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Ann of Los Osos CA (09/19/08)
I told her that when I accessed the McAfee icon on my All Programs it showed it was not installed. When I checked the website it indicated I did not have a subscription. She said to log off, which I did, then to log on again, which I did and it no longer showed I was not a subscriber. She explained things were now fine. Which seemed odd to me. Next day I checked my icon again and none was installed. I was able to contact the tech available through instant messaging - or what ever. This time I gave her the details of my confirmation receipt from October 2007.
Since I have never had to install anything when renewing the subscription I have been without protection for nearly a year. So she said I was correct, and installed it and I now have it for one month, when my subscription is up for renewal again. I believe they owe me 11 months service. Further, I have a constant warning showing that I am not protected. I tell it to scan (150,000 or whatever files) - it does, it fixes everything. But it still tells me I am not protected. I never used to have to run it myself, it ran automatically at 3 AM or so. What should I do now?
11 months of paid service for no service. And the program still tells me I am not protected.
Marianne of Manchester MA (09/11/08)
McAfee has a pop up which blocks my screen and makes it impossible for me to use my computer. There is no way to reach them to ask them to stop.
It delays my ability to use my home computer.
Kira of New York NY (09/08/08)
I used McAfee for several years, until I stripped my old PC and got rid of it. I did not contact McAfee, thinking I would simply not renew online like I've done each year in the past. Then the renewal fee showed up on my credit card statement. I tried their online customer support, which will not work with my new Mac computer. I e-mailed, received and acknowledgement, but no follow up.
When I called, I was told I couldn't get a refund for two reasons. 1) I had agreed to the auto renewal, which I certainly don't remember and truly doubt I would have done, and 2) they have a 60 day time limit for refunds. Unfortunately it was a credit card I no longer use, and because I had recently moved, the statement took too long to reach me. The charge was dated 7/9 and I called 9/8. The person on the phone in India simply kept repeating their script, and didn't seem to care that I was paying for a service I had not used.
A mere $40, and a horrible customer service experience that will keep me from ever using their products again.
James of San Diego CA (09/06/08)
Purchased McAfee Total Protection in the box, at Fry's. Cannot register it: no matter what complex variety of password I try to use, site says Invalid; but there is no description of their valid password requirements. Tried the Customer Service site www.mcafeehelp.com: no matter what next button I click, it just sits there forever. Cannot get thru on 'phone. Product is useless without registration & support; all their advertisements about real people, real help, 24/7 is a lie. Meanwhile they've got my $70.
1. Product does not do what it promises: fails to detect spam & viruses caught by built-in Vista protection, endangering my computer.
2. Advertising about support and communications is clearly untrue.
3. My computer runs 50% slower with their product installed, and my $70 is essentially wasted. Meanwhile, they inveigle other unknowing customers to buy the same junk.
Marilyn of Grawin Via Walgett OTHER (09/03/08)
On 3/8/08 I purchased online McAfee Total Protection and on 2/9/08 I have not been able to access McAfee web pages, I was told by there tech support from India not in Australia to remove program then to download again this I have not been able to do ,
I spoke to them around 5 times on Tuesday and ther were to ring me back in 2or 3 hours that was around 12noon it is Wednesday 1 pm and I still have not been contacted of have been able to access there webpage to download the program again
I could loose my computor and files
Karthikeyan of Chennai OTHER (08/21/08)
now the toll free number is not working for our area
there is no support so that many system has corrupted due to virus issue
Al of Alburtis PA (06/21/08)
I renewed Mcafee on 6/3/09 and two days later, I received done, but w/errors on page; cannot access my bank, AMEX account, Travelocity, etc except browsing newspapers, etc-after reading the poor business interaction from previous complaints, I will ask my bank to reverse the charge on my Mcafee renewal; but when I go to uninstall from my Dell desktop w/Vista, I cannot. Since Dell installed this(14 months old) and I'm past the free service, I think Dell should solve this problem.
Katie of Tigard OR (04/06/08)
Every support person I dealt with could not answer even the simplies of questions. I was (as usual) given bad information that included down right lying. End result was creating even more problems.
4 hours of wasted time dealing with the lying idiots that make up McAfee's support system. Problem not only not resolved, but made worse.
Corienne of Wooster OH (03/15/08)
Once McAfee Securities was installed we were unable to access the internet and the computer would freeze. Also, the home phones shut off intermittently. We have been trying to contact the McAfee Securities through 800-937-2237 and they will not speak to home users. I have tried to uninstall the software without success.
We purchased the software for approximately $80.00 for a product that does not work and has only caused us major problems. Without use of our telephones, we are unable to call out or receive calls, which causes major problems in case of an emergency.
Doris of Sylva NC (03/02/08)
I can't get any satisfaction from McAfee's. Unfortunately I am out $69.99, for something I don't have, nor do I want; but hopefully my experience will benefit others. Thank you for listening.
Robert of Tulsa OK (01/13/08)
I renewed my McAfee this year, upgraded and started having problems immediately. I dislike the continual updates. I called to complain about that but was given no help from contacting the various numbers as suggested by previous individuals. Around the first of December 2007, my computer completely froze up during a McAfee update. I had to superboot it. What happened was that I lost several key features I enjoyed with my computer. I could no longer access things like system restore, I could not watch U Tube as my media player was disabled, etc. I got so frustrated, I emailed every single email address provided on the McAfee web site. I finally got someone to call me from customer service. He gave me a pin number to call technical which is outsourced in India. They were of no help. They said it appears that my current McAfee is not working (duh) and he was going to send me a link so I could remove the McAfee but when I asked about a refund he said that can't be done and hung up on me.
I called the customer service agent who had been helpful and he sent me the link to remove my Mcafee and also took my information to refund me the purchase of this product. After I uninstalled the McAfee, all of the features I had previously lost came back. The point is that their current product is perhaps worse than any virus it proposed to eliminate. Some features of their support team are useless especially the technical help which is outsourced in India and is rude and was of totally no help. My suggestion would be people need to avoid McAfee. There are some inherent problems in their virus tool and you can end up with your computer corrupted.
I was without many key features of my computer for a month.
Carol of Littleton, CO (01/10/08)
There are two issues here: 1) unsatisfactory McAfee solution, and 2) unsatisfactory McAfee support. The new suite significantly slows down my computer. I rolled back the registry to Tuesday to try to get back to the old McAfee, also from Comcast, and now I get an error message that reads some components of ActiveShield are either missing or might not have been installed properly.
I want to reinstall the old version or get the missing files but they are telling me that it can't be done. This is not an acceptable solution. If I run the new install my computer slows down to an unacceptable level, and the old doesn't work since I installed the new.
They gave me a customer service number to call, but it only directs you to a paid customer service number.
Doug of Worcester MA (01/09/08)
McAfee technical support gives no support. Hours on hold for phone calls and repetitive useless information for solution to reinstall their software. This wasted hours of my time for a product that cost more than the average anti virus software.
Canuck of Penticton OTHER (01/09/08)
Bought software offering a $70 dollar rebate. I followed everything to the letter. They claim to have never received the original mail-out. Long story short - McAfee is making sales through deception.
Lost $70 from McAfee; GAINED a much better product from TREND MICRO.
Richard of Punta Gorda FL (12/07/07)
McAfee charged our bank account for renewal. It had an outdated card, did a search through our personal information searching for a valid card, and charged it to another card they had no authorization to even look at. When we called, we were told that they went through all our credit information and picked a card they could and did charge. We were told (from the Philippines) that they are an international company with international laws. So what does that mean???
Glenda of Topeka KS (08/23/07)
A 3rd (and the first) Online Customer Support Person told me to delete the free trial version of McAfee virus programs which came with my new Gateway Computer, to get rid of a constantly active pop up box demanding I renew it. I deleted it and went to re-download my prepaid 2 year subscription ($79.98 plus $2.65 tax, paid March 10, 2006 for service from April 2nd to April 2nd, 2008) from the McAfee site, as told. It would not download. Then the whole record of my purchase disappeared from my account.
Jeanine of Martinsville IN (09/19/06)
I purchased McAfee VirusScan 2006 this year when I got my new laptop. Yesterday, September 18, 2006 I decided to try the Spamblocker product for a 30 day trial. Downloaded, installed and my computer would not function. Had to unistall the product. But, here is the kicker, my boxed software on the back says Our experts are available 24 hours a day, seven days a week via Internet chat. go to www.mcafeehelp.com. I couldn't find any link to chat, nor an 800 number to call to ask for assistance. What is the deal? Can they advertise help and then not have it available?
I work from home for a living. If my computer is dead, I do not get a paycheck. I think that a vendor should do what they advertise... or I wouldn't have purchased the product in the first place.
Dalton of Flowery Branch GA (08/31/06)
Recently an update from McAfee Virus Scan forced me to remove Spyware software from my computer which was from their competitor. I tried to resolve the issue with Corporate Customer Service but the only response from their rep Aga, was to call for help downloading the software. They refused to even respond to my request for a refund so that I could purchase a competing product that would work with the other software that I had paid, or upgrade me to a version of McAfee software that offered the same features that they forced me to remove completely from my machine. Previously the McAfee Virus Scan updates were simply applied. Lately I have had to reboot after nearly ever update from them.
I believe that the policy of forcing competing software companies software off of a computer is something that shouldn't be tolerated. Now that they are offering competing spyware software they are trying to destroy their competitors in that market by taking advantage of their position as the leading Virus protection software. Heck yeah I want an attorney to contact me and I will sign on to any civil case that would be launched against McAfee. Not only are they trying what I think are terrible tactics their Corporate Customer Service refuses to even acknowledge or deal with the complaints regarding their practice.
Lorie of Spearfish, SD (08/14/06)
I accidently turned off my virus scan. I read the message that came up to tell me how to turn it back on. I did this many times to no avail, so I went to their website to find a phone number for customer support but there was none.
Now I have no virus scan and will have to purchase another one for up to $50. They should not be able to sell their product if they can not provide the support they advertise.
Mark of Dayton, OH (08/09/06)
I recently updated my McAfee Virus Scan software to Version 11. Once downloaded, I discovered that I could not access the Internet in the normal way or download email. I uninstalled the program and everything worked fine. Reinstalled it and I had the same problems again.
I tried to use the McAfee Virtual Technician but the file would not download onto my computer. I then tried the McAfee Chat Room to talk with a technician but they just pointed me back to what I had just tried. McAfee's Feedback link offers no response from them. The only avenue left was to call McAffe's pay per call number.
Ronald of Cypress, TX (08/02/06)
For over a year I've used the McAfee Virus Security program. On 7/31/06 I received an e-mail message that I could download an upgrade at no extra cost. After shutdown/re-start the computer would not function. It would shutdown as soon as the McAfee program began to initiate.
I called the McAfee customer service number and after a 30+ minute wait the party said to check the web-site for assistance. He then said I could call technical service and for a $35.00 charge they would assist me.
I complained at length, finally they gave me an 800 number to call, but when I called they said the number had expired and they could not help directly. I could go the the web or I could pay extra to get help. This customer service is worthless. In the meantime I've spent more than 4-hours on the phone trying to get help.
Joanne of Blaine WA (02/20/06)
On Feb. 2, 2006, I downloaded and paid online for the latest version of McAfee's anti-virus software. On Feb. 3, 2006, the morning after installing it, I had problem after problem with my e-mail. I made 2 tech support calls to McAfee. What I did not realize was that the calls (which were not all that helpful) were charged at $2.95 per minute. I don't remember being forewarned that the charges were that expensive. These charges showed up on my VISA statement as $64.90 and $44.25; combined, they are more than the $87.02 I paid for the software itself!
When I called McAfee's toll-free number (1-866-622-3911) on Feb. 20, 2006 to ask about these charges, I was linked to the Customer Service line via automated messages. I was on hold for about 25 minutes before I got through to a representative, who could give me no assistance on this matter. She said I could call back the next day when the supervisor was in, "at this 408 number," as she phrased it. I said, "I didn't call a 408 area code; I called an 866 number."
Then I said, "So what you're telling me is that I originally called a toll-free number, but when your system routed me to customer service, I was unknowingly switched over to a non-toll-free line, where I waited for more than 25 minutes, being charged for it?" The rep replied, "Yes." While I don't know what can be done about the expensive tech support calls, shouldn't it be illegal, fraudulent, and therefore, prosecutable for a company to re-route a customer's call from a toll-free line to a non-toll-free line without telling the customer?
George of Vancouver WA (08/20/05)
McAfee Has no Customer service. They kept putting the same message over and over what ever I was trying to read. No matter which way I tried to fix "the problem" it would pop-up again AND AGAIN. When I tried to get help from thier so called customer service I could not get help. The so called phone number was not working (Besides the FACT that it cost! NO 800 #!!!
This product has caused me no end of trouble. The only time you can get ahold of them is if you want to buy one of their RIP-OFF products!
Ernest of Miami FL (07/28/05)
When I received a recent Mcafee update to their anti-virus program my computer would no longer shut down. If I did a system restore to before the update it works fine but eventually asks that I update again. If I do not it says an Active Shield file is missing. Dozens of phone calls and e-mail chats have achieved nothing. I have been promised a phone call from an escalated tech, which I never received and it is impossible to actually talk to anyone on the phone because this is not a virus issue but a McAfee software problem. I guess I go to Symantec and forget these guys.
Howard of Mccall ID (06/26/05)
I paid for extended use of McCafee virus scan and firewall last fall (2004), and have just put in a new hard drive and want to reinstall it. The automated response is that my trial has expired. True, but but I paid for a whole year. I can't find a working phone number or anyone to talk to. I am hung out to dry.
James of Scotts Valley CA (05/16/05)
The problem: McAfee Spamkiller was grabbing ALL of my e-mail (not just spam) and not sending the ones that I accepted back to my Outlook Inbox. The response from McAfee: Pay McAfee $39 for a 48 hour help period to solve the problems that they created. The result: At their instruction, I had to uninstall VirusScan. I then could not receive ANY e-mail at all, either in Outlook, Spamkiller's Blocked e-mail window or Spamkiller's Accepted e-mail window. I then unistalled Spamkiller for good.
Greg of Cootamundra, NSW, Australia (10/6/03):
I bought McAfee viruscan and firewall with one year free updates. My computer using windows xp now crashes continually, Microsoft blame McAfee drivers and McAfee won't update, McAfee blame Microsoft.
Brenda of Lumberton TX (9/3/03):
For 3 days I've been trying to get help from McAfee for a product called Virus Scan Online that I purchased back on June 19, 2003. WHAT A JOKE! McAfee's so called "free" 24 hour chat is really a "free" 24 hour exercise in how to keep you busy THINKING you are going to get help so that you don't get in your car and drive to their corporate office and SCREAM! I was "in line" four times and four times was "timed out". They keep sending you these messages that you are bumped up in the queue and "please stand by" someone will be with you in a minute.
What a joke...what they should say is....you are about to be "timed out" sucker so what are you waiting for. And, they'll even give you a "reference" number for NOT helping you!
Forget that you just purchased their product ... you have to PAY BY THE MINUTE to find out what it does and most importantly DOESN'T DO ... like detect and remove email virus. Of course you can always PURCHASE something else on their site ... they make that REAL EASY, Like the "enhanced" version of the software you JUST purchased that does NOT do what you thought it was going to do.
Forget calling customer service too...phone is busy. Forget the "feedback" form about their "site" because they tell you that they won't call you back if you are actually commenting on "McAfee"? They have completely proteced themselves from answering any of their customers' complaints while providing a website that will SELL YOU more and more and more. This is my first experience with McAfee and it will be my last. I'm cutting my losses on my recent purchase and moving over to a competitor.
Damage Resulting: Dozens of email viruses. Lost work time. Hate mail from other people who can't seem to understand why my emails have viruses attached (don't I have virus software???). Crashed mail box because I'm getting so many viruses that legitimate mail cannot get through. No response from McAfee after 3 days of trying to get to them (without paying by the minute).
Robert of Atlanta (8/27/03):
The program which I purchased has not prevented my computer from bugs and worms. I installed Viruscan 6.0 on Oct.2,2002. I cannot access the internet on my computer. I am sending this e-mail from the pulic library. I cannot transact my business because I cannot send or receive e-mails
Jeffrey of Jerusalem, Israel (8/18/03):
I downloaded the anti-virus program, and it promptly stalled my computer completely. I brought it to a technician, who had to remove McAfee to get my computer running again. This was within 3 days of buying the online antivirus program. Since then I have been asking for a refund almost every day, and they ignore my emails. Since I live in Israel, it's impossible for me to telephone them without running up a bill bigger than what I paid for the progam. I am now concerned that they will continue to bill my credit card forever. How can this abuse be stopped?
Loss of $29 for program, which I cannot use, as well as the annoyance of trying to contact them.
Janet of Oakland MI (6/16/03):
This website is very "tricky". You cannot get any questions answered unless you pay for them...even if the problem is with the McAfee software itself! I had many problems as soon as I loaded their virus protection software. In fact, their software caused me more problems than any virus ever has! I was charged $103.25 to my phone to have "support" that didn't even resolve any problems. I also spend two solid weeks investigating, through other sources, on how to repair my computer and finally repaired it on my own. (I saw a post on one website where a gentleman had paid over $500 to repair the damage McAfee caused).
The main thing that irked me about this company is that, even if you did a "remove program", there were still files left on your computer that caused problems. I actually had to go into my registry and remove them manually!! I am seriously considering reporting this company to the Attorney General of my state and also contacting my local news station to investigate just how many people have been "ripped off" by this company. By the way, I recently purchase Norton Internet Security and have not had ONE problem with them. (With McAfee I had problems even when first loading the software onto my computer ... that should have been a hint to me!)
Craig of Toowoomba, QLD, Australia
I installed McAfee Home Protection Ver 5.0, this package includes the Virus Scanner, Firewall and Guardian. Within a few weeks a client complained that they couldn't reply mail to us on the address they normally used. When they tried the reply address came up as Gdog,Gdog,Gdog,Gdog,Gdog,Gdog@myISP.com.au. I contacted my ISP tech support and after a few days they identified the Gdog virus. Despite keeping the software updated I could neither remove or even find this virus, yet the email problem persisted.
I contacted McAfee's online support and for over 8 hours I followed their instructions with no success. One supervisor even had the audacity to tell me to never use that email address again! As the email address being effected was my primary business address I refused and demanded they solve the issue. They never did. They kept suggesting the same thing over and over and none of it worked. Eventually I solved the issue myself. The problem was with the Guardian program. Any address you enter in here to be protected returns the Gdog address instead. You would think that a simple issue like this could have been identified by the very first technician!
I tried to find a consumer complaints section but no staff at McAfee wanted to hear about it. One month later and still no response of any worth at all. This has cost be about 12 hours online, the purchase price of the product, and approximately $1000 lost revenue from online trading because customers could not respond to my emails.
Wallace of Esopus, NY (6/11/02):
I purchased First Aide and Online Anti-virus software and installed it on a computer (IBM compatible) immediately after I received the computer back from a computer repair center where they had reformatted both hard-drives and installed windows 98 2nd edition. McAfee's software immediately began detecting viruses and each time I would delete the entire file. After about 1-2 days the system started to get symptoms of windows opening/closing at randow and fast (symptoms of the JS/NoClose virus). I kept scanning the system (both regular and in safe-mode) but no further viruses were detected. After about 20 emails to McAfee they wanted me to download a program that was about 2 megs. and install it (zip file) on the system.
I tried to explain that the system would not be able to connect to the internet and that I had no way of transferring the file (zip format-over 2 megs) via floppy because a floppy only stores 1.44 megs! I finally got in touch with a woman who stated her name was Debbie who told me she was in charge of customer service and that she said someone would call me back and she asked me if I would be available. I stated that I would be available during the normal business day (ending at 5 pm). I waited, and at about 5:15 pm I called her and she said she thought I meant PDST instead of EDST. I asked her when someone would call, and she refused to give me any definite answer. To date, the system cannot operate more than about 2 minutes before windows start opening and closing randomly.
I have had to utilize a portable that normally is used in the field. I am so paranoid about the integrety of my computer files that I don't know what I will do when I finally resolve this situation. I cannot afix a value on the economic loss exactly, but I am sure it is close to $15,000.
Rodney of Edgewater MD (4/13/02):
Three weeks ago, I downloaded the latest edition of McAfee anti-virus and paid for the update by credit card. When I went to install the firewall, my computer froze. Three days later, after three calls to the computer manufacturer (at $1.95 a minute), reloading the Windows 98 software, and trying to retsart with an emergency boot disk, I ended up with a 100% crash, losing all the data on my hard drive. I have written to McAfee asking for an explanation, a refund and reimbursement.
I am an indpendent consultant. Being without a desk top computer for three weeks caused me considerable inconvenience and loss of revenue. I also lost three years of data. I estimate that I spent at least 28 hours trying to rectify the damage caused by the McAfee software. The cost of the repair was $75.00 from a Gateway store. I also spent 90 minutes with Gateway tech support at a cost of $1.95 a minute.
Keith of Omaha (2/24/02):
I connected to their website to download the latest virus definition update. Dowloaded and attempted to install the program. The program ended up crashing the computer registry. I contacted online support. The gentleman told me the program I downloaded was incompatible with the program version I was running. I am running version 4.0.3 and downloaded file name 4186xdat.exe. If the program is incompatible with the version I am running, why does it say on their website that the program can be used? Why don't they say on the website that they are no longer supporting version 4.0.3?? Dorks.
I will now have to reformat the hard drive and reinstall windows which usually takes a day and a half to get the computer running as is before the crash.
Carol of Encinitas CA (8/7/01):
I’ve spent over $100 at McAfee since late May this year and still have no virus protection. The product they mailed me could not be installed. It kept saying “Insert Disk” when disk was well inserted. They couldn’t seem to help me with that. Then I bought a downloaded version. Got error message "Internet Error 2351, F7482_vsc.Im, Data.Cab.” They couldn’t help me with that either.
Suggested I spend $2.50 a minute on their paid help line. I tried that. When I discovered the $2.50 included the time I was on hold, I said No to that scam. On July 5 of this year, I wrote a formal letter of complaint to both CEOs involved with McAfee, Mr. Srivats Sampath, McAfee.com Corporation, 535 Oakmead Parkway, Sunnyvale CA 94085-4023 and Mr. George Samenuk, Network Associates, 3965 Freedom Circle, Santa Clara, CA 92054-0963.
I never as much as got a postcard acknowledging receipt. This is highly unusual in American business. Every good CEO knows that one such letter represents hundreds of other dissatisfied customers the company didn’t hear from. Letters written to that level always get some kind of prompt response and action. For both presidents to totally ignore the letter shows something is really wrong at the top and all through the corporation. can only assume that McAfee is just another .com corporation hanging on by its fingernails. A lot of hype, not much else.
I have no virus protection and they're not helping me get any. My hard drive could be wiped out. I hate to start this process all over again with someone like Norris after investing so much money and time with McAfee.
Laurie of Easton PA (8/23/02):
After enduring a very nasty virus that wiped out my entire hard drive. I took the advice of a tech support guy at Gateway (where I purchased my computer) and I purchased the McAfee Antivirus 6.0 version that includes a firewall. After I was able to reinstall everything, I went to install the anti-virus and continually got an error message. After speaking with both Gateway and my ISP techs, I was told that it was a software question that they could not help me with and to contact McAfee.
Of course, McAfee does not give their customers any service unless you pay extra for it in the form of $2.95 per minute help line. This is in addition to the $40.00 that I already paid for the software. I can't even return it as it has been opened. I tried the help section on their web page, but the message I was getting was not there. I tried e-mailing to them for help. That got me nothing.
After 2 weeks of calling any phone number I could get my hands on, at my own expense as none of them were toll free, I still got nothing. I e-mailed again with the threat of going to the Consumer Affairs Department. Still, nothing. I am appalled that a company of McAfee's stature can not provide the service that is due any customer. I am usually a forgiving customer and I wouldn't even mind the call not being toll free, but to charge almost $3.00 per minute is ridiculous and should be outlawed! I will never use this company again, and would never reccomend it to anybody that I know.
There were no consequences as they still have not gotten back to me. The "damages" that I have resulted are hours of waiting online or on hold or typing e-mails. The mental anguish and frustration of getting absolutely nowhere! The possibility of another virus wiping out my computer as I still do not have protection on my computer. I refuse to be help captive by a corporate giant like McAfee. The cost of $40.00 that I am out and the numerous toll calls that I have made attempting to reach them.
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