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slooksterpsv
Contributor
Message 1 of 10

McAfee not detecting threats in real-time

Hello all,

I purchased the McAfee 2017 Anti-Virus Plus for 10 devices and have it on a few of my machines. I decided to do the quick test and download the eicar.com virus that is just a simple package that most anti-malware engines detect. I downloaded it, nothing. I ran it, Windows blocked it. I finally scanned the file and it picked up the .com. I downloaded the .txt and the two other files (zip files) available for testing. It only picked up the .com when doing a scan.

In addition, I noticed that the scanner doesn't seem to scan for anything other than .com, .exe, .dll, and .msi file types (maybe more). I feel like I paid for something I'm really not getting protection out of. When I did a full scan it said it only scanned 5,553 files on my external backup drive. My external has more than 50,000 files on there, so I'm lost on why only about 10% were scanned. There aren't really any configurable options to advise to detect others and I'm not sure the real-time protection is working either. I did have to disable access protection due to cpu spikes.

I'm not sure if I should request a refund or continue using this software. I feel I'm not being protected with it.

Thoughts?

Thanks,

--Slook

9 Replies
catdaddy
MVP
MVP
Message 2 of 10

Re: McAfee not detecting threats in real-time

Hi Slook,

               Welcome to the Intel\McAfee Communities. Thank you for your invaluable input. We are aware of all of the above here-in mentioned. I assume you are running the latest Version\Build (15.1.156) MSC -  (19.1.480) VS. Basically all that you have described is due to the (New) Virus Scan Engine introduced in this current Version\Build.

As you can see there has been previous discussions as well . As long as your McAfee Security Center indicates " Your Computer is Secure" there is no need to be concerned.

Having said this..We Mods ( Whom are users like yourself ) have brought up as a topic of discussion in our weekly Conference Calls. To (Re-introduce) the capability to run a 'Scheduled Scan' as well. As mentioned in the thread I inserted, there is a FAQ in the works which defines this Version\Build more clearly.

Hope this helps...

All the Best,

Cliff

Moderator

Consumer Products

Cliff
McAfee Volunteer
slooksterpsv
Contributor
Message 3 of 10

Re: McAfee not detecting threats in real-time

Thank you Cliff. I hope they do implement those changes in addition to other ones. It has been years since I've used any paid form of Antimalware. I've always opted for the free ones e.g. 360 Total Security, Avira, Avast, AVG, Forticlient, etc. However, since Intel picked up McAfee, I thought some of the issues I experienced with it previously would have been resolved such as performance penalties, memory consumption, etc. It looks like it needs a little more work before it's advanced-user friendly. In the mean-time, I'll continue using McAfee.

user_127173
Former Member
Message 4 of 10

Re: McAfee not detecting threats in real-time

Hi Shawn,

The new LAM architecture is built on On-Access scanning, where our security software looks at files only as they are executed or accessed.

This way, it prevents infection without having to regularly scan every file on your PC making it as safe as (or safer) than the Real-Time Scanning feature, but with better performance.

Regards,

Abhishek Adhikari

Intel Security, McAfee

slooksterpsv
Contributor
Message 5 of 10

Re: McAfee not detecting threats in real-time

Abhishek,

Thank you for your response. However, I have a concern standard file types such as TXT, PNG, JPG, TIFF, DOC, DOCX, ZIP, etc. aren't being scanned. Are these scanned with the real-time protection? I found I can open and extract a zip that contains malware, but its not picked up. A write operation to save a malware file isn't picked up by the real-time scanner. This is bothersome if the main protection of Mcafee is only scanning executed and read from files. Even telling it to scan the zip, it doesn't pick up the malware. In addition, a text file containing malware code (eicar specifically) is not detected as being malicious either. These are some strong concerns with the software itself.

I understand the direction McAfee is heading in, however, I feel that they may miss a lot more. AV-Comparatives does protection tests and McAfee isn't that high on the list. However, other engines, especially free ones, offer much more functionality and features to catch the malware. No engine is perfect, even a mixture of engines won't catch it all, but they do catch quite a bit.

As an example, 360 Total Security offers a wide variety of features as well as 5 different engines. Its free, and catches 99+% of known malware due to the engines it can use that don't step on one another. However, it pops up advertisements which sometimes does link to Malware (which it catches).

I would love to help make McAfee better, especially where Intel purchased them. I want to voice my concerns and see if the developers are able to implement better functionality. If they'd add an advanced menu and let you choose what to scan specifically, and how to scan it, that would be awesome. However, at its current state, I'm not very confident in its protection abilities.

Take my criticisms lightly, but regard them as feedback. I know McAfee can come out on top. The devs should try other products and compare the current product to them. Try to see what makes their software work for both the basic end-users and advanced users. Give more features to make the user feel safe and comfortable. Allow configurable options for those who need that extra niche such as scanning in zips, scanning all files, etc.

That's my two cents.

Thanks,

--Shawn B.

slooksterpsv
Contributor
Message 6 of 10

Re: McAfee not detecting threats in real-time

I downloaded McAfee on a virtual instance as I saw the version changes from other individuals on the board. They added in more options, more configuration for what is scanned, and I downloaded a few test files (txt, com, zip) and they were caught. When my trial of F-Secure is up, I'll probably head back to McAfee. I'm proud that they made those changes. This is moving in the right direction.

Peacekeeper
Message 7 of 10

Re: McAfee not detecting threats in real-time

NEW Lam FAQs…

That says no zip or txt did you actually get 14.0.R12 not 15.1. The LAM version is using an entirely new engine and is secure. If you have any questions I can pass them up the line or ask at any Monday moderator call in.

The two versions available are shown below. The 14.0.R12 is the old Product not the LAM version. The LAM is only on slow release until they get the new installer and Interface tweaked.

Total Protection15.1 R014.0 R12
Security Center15.1.15615.3.3061
slooksterpsv
Contributor
Message 8 of 10

Re: McAfee not detecting threats in real-time

Honestly I couldn't tell you what version was installed back in November. I installed it on my nieces system and my dads. My niece hit a payload from a website and Mcafee never caught anything. I was mad.

the options at the time didn't allow for any customization. There wasn't scheduling or even a way to say scan all files. This has radically been changed. I want to say the version was like 14.2 or 15.0 but I cannot remember. The UI looks the same but there's a bunch more options.

catdaddy
MVP
MVP
Message 9 of 10

Re: McAfee not detecting threats in real-time

Could you kindly Open your McAfee User Interface by right clicking on your (Red) McAfee Icon in the lower tray, by the clock.?  Click on about and provide us the Version/Build.

Thank you,

CD

Cliff
McAfee Volunteer
Peacekeeper
Message 10 of 10

Re: McAfee not detecting threats in real-time

From your explanation she had 15.1 and now rolled back to 14.0.R12.

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