Two weeks ago a client who had purchased McAfee Virus Scan on my suggestion, had a problem with the software.  It refused to update his virus definition file, with a message stating that his one year license had run out, and only after 4 months.  He contacted McAfee about the problem, but since he purchased the product via an on line distributor rather than directly off the McAfee site, they refused to help him.  And of course the distributor (rightfully) pointed him in the direction of McAfee tech support.  After four phone calls, he was finally told that his only course for a resolve was to (re) purchase the product for the newest version.  What kind of nonsense is THAT?

Then last week, I personally had a problem with my 1.5 year old version of the product.  It was working just fine in terms of virus protection, but seemed to somehow be slowing down my computer with unnecessary CPU cycles.  All I sent them was a question about it.   The reply I got from them was extremely disappointing.  

I was told straight out that my version of the software was no longer supported, and than they "VERY STRONGLY" suggested that I Uninstall the product from my machine.  Here is the actual e-mail and my reply.

Robert: As of a year ago, Mcafee Version 5.21, has not been supported, or updatable. I would strongly advise to just uninstall the Mcafee product off the computer, since it can not be updated for the past year. Here are the instructions for uninstalling Mcafee Version 5.21.http://www.mcafeehelp.com/faq3.asp?docid=679 Thanks John L

While the SOFTWARE is no longer updatable, the virus definitions for it were still be updated and were available.  AND it was working just fine in terms of virus protection.  But yet, their tech support team would rather sell me another product than answer a simple question regarding the old one.  Here is my reply to them.

Hello McAfee Tech team.

I can appreciate the fact that you don't support this version of your product any longer, but to ask me to UNinstall a product that I PAID for and is still working? While the software itself can not be updated, the DAT files still can be... In terms of PR, this suggestion is worse than no support at all... and certainly NOT what a paying customer wants to hear.

I have been with your products since the 80's and have, until now, sworn by your company. In fact, I have been suggesting your product to my clients for more than 14 years. I can't even begin to tell you how many customers you have as a result of my referrals...

I have been using software products for more than 16 years, and never before have I been asked to remove a product that I paid for. And in fact, you told a client of mine, more or less the same thing for version 6 something last week, after he called you four times to explain to you that his "year" license had expired after less than six months.... What kind of customer support is THAT?

Gentlemen, I will now be quite happy to uninstall your product from my machine, followed by a purchase of one of your competitors products. THEY are anxious to keep happy customers! And your referrals to my customers have now come to a close, as the good words about your products I have on two web sites of mine. It seems that your policy for selling updates have superceded your good sense of customer support. I'm terribly sorry to see that happen to a company that to date, has been at the top of my list.

Sincerely,

Robert Cohen
 

And so, I guess the good ole days for this once respected software company are coming to an end.  I have discussed this matter with a good handful of computer professionals, and the feedback I have received from them suggests that my feelings are shared by a growing number of computer professionals.  To add to this, I have been told that McAfee Virus Scan has on numerous occasions failed to catch virus's on machines that were caught by competitive products. 

After removing McAfee Virus Scan from my machine, I downloaded the free version of AVG Anti-Virus and have installed it.  So far, so good.  I followed this up with a newsgroups search for the product and can not find a single complaint about AVG Virus Protection software anywhere.  

With so many competitive products out here, some of them even being given away for FREE, why a respected company like Network Associates would be so willing to drive away customers with an apparent lack of customer support, is beyond me.

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