 The magazine of the Melbourne PC User Group McAfee Office Bernadette Houghton bernieh@iaccess.com.au |
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My fingers always itch whenever a new Network Associates product lands on my desk as I know there'll be heaps of juicy utilities inside the package. So, picture my glee when McAfee Office turned up. Almost every one of McAfee's and Cybermedia's utilities (now Network Associates) are in Office - from virus scanners and year 2000 fixes, to diagnostic utilities and performance enhancers. A very nice Christmas surprise indeed!
Most of the utility suites in Office have already been reviewed in PC
Update at one time or another, so I'll just give a brief overview of each suite and refer you to the
original review. Be aware, though, that each suite runs (and is installed) independently of the others. Some
utilities are common to several suites, so if you're not fully alert at the installation stage you'll
probably find you've installed the same utility multiple times.
Office contents
VirusScan 4.0
detects, captures and destroys viruses, as well as blocking hostile ActiveX and Java applets.
First Aid 98
(reviewed, PC Update, August 1998) diagnoses and fixes (where possible) PC problems, including
hardware and software conflicts, multimedia glitches and configuration hassles.>
Nuts & Bolts 98
(reviewed, PC Update, November 1997) contains an extensive collection of diagnostic and repair
utilities. A bonus is Windows Patterns - a tinkerer's delight - which colours dialog boxes in pretty
graphics.
Guard Dog
(reviewed, PC Update, June 1998) places a "firewall" around your computer to protect it while you
use the Internet, and alerts you of suspicious activity, such as programs that attempt to mass delete
files.
Uninstaller
helps you weed through the clutter on your computer, and removes all traces of uninstalled
programs.
Hurricane 98
(reviewed, PC Update, July 1998) contains a range of performance enhancement tools to speed up
almost every facet of your computer.
2000 Toolbox
(reviewed, PC Update, February 1999) contains diagnostic and repair tools for the Year 2000
problem. Toolbox installs a software fix on non-compliant computers and assesses your software and certain
data files.
Oil Change
(reviewed, PC Update, August 1998) scans your computer for installed software and hardware,
checks the Internet for revisions and updated drivers and then installs them for you.
Assessment
McAfee Office is a very comprehensive collection of utilities, most of which do a reasonable job, judging by their reviews. If you install them all, they'll take up well over 100 MB of hard disk space, so you're best advised to install only those you need. Install one suite at a time, test it thoroughly before installing the next, and try to avoid installing the same utility more than once.
My verdict? If you enjoy tinkering around with your computer, McAfee Office is almost as close to heaven as it is possible to get on earth.
Reprinted from the February 1999 issue of PC Update, the magazine of Melbourne PC User Group, Australia
