AVOID McAfee VirusScan Anti Virus!

A tale of double billing

I purchased a Dell Computer that came bundled with a 36 month McAfee anti-virus software subscription. About only 2 years and 8 months after I purchased the computer, I uninstalled and reinstalled McAfee software (to test to see if the McAfee software was interfering with another application). Then I simply reinstalled McAfee back onto my computer. But then I began getting McAfee messages saying that my McAfee subscription had expired. I contacted McAfee and they told me that my subscription had expired and so they SOLD me a new 12 month subscription. I would LATER do some research and find out that I STILL had about 4 months left in my subscription. So basically I was DOUBLE BILLED for the final 4 months of McAfee software use!  When I contacted McAfee by email and by phone they REFUSED to extend my service for an additional 4 months for the time that I was double billed for.

One of the reasons given to me by the McAfee phone rep for not extending my service was that my original Dell computer came only with VirusScan, and that the new service (that they sold me with 4 months remaining) additionally included Firewall and AntiSpyware. So I told the McAfee rep fine, just extend for me 4 more months of only VirusScan (with no Firewall and AntiSpyware). Their response was that McAfee no longer offered JUST VirusScan, and that all of their antivirus software now comes BUNDLED with Firewall and AntiSpyware, and therefore I would be getting MORE than I paid for if they were to allow me an additional 4 months of their bundled package. How convenient!!! At one point the McAfee service rep tried to offer me an additional 1 month of service, then after about 10 minutes on the phone she offered to meet me half way with an extra 2 months of service. At this point I was thinking McAfee does NOT know how to treat customers, and so I said no to her compromise and got off the phone. 

Now I am doing everything I can to RETURN THE FAVOR! I go out of my way to tell my computer repair customers to AVOID McAfee. Besides this web page I have gone OUT OF MY WAY to tell people in chat rooms, forums, and elsewhere to AVOID McAfee. 

Double billing is NOT cool, but it's a two way street. What goes around, comes around for McAfee...

As a footnote I wish I had known about the antivirus freeware Avast and the freeware Ad-Aware and Ccleeaner