VIPRE vs. McAfee

With so many options in antivirus software, we know choosing the right antivirus protection can be daunting, so with every review we publish we do our best to distill things to just the facts.

Often, in the quest to choose the right software, our visitors narrow things to two or three programs, then request information comparing certain aspects of those AV programs.

So, to help our visitors get this information faster, we setup a series of pages to compare the most important features and capabilities of the top Windows antivirus software we review vs one another in a head-to-head comparison format.

This page compares:
VIPRE Antivirus + Antispware
vs.
McAfee VirusScan Plus 2009.

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$29.95* Vs. $39.99*

Which Has the Best Real-time Protection?

VIPRE	McAfee
VIPRE enables real-time Active Protection automatically. Independent lab testing showed that VIPRE antivirus correctly wiped out two thirds of viruses and other malware, and... The final third were correctly identified and labeled for the user to determine if they were dangerous or not. VIPRE's real-time protection scans web activity, file usage, email, and more in real-time.	McAfee VirusScan Plus 2009 real-time protection is enabled by default. Independent tests showed McAfee to come in only slightly behind Norton in identifying viruses and malware. However, McAfee still falls short in overall real-time protection when compared to VIPRE.
RESULT: Winner VIPRE. McAfee does an adequate job with real-time protection, but VIPRE still comes out on top.

Which is Most Effective Against Spyware?

VIPRE	McAfee
VIPRE easily integrates antivirus with antispyware into one seamless malware protection suite. Each works together with one another; we saw no conflicts between the antispyware and antivirus portions of this software. The antispyware definitions take 10-15 min to download at first; future updates are much faster. Altogether, the antispyware and antivirus combination is very powerful.	McAfee's antispyware integration does an adequate job at fighting spyware and scumware. Independent testing showed McAfee did as well as Norton but wasn't able to protect against all incoming spyware attacks. Overall, McAfee's antispyware feature is adequate but could be better.
RESULT: Winner VIPRE. VIPRE easily identified incoming attacks, while McAfee still had some trouble.

Which Has the Lowest Resource Usage?

VIPRE	McAfee
VIPRE antivirus easily bests the competition when it comes to low resource usage. Virus scanning tests showed that VIPRE used 25% less PC memory than McAfee during a manual scan. When real-time antivirus protection was active, only 1% of PC memory was used. CPU usage was also about 25% less than McAfee during a scan. When it comes to low resources usage, VIPRE easily comes out on top.	McAfee was one of the worst offenders this year when it comes to resource usage. Each test showed McAfee to run far too heavy for our liking. Memory used during a manual scan was 4 times that of VIPRE. CPU usage during a scan was one quarter more than VIPRE. The memory used during real-time protection was over 4%. When compared against VIPRE, McAfee is too much of a resource-hog.
RESULT: Winner VIPRE. VIPRE is the clear winner here. No other antivirus application even comes close to resource efficiency.

Which Has the Best User Interface?

VIPRE	McAfee
VIPRE's user interface (UI) is intuitive and very easy to use. On the main screen you'll find all the vital information you'll need, such as: current risk level, previous updates, last scan date, and feature options. The scan results page is clearly labeled and easy to understand what you need to do next. In a nutshell, VIPRE's user interface is easy to navigate and intuitive.	McAfee's user interface is also easy to use, having had several years of evolution to its credit. Set up like a standard webpage with navigation on the left, all the feature you need to navigate to are clearly labeled. The scan results page is fairly easy to understand and clearly labeled. We expect most users to feel at home with McAfee fairly quickly.
RESULT: Tie. Both McAfee and VIPRE have pleasing and easy-to-understand user interfaces.

Which Has the Best Customer Support?

VIPRE	McAfee
Excellent tech and customer support are the hallmarks of Sunbelt (the makers of VIPRE antivirus). The customer service representatives are all based in the US and replied quickly and professionally to all service requests. Phone, chat, and email support is free, and the usual support pages are included: knowledgebase, and FAQs. The support links and phone numbers are all easy to find. Unlike much of their competition, Sunbelt makes customer support a snap.	McAfee's tech and customer support is much better than it has been in recent years. Live chat and a "virtual technician" are available for free. FAQ are available, easy to navigate, and well-thought. However, free phone support is still not an option, with McAfee charging $9.95 per incident. To their credit, we take our hats off to their phone support's excellent, extensive hours: 5AM - 11PM PST. While the FAQ, chat, and virtual technician are useful, a real person on the phone is invaluable. You can get it, but be prepared to pay for it.
RESULT: Winner VIPRE. While McAfee's support pages are good (better than most of their competitors in fact), but how can you beat VIPRE's free, US-based phone support?

Which is Easiest to Install?

VIPRE	McAfee
VIPRE antivirus installation is a snap. The software walks you through some basic set-up steps, then that's it. You're done. There is some wait time after the basic install, however. VIPRE needs to connect to the central Sunbelt database where it will download all of the most current antivirus and antispyware definitions. This can take from 10-15 minutes. After that, the next updates will all be much faster and smaller, as VIPRE only downloads new definitions and updates.	McAfee VirusScan Plus 2009 installation is equally painless. The installation is fast and simple (installation times may vary depending on the speed of your PC, of course.) Antivirus and antispyware definitions are downloaded quickly, and there are minimal steps in the set-up wizard to get through. McAfee has made great efforts to simplify this process, and it shows. Overall, a speedy installation.
RESULT: Tie. VIPRE and McAfee have both designed fast, easy installation process.

Which Has the Best Email Virus Protection?

VIPRE	McAfee
VIPRE's email protection does a good job with scanning inbound emails. Outlook, Outlook Express, Windows Mail, and Thunderbird are all supported. Plus, any other email software that supports POP3 and SMTP will work as well (such as Mozilla's popular Thunderbird, Qualcomm Eudora or IncrediMail). When it comes to antivirus email scanning, VIPRE gets the job done.	McAfee provides the basic email scanning included in their antivirus software. Inbound emails are scanned for viruses or malware. All major email clients are supported including Outlook Express, Outlook, Thunderbird, and Windows Mail. Plus, any email that supports POP3 will work with McAfee VirusScan Plus 2009.
RESULT: Winner VIPRE. Both VIPRE and McAfee do a good job with email protection, but VIPRE comes out slightly ahead in overall protection in part because its scans emails significantly faster than McAfee.

What's the Best Antivirus Software?

VIPRE	McAfee
VIPRE is the clear winner in our eyes as "best antivirus software" overall. After adding up all the major comparison points, VIPRE Antivirus + Antispyware easily trumps McAfee VirusScan Plus 2009 this year. VIPRE is an extremely light-running software with a small footprint. The user interface is simple enough for the average user, yet detailed enough for advanced users. Installation is what you want: fast and simple. VIPRE's customer support is still the best we've seen this year with free US-based person-to-person contact. And most importantly, VIPRE is a very good product at detecting, preventing, and eliminating viruses, worms, trojans, spyware, and other malware. In the end, VIPRE makes antispyware the way it should be: easy, fast, and powerful.	McAfee still holds its own as a well-known antivirus brand. However, with the antivirus competition out there, McAfee needs to step up their game to get back into the ranks of top antivirus software. While their product is aesthetically pleasing and easy to use for the most part, the core features still need work: the antivirus heavy footprint and weak customer support to name just two. Independent tests showed that the antivirus scanning was adequate but could do better at identifying and blocking viruses. While the FAQ pages, chat, and virtual technician are helpful, there's no easy phone support for customer service. The overall resource usage is still far too heavy for our liking. Overall, McAfee will do for most users--especially if you're familiar and comfortable with the McAfee brand.
RESULT: Winner VIPRE. When comparing VIPRE antivirus against McAfee Virusscan, VIPRE is the clear winner. VIPRE has a lighter resource footprint, better real-time protection, and superior customer service. While McAfee can still do an adequate job with antivirus protection, VIPRE easily overtakes them this year all things considered.

VIPRE vs McAfee: Conclusion

VIPRE	McAfee
#1 $29.95*	#2 $39.99*
* $19.95 with our exclusive coupon.	* No coupon currently available.
CONCLUSION: Winner VIPRE.