Regarding removing McAfee 2004:

wallijonn · 06-09-2006, 02:43 PM

Well, my McAfee subscription is almost up and I couldn't be happier.

Since McAfee does engine updates regularly, it isn't a simple matter of doing an Add/Remove Software, it becomes a hack and slash operation.

First it'll tell you that you will need to remove McAfee Services when uninstalling McAfee Security Centre (which is the only listing in the Add/Remove Software listing.)

Okay, it's simple enough to stop the services, set them not to start, run msconfig to stop the system apps. from running, then a reboot.

Next will come using a registry cleaner to try to get rid of as much crud as possible. I use RegScrubXP mainly. The next step entails hacking away at the registry manually by running regedit. Next I had to manually delete the C:\Program files. I then rebooted into safe mode to do the same manual registry edit. Finally I removed all McAfee Kerio-Firewall entries.

Has anyone used www.majorgeeks.com 's AVremover tool / app. ?

So what is the outcome? A much quicker to boot system. My main machine takes over 4 minutes to finally get to the desktop ready to work. It's time to remove McAfee and get it to boot in under 45 seconds (like my systems at work.)

Wai_Wai · 06-11-2006, 07:09 PM

McAfee is said to be bulky and have instability issues for some users.
Nevertheless all these issues have nothing to do to stop it from achieving very high detection rates.

Alternatives are Kaspersky family & NOD32.
NOD32 may be a good option as this product is lighter than McAfee.

wallijonn · 06-12-2006, 07:15 PM

Besides Kaspersky I have been looking at BitDefender 9. BD9 Pro Suite includes the firewall, anti-spyware and a few other functions. Hey, it's all about money at this point, pay $50 for Kaspersky or $25 for BD9.

I'm still using the free version of Kerio Firewall, and it didn't like having Norton AV on it. (I would never even consider installing the Norton Suite. I had too many problems with the Norton Firewall to ever trust it again, especially if a person installs AOL on it. I could tell you stories... ) Now I hear that BD9 sometimes doesn't play nice with games and it may have problems with SpyWareBlaster (or was that SpywareGuard? I had problems with SpywareGuard and Norton) and SpyBot (Tea Timer, which I do not enable.).

So I am doing what a lot of people will end up doing - checking out a lot of AV progies to see which one fits them best.

As it regards McAfee, had they given me my rebates like they were supposed to, chances are that I'd be a little more lienent with them. But they didn't, so I'm not. I will never ever buy another software product that toots rebates, it just is not worth the headaches, to me. ymmv.

I have two machines and I had two McAfee licenses. Re-subscribing therefore is not an option. BD9 Pro supposedly comes with two licenses, so I may opt for that one instead of Kaspersky.

My problem is whether to go with the download or try to get the CD (since the CD boots to allow scanning the HD.)

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So what do I find when I try to remove Kerio Firewall? That it cannot be removed. Maybe it is the MSinstaller which is regularly updated. Otherwise it seems that if one gets automatic updates to a program, once it gets replaced (like McAfee and Kerio) it will no longer be able to be removed easily.

I guess that's why they pay us comp techs the big bucks.

06-09-2006, 02:43 PM	#1
wallijonn PHX Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: Phoenix Posts: 2,569	Regarding removing McAfee 2004: Well, my McAfee subscription is almost up and I couldn't be happier. Since McAfee does engine updates regularly, it isn't a simple matter of doing an Add/Remove Software, it becomes a hack and slash operation. First it'll tell you that you will need to remove McAfee Services when uninstalling McAfee Security Centre (which is the only listing in the Add/Remove Software listing.) Okay, it's simple enough to stop the services, set them not to start, run msconfig to stop the system apps. from running, then a reboot. Next will come using a registry cleaner to try to get rid of as much crud as possible. I use RegScrubXP mainly. The next step entails hacking away at the registry manually by running regedit. Next I had to manually delete the C:\Program files. I then rebooted into safe mode to do the same manual registry edit. Finally I removed all McAfee Kerio-Firewall entries. Has anyone used www.majorgeeks.com 's AVremover tool / app. ? So what is the outcome? A much quicker to boot system. My main machine takes over 4 minutes to finally get to the desktop ready to work. It's time to remove McAfee and get it to boot in under 45 seconds (like my systems at work.) __________________ D875PBZLK, MAC G4-933
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06-11-2006, 07:09 PM	#2
Wai_Wai Help people,help yourself Join Date: Jul 2004 Posts: 202	McAfee is said to be bulky and have instability issues for some users. Nevertheless all these issues have nothing to do to stop it from achieving very high detection rates. Alternatives are Kaspersky family & NOD32. NOD32 may be a good option as this product is lighter than McAfee. __________________ *Security Product Recommendation(no. in bracket refer to score in related test)(updated on 03 Sep 06):* AntiVirus: Avira Antivir(99.86), Kaspersky(98.96), BitDefender(97.45) Firewall: Jetico(85.2), Look'n'Stop(74), Outpost(74), Zone Alarm(72) (<-- Suspicious spying for years) AnitSpy: Trend Micro AntiSpyware(71.17), Sunbelt CounterSpyware(68.47), Webroot Spy Sweeper(65.77) Extra Protection: Intrusion Prevention System like "ProcessGuard", "Online Armour", "Prevx" etc. Feel free to ask me for details.
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06-12-2006, 07:15 PM	#3
wallijonn PHX Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: Phoenix Posts: 2,569	Besides Kaspersky I have been looking at BitDefender 9. BD9 Pro Suite includes the firewall, anti-spyware and a few other functions. Hey, it's all about money at this point, pay $50 for Kaspersky or $25 for BD9. I'm still using the free version of Kerio Firewall, and it didn't like having Norton AV on it. (I would never even consider installing the Norton Suite. I had too many problems with the Norton Firewall to ever trust it again, especially if a person installs AOL on it. I could tell you stories... ) Now I hear that BD9 sometimes doesn't play nice with games and it may have problems with SpyWareBlaster (or was that SpywareGuard? I had problems with SpywareGuard and Norton) and SpyBot (Tea Timer, which I do not enable.). So I am doing what a lot of people will end up doing - checking out a lot of AV progies to see which one fits them best. As it regards McAfee, had they given me my rebates like they were supposed to, chances are that I'd be a little more lienent with them. But they didn't, so I'm not. I will never ever buy another software product that toots rebates, it just is not worth the headaches, to me. ymmv. I have two machines and I had two McAfee licenses. Re-subscribing therefore is not an option. BD9 Pro supposedly comes with two licenses, so I may opt for that one instead of Kaspersky. My problem is whether to go with the download or try to get the CD (since the CD boots to allow scanning the HD.) ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- So what do I find when I try to remove Kerio Firewall? That it cannot be removed. Maybe it is the MSinstaller which is regularly updated. Otherwise it seems that if one gets automatic updates to a program, once it gets replaced (like McAfee and Kerio) it will no longer be able to be removed easily. I guess that's why they pay us comp techs the big bucks. __________________ D875PBZLK, MAC G4-933 Last edited by wallijonn : 06-12-2006 at 10:34 PM.
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