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Mcafee and windows 7

By jfuller05 ·
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This is just a little rant about Mcafee and upgrading to windows 7 from vista.

I've had three client (not pulling an inductive argument here - no generalization) upgrade from Windows Vista home premium to Windows 7 home premium with each mcafee install having problems once upgraded to 7 hp. What's the problem? The problem is with Mcafee's real-time scanning and firewall not turning on once booted or clicked multiple times. :)

I followed the list Mcafee gives for this problem (which can be found here: http://service.mcafee.com/FAQDocument.aspx?id=TS101225), finding there are some steps I would re-arrange.

1. Run an update
This worked for one of the three machines.

2. Enable real-time scanning in security center (shouldn't this be step 1?)
This didn't work for any of the three machines.

3. Run Mcafee virtual technician
This solved some registry problems, but didn't fix the firewall or real-time scanning not turning on.

4. Download and run the oas-disabled-fix.cmd utility
This step fixed the firewall not turning on issue on each machine, but didn't fix the real-time scanning not turning on.

5. Check for third-party security software
Shouldn't this step be step 2?

6. Remove and reinstall your McAfee Security Suite
I didn't have to execute this step for any of the machines, so I'm not sure if this step works or not.

How did I solve the problem for the machines I serviced? Here was my troubleshooting list.
1. Clicked turn on in Mcafee for real-time scanning and firewall. Attempted to enable it in the security center dashboard. *failed to work*

2. Checked for third-party software. None to be found, which is what I expected.

3. Checked for updates in mcafee dashboard. Downloaded and installed updates for all three (this fixed the problem for one machine).

4. Ran the virtual technician. The scan found problems in the registry (around 170 for two problem machines), but didn't fix the real-time scanner or firewall.

5. downloaded the cmd line fix. Running this then rebooting fixed the firewall issue, but not the real-time scanner.

6. Checked for updates. Mcafee downloaded and installed updates that required restart. Restarted, booted into windows desktop and mcafee dashboard was green.

Not sure if this is true for every mcafee protected vista upgrade to 7, but if it is, maybe this troubleshooting list will help.

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I'd have done a half-MS with a backflip...

by AnsuGisalas In reply to Mcafee and windows 7

An MS is "Uninstall, reboot, then reinstall".
I'd have done the first two steps, then found a better antimalware solution

But your clients might have had a problem with that
Did I get this right, though? The problem was fixed by an update followed by the cmd-line fix followed by another update?

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haha

by jfuller05 In reply to I'd have done a half-MS w ...

Yeah all of the clients I've worked with want the uninstall, reboot, then reinstall as a last resort. I guess I don't blame them.

Yeah the problem (for 2 of the three machines) was solved by an update, cmd-line fix, then another update. One of the machines was fixed by just one update, which was nice.

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yeah, that's McAfee for you...

by .Martin. In reply to Mcafee and windows 7

You'll also have a similar problem if you use system restore, to restore to a previous point. McAfee will completely freak out.

I'm happy I jumped ship years ago

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Get rid of McAfee

by AV . In reply to Mcafee and windows 7

We got rid of McAfee on our network about a year ago and went with Trend Micro. We had McAfee Viruscan Enterprise. Everytime you upgraded it to a new version, you never knew what effect it would have on the client PCs. It was never a smooth upgrade.

When we got Trend Office Scan and Scan Mail for the servers, the new installation and removal process of McAfee went smoothly. No problems at all. I was impressed.

AV

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SNAFU, wait, make that SNNFU....

by AnsuGisalas In reply to Get rid of McAfee

Because, oddly enough, not being messed up is actually the norm.
McAfee is ... troublesome in many ways.
There's only one other big AV provider that I know of who'll mess your system up - and even they have no problems as long as you don't uninstall.

That's part of my policy now, before trying out an antimalware solution, see if the product needs an uninstaller, and then see how they advertise that fact on their home page. It's gonna be a world of trouble if the uninstaller isn't loudly advertised - a foiled AM uninstall can really hose a system good. Especially when the users try to "fix" it themselves, there really is no other way to do it than to run the uninstaller.

Of course it's because there are safeguards in place against unauthorized tampering with the AM program, something a lot of malware will try, but still... I don't think it's really worth the trouble.

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Yeah, we don't use mcafee at the main site

by jfuller05 In reply to Mcafee and windows 7

We run Kaspersky small office security and I like it so far. At the other locations (3), one uses mcafee and the other two run avg 2012 edition. I have the "power" to decide what software is run at the main site, but not so much at the other locations. I don't have a problem with AVG, but I would like to kill of mcafee use after the subscription runs out.

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