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npe
Contributor
Message 1 of 18

Not impressed with McAfee

I hate dealing with McAfee tech support. I ALWAYS feel harrassed.  This online forum is not any better so far.   Can you tell me if McAfee actually makes it hard to get support on purpose or is it just bad business practice?   Why am I FORCED to load a remote control tech support client to ask a simplle question?   This seems like a serious security issue and invatsion of privacy.  

I want to uninstall online backup.    THe service is useless to me as I already have a fully functional back up system.   However, again I was FORCED to install it as part of the program.   Now multiple instances are running and the postscribed method of uninstall listed on this forum doesn't work.   How do I proceed with a minimum of harrassment from McAfee?

17 Replies
exbrit
MVP
MVP
Message 2 of 18

Re: Not impressed with McAfee

McAfee isn't unique in asking you to load an application to connect to support, it helps them help you and I don't see how you can say the online forum is just as bad when this is your first post.

We are all volunteers here and do our best to steer people in the right direction.

Support is available by phone for free, have you used that?

Nobody forced you to install Online Backup, it's optional.  I don't have it installed although it's available to me.  Even if you do install it, you don't have to activate it.

Before uninstalling anything make sure you have retrieved anything you may need from the backups, because it will cease to be available to you once you uninstall the application.

Go to Control Panel > Programs > Uninstall a Program (Add or Remove Programs in XP) and select McAfee SecurityCenter or whatever suite it is called.

It may ask you which comnponents to uninstall but usually you have to uninstall everything..

Don't worry, Windows Firewall will automatically switch on to protect you.

Then run the MCPR cleanup tool

Reboot and reinstall your software from the online account using the custom option to only install what you want.

exbrit
MVP
MVP
Message 3 of 18

Re: Not impressed with McAfee

Moved to General Discussion for better attention.

piersc
Former Member
Message 4 of 18

Re: Not impressed with McAfee

I have to say that I'm a new user but not impressed, either.

I signed up for Total Protection on 31/12, but find that I now cannot access one website that I use a lot (a Forex trading discussion forum), even though it is green flagged under the McAfee system.  I changed my Internet browser, that got me onto the site, then on the next McAfee update suddenly I was locked out again.

I downloaded the remote chat help thing, and have been in a queue for ages, not sure whether it is even working.

I'm finding the McAfee website pretty unhelpful, I can't email them to ask the question (they didn't give that option) so now I am stuck staring at the screen with no sense of whether I will actually get through to a techie and no real idea how to explain the problem even if I did get through to someone.

I fear that I will be cancelling the subscription and looking elsewhere just because of one important website.

Can anyone here supply a McAfee help email address, so I can ask my question as 'set and forget' rather than waiting on online support live chat who might not be there, and then having to type (very slowly as I'm not a great typist)?

Many thanks in advance,

Piers

exbrit
MVP
MVP
Message 5 of 18

Re: Not impressed with McAfee

If you think the chat method is slow (which it shouldn't be by the way) email by its very nature, will be slower by far.   Try phoning them, it's free and here's the page for your area:  http://service.mcafee.com/TechSupportHome.aspx?lc=2057&sg=TS

If this is a website that's not trusted by 'Trusted Source' could you indicate so as this post is in the wrong area in that case.

Edit:  BTW even after all there years I still can't touch-type.  So you're not alone regarding typing not being a strong point.

Message was edited by: Ex_Brit on 04/01/13 9:18:27 EST AM
npe
Contributor
Message 6 of 18

Re: Not impressed with McAfee

Incorrect.   It staes that individual compnents can't be removed.    Also, McAfee is unique in that in 20+ years as an IT professional I never had any Antivirus problems that required tech support except with McAfee.   Any tech support I had with other Antivirus vendors was feature or service related.   With McAfee it seems to be for failure to work.   

They are also unique in that they force a client to be loaded even to use CHAT.   That is stupid and unreasonable.   If you don't like people being upset by REALLY BAD CUSTOMER SERVICE then may you should stop volunteering for a bad for profit company.

npe
Contributor
Message 7 of 18

Re: Not impressed with McAfee

I don't have a problem typing.   I have some issue with the security code that is hard to read, but there is always some discrimination against the visually impaired.    Phone support is not really better since they keep you on hold for a long time.   My last effort was for over 30 minutes, they demanded a lot of personal information, and resulted in phone solicition, MANY emails asking if I would provide a positive feedback, but no resolution.  

exbrit
MVP
MVP
Message 8 of 18

Re: Not impressed with McAfee

npe wrote:

I don't have a problem typing.   I have some issue with the security code that is hard to read, but there is always some discrimination against the visually impaired.    Phone support is not really better since they keep you on hold for a long time.   My last effort was for over 30 minutes, they demanded a lot of personal information, and resulted in phone solicition, MANY emails asking if I would provide a positive feedback, but no resolution.  

I didn't say you did, I was answering piersc.

Sorry you don't agree with the way support works.   There is a free phone option too you know and I fail to see what else Technical Support would be there for other than troubleshooting.   Symantec offer exactly the same setup.    McAfee has a Customer Service department  for account issues as well.

Message was edited by: Ex_Brit on 04/01/13 1:03:26 EST PM
exbrit
MVP
MVP
Message 9 of 18

Re: Not impressed with McAfee

npe wrote:

Incorrect.   It staes that individual compnents can't be removed.    Also, McAfee is unique in that in 20+ years as an IT professional I never had any Antivirus problems that required tech support except with McAfee.   Any tech support I had with other Antivirus vendors was feature or service related.   With McAfee it seems to be for failure to work.   

They are also unique in that they force a client to be loaded even to use CHAT.   That is stupid and unreasonable.   If you don't like people being upset by REALLY BAD CUSTOMER SERVICE then may you should stop volunteering for a bad for profit company.

I said "It may ask you which components to uninstall but usually you have to uninstall everything."   That varies from suite to suite and vendor to vendor.   (McAfee direct or 3rd parties such as ISP's etc.)

piersc
Former Member
Message 10 of 18

Re: Not impressed with McAfee

Hi,


Thank you very much for the response, appreciated.

It was slow for me, yes - despite telling me that I was two minutes away from a response, I was actually in the queue for 44 minutes.  Given that there was no audible alert when I got through, and no way of knowing in advance how long it would take, I had to sit waiting for those 44 minutes without doing anything else.  Hence I would have preferred the option to email - outline the issue, give them a link to the website I could not access, then go do something useful with my life and get an answer in slower time.  Having to download a unique system simply to ask one question, then queueing for so long to use it, meant that it took the best part of an hour, an email in my (non-urgent) case would have been minutes, so email would have been faster for me, and less pressured (I'm a bit of an IT luddite and HATE those chat interfaces with their generic 'our problem is your problem' platitudes.  But I take your (implied) point that this was an unusual delay.

Thank you for the telephone number, I was unable to find that anywhere, which might well be down to my own incompetence, so thank you for that.

I don't know whether the website in question is a 'trusted source', I don't know what that means, although it did get the green McAfee flag at the top of the page?  Anyway, it's no secret:  the site is www.babypips.com, I have used it for years without issue.  It's a currency trading training site (I'm a trader).

Anyway, thank you very much for the helpful response.

Piers

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