brand new computer with a McAfee subscription. I had just taken the computer out of the box less than an hour and only installed the Microsoft Office software. I called McAfee simply to verify I had a current subscription and that it was registered and working. The guy I spoke to said he needed to check some specs on my computer which seemed odd since I explained it was brand new. I told him I only wanted to activate my subscription, yet he insisted then proceeded to tell my my brand new computer had all sorts of errors he needed to fix due bad installation. I only installed Office! He then tried to charge me and would not give me his full name when I asked. I disconnected so he no longer was logged into my computer and when I tried calling the number back to speak to someone else about his conduct my number was blocked. I made several attempts and could not get through. I used my girlfriends cellphone and got through on the first try. They only gave me another number to call and would completely unhelpful. I will never use McAfee again. Save yourself the lies and headaches and go for Norton.

On the 17th June, I paid £34.90 for a McAfee Anti Virus package - Anti-Virus and Anti-Theft (which was free). I was given the opportunity to download the free Anti-theft bit have not received the Anti-virus package. My McAfee cover I had previously, is now 4 days out of date!

Dear Gregory, [TOTALLY BOGUS STATEMENT!]

Thank you for your McAfee purchase.

Your Next Step:

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Download and Install
If you haven’t already done so, go to the PC you want to protect, and download your McAfee product from your My Account page: http://us.mcafee.com/root/myaccount.asp?affid=105

Renewal
If you are renewing your subscription, verify your subscription now to update the information in your McAfee product. Your product is then ready to use. Learn how to verify your subscription here: http://us.mcafee.com/root/verifySubInfo.asp

Upgrade or Downgrade
If you are replacing your current McAfee product, uninstall it and restart your PC before downloading your new product. When you are ready, download your software from your My Account page:
http://us.mcafee.com/root/myaccount.asp?affid=105

Information
Information about your new McAfee product can be found on your My Account page. You can go there anytime by clicking the My Account link found on the top-right of McAfee Home and Home Office web pages.

CONFIRMATION RECEIPT
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Name: Gregory SorozanOrder #: RA1000225587
Date: Saturday, June 11, 2011
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McAfee SecurityCenter 12-month subscription: $69.99 (USD)
Tax: 4.37 (USD)
Total Price: $74.36 (USD)
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Refund policy: If you are not satisfied with your product, you can request a full refund within 30 days of your purchase.
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This message is being sent from: McAfee, Inc, McAfee Security S.a.r.l. (Europe), McAfee Co., Ltd. (Japan).

I bought a Dell PC which had McAfee 30 days free trial. When the 30 day trial ended I was invited to buy the anti virus, which I did. This year on the 9th February I had my credit card billed for £49.22. My renewal date was May this year. I sent off an e-mail via the 'reply' option on my e-mail complaining, that my subscription doesn't expire until May and the payment was taken in February and that my card should not have been debited until then. I received no reply, in March I received another e-mail informing me that my Anti virus will run out shortly and that I should renew it now so as not to lose my anti virus and that would lead to my PC would be unprotected. I replied to that email, explaining that I had had the payment taken without my authority, therefore I want my £42.22 refunded and I would buy another companies anti virus. Still no reply. On the 27th May, I was notified that yet another payment had been taken from my credit card by McAfee. I again requested reinstatement of this £64.99. Does anyone have a contact address of McAfee?
in order to sort this matter out. On one of your blogs, someone said that they phoned a number for india. He was reembursed after the phone call. Can he/she contact me here, or by e-mail. Thanking you in anticipation

I'm a monthly subcriber to AT&T DSL service in my area. On the AT&T support website, they offer members a free pc health check scan as a free download. McAfee actually provides (or builds) the software program. Immediately after downloading the software, my antivirus software pops up a virus alert message, saying the program I just loaded has a virus in it. Theres quite nothing like having a DSL service provider offer free software downloads that contain viruses and trojans. Gee, way to go AT&T! Thanks for the continued great service!

When I checked my credit card I found an unauthorized item that had been charged to my account. The purchase date was 11/04/2011 for the amount of $99.95 and was from McAfee.com 866-622-3911CA. I never ordered anything from McAfee as I already have the software on my computer which does not need updating or anything extra added and have no idea why they would charge me for something I didn't order.

I am extremely angry and ask that you please make sure that you credit my account with $99.95 immediately.

I purchased a Dell laptop which came with McAfee installed free for 15 months. It worked fine during the first year. I renewed taking my subscription to July of 2012. That is when the problem started. Five times now I have received notice that my computer was NOT protected. When I checked on why, I was told to renew which I had already done. I wrote to McAfee to cancel the subscription and try to get a pro-rated refund and got told that since I didn't contact them within 30 days, I could NOT get any refund. So according to them, as long as the product fails within that first 30 days, you can get some money back but not after that. How is that right? I guess I will have to get a lawyer and sue that hell out of them.

I am a customer of McAfee Secure. On March 7, 2011. I was experiencing difficulty keying in information on my ASUS laptop computer keyboard. I initially began to run a McAfee scan. I also decided to contact tech support to see if they could be of assistance. I did a search on McAfee Tech Support phone number. I called the first site offering McAfee support. I called [protected]. When I established contact, the gentleman assured me that he would provide assistance for my McAfee concerns. He proceeded to tell me to stop my McAfee scan and close all applications. After I did this, an Iyogi dialog box popped up. I asked what Iyogi was and I was informed that it was only a way for them to send me messages as they took control of my computer to assist me in fixing my problem. After 30 minutes, a scan appeared on the screen that indicated that I had 4 critical issues that needed to be fixed. According to him, this was an emergency situation since the corruption of my computer could lead to all of my personal and financial information being stolen. At this point, he proceeded to tell me that for $169 I could receive free tech support for a year. I replied that since McAfee didn’t notify me that my system had viruses, I thought McAfee should was responsible to handle it. It was at this point that he advised me that he did not work for McAfee. I suspected that something was amiss and refused their offer. The scan disappeared before I could print it and they disconnected from me. I proceeded to run the McAfee scan again. It showed no problems or viruses present. The problem was resolved after I spent 2 hours on the internet researching similar problems and finding the correct solution.
I called McAfee the next day to relay this information. I was informed by regular and corporate customer service that they were aware of this and legal was handling it. I asked why they didn’t notify their customers and I was informed that there could be legal repercussion if they mentioned Iyogi to customers. They also said they were not notified of any resolution to this issue to date. I guarantee that anyone calling Iyogi with my problem will be shown a bogus scan and then solicited for the $169 to fix it. The problem that I have with all of this is that McAfee is aware of what is going on and isn’t even sending generic emails or letters to its customers warning them of this possibility and providing a safe and secure phone number and web site for tech support. Iyogi doesn’t even need to be named. It is incomprehensible to me that McAfee doesn’t care about or take any responsibility for its customers being scammed. How many dollars have McAfee customers paid to Iyogi without even knowing that the information they were given was bogus. I have seen scams on the internet, but this one hit hard. The reason for this is that a supposedly reputable company knew what was going on and did nothing to protect its customers. We all know that the legal system is overwhelmed and legal action could take many years. Until its resolution, how many hardworking McAfee customers will pay for non-existent problems.in this economy, $169 is a lot of money to many people. A computer is no longer a luxury, but is instead a necessity in today’s world. Computer security programs such as McAfee, depend on people’s fear of identity theft viruses, and the inability to use their computers safely and securely for work, school, and their finances. How can these companies allow their customers’ faith in them to be so abused?
I grew up at a time where the customer was king. Customer satisfaction was paramount. It even trumped profit. I realize the corporate world has changed, but when did being oblivious to their customers’ needs and concerns become common place procedure. McAfee needs to provide answers to its customers and the public at large. I discovered this on March 7, 2011, but how long has it been going on? I checked on the Internet and found that Iyogi also offers Microsoft tech support. Coincidentally, they are also the first web site listed for Microsoft tech support when it is googled I am desperately hoping that someone will investigate this so Iyogi cannot continue these practices and companies such as McAfee cannot continue to hide this information from their customers.

Just a note for anyone using a dial-up connection. McAfee no longer fully supports its anti-virus software using dial-up. If the virus signatures are out of date by more than a couple of weeks you cannot obtain an update and they cannot correct the situation if you contact their support team. When I called to complain they informed me that the McAfee software does not work with dial-up. I told them that I had been using dial-up for many months with no problems. But I then found out that it will only work if you update the software every few days. So be warned if you purchase the McAfee software and use dial-up. Make sure its updated regularly, otherwise it will no longer work and they will not help you get it fixed. I tried 3 times with 3 different support people at McAfee and they ended up removing my Total Protection software and failed to tell me that I could not reload it over the internet.

We canceled our subscription 2 years ago, and each year, they continue to charge the card on file (which we can't just cancel as it's tied to a lot of other legitimate charges.) When I called to get a refund, they had no problem giving it back, like they expected the call, with no questions asked. The same thing happened last year. My sense is they just keep charging unethically and the onus is on the ex-customer to catch it, then waste their time to request a refund. Last year, I ALSO requested a cancellation to the subscription, but seems like it was disregarded. Very invasive and it's really like they're stealing your money and only returning it if you catch it. Don't trust them. Not commenting on product quality, but their business ethics SUCK. Beware.

McAfee does not protect your computer... they renew subscriptions a full 30 days before expiration, with no prior warning... you just get an email to say they've done it already. They do not stand by the effectiveness of their product, as evidenced by their refund policy, which is a sham at best. A real product doesn't need to force people to pay for it. My computer was completely demolished by a trojan and I lost everything.. all while supposedly protected by McAfee.. and don't even think about their backup.. I didn't have that because it was impossible to use... tried it and it would lock up my entire computer for an eternity.. I'd never have been able to use my computer