Review: McAfee Family Protection

Last summer I had signed up for a blog tour through Mom Central, for McAfee Family Protection. At the time, we had an older computer set up downstairs for our girls to use, but soon afterward we started having problems with it. Fast-forward a few months and we finally got it set up and working so the girls could go online again. I also finally got the McAfee Family Protection program installed as well, so have now been using it long enough now that I can finally finish this review. 

The Internet is – everywhere. From home to work and at all points in between, we’re always connected, thanks to the newest technologies. Even kids are not only encouraged to use the World Wide Web, but expected to know how to search and do research online for school projects. Along with the amount of time they spend playing games and exploring the websites aimed at kids, it’s hard to monitor exactly where they’re going, how long they’re staying there and what they’re doing while they’re there. There are so many places online where kids can be exposed to information and images that they’re not ready for, or be preyed upon by those looking to do harm to them. Which is why McAfee has created their ‘Family Protection’ software to help parents keep their kids safe online.

What it is:

McAfee Family Protection is a software program that monitors users and what they’re doing online. This a different program from McAfee’s well-known anti-virus software and doesn’t specifically protect your computer from viruses. Instead, it allows parents to set up accounts for their children, or anyone else who accesses the home computer, to monitor their social networking use, keep them from sharing personal information online, and keep tabs on how much time (and what times of day) kids are using the computer. Here are some disturbing statistics from McAfee:

Children are susceptible to a variety of threats and exposures when online, including access to inappropriate content, cyberbullying, and the distribution of personal information. According to recent studies:

• 42 percent of youths report exposure to pornography (Internet Safety Technical Task Force, December 2008)
• 1 out of 17 kids have been harassed, threatened, or bullied online (www.netlingo.com)
• 43 percent of parents do not know what personal information their children have posted on the Internet (Virtual Parenting Report, March 2009)
• 52 percent of teens have given out personal information online to someone they don’t know offline (Harris Interactive, McAfee, October 2008)

Despite these dangers, Internet usage by children is growing. With the proliferation of social networking and online communications, the PEW Internet and American Life Project, January 2009, shows that:

• 70 percent of teens use social networking sites
• 68 percent of teens use instant messaging
• 75 percent of teens access video sharing sites

McAfee Family Protection gives parents the ability to let children have the freedom to explore the Internet, while setting the limits that we need to have in place to keep them safe, even as they grow and their computing needs change.

The program is designed to provide fast, easy setup so parents can start protecting their children within minutes. It keeps children of all ages safe from exposure to inappropriate content, social networking risks, strangers, and other online threats. With McAfee, kids are free to safely explore, learn, and enjoy their online interests—and parents can enjoy the peace of mind that comes from knowing their children are safe.

• Easy – Fast, simple setup so parents can start protecting their children within minutes
• Empowering – Lets parents say “yes” to their children’s online interests while keeping them safe as they learn and explore
• Complete – Protects children of all ages from accessing inappropriate content, social networking risks, strangers, and other threats

Key product features include:

• Web blocking – Blocks up to 35 categories of objectionable websites, and filters inappropriate content
• Time limits – Offers two ways to manage the time children spend online:
  • Allows families to schedule Internet usage times
  • Limits the total amount of time spent online per day
• Instant message reporting – Monitors and records instant message conversations so parents are aware of cyberbullying and improper dialogue with strangers
• Social network monitoring – Records when personal information (for example, phone number, address, location) is posted to a social networking site, and monitors the use of profanity and sexually explicit terms
• Online access – Provides remote, online access for any time, any where changes to user settings. Go to www.mcafeefamilyprotection.com to login.
• Usage reporting – Provides parents with a complete view of all Internet and instant messaging (IM) activity through activity reports, which can also be used as a tool to teach appropriate online behavior
• Instant alerts – Sends instant email and/or text alerts to parents when inappropriate website access is attempted. Parents can also adjust the alert level from “less sensitive,” to “normal,” to “very sensitive”
• YouTube filtering – Blocks objectionable YouTube videos via keyword filtering technology, yet allows access to other appropriate YouTube content for entertainment
• Text message alerts – The unique text alert feature gives busy parents the option of getting a text alert when inappropriate website access is attempted
• Program blocking – Blocks access to programs on the computer, plus blocks programs from communicating with the Internet. Parents can choose from preselected categories and programs, or enter the programs of their choice
• Encrypted site blocking – Provides a deeper layer of protection against access to secure proxy websites that may also include inappropriate content preventing a “work around” for kids

Courtesy of McAfee and Mom Central, we received a copy of McAfee Family Protection via download to try out and review. We have been using the program on a computer set up specifically for our childrens’ use for the past few months.

Here’s my our take on it:

Originally, when I first downloaded and attempted to use the McAfee Family Protection software, we didn’t have the kids’ computer specifically set up for their use. My husband had simply put one of the older computers that he had around the house (he used to work on them in his spare time) downstairs and we let the girls go on it to play games – offline. It wasn’t until my girls discovered Webkinz that they really started asking to go on the Internet, and for a while it worked out ok for either my husband or I to go downstairs with them, log them on and sit next to and monitor what they were doing. However, that method soon became problematic since the girls wanted to go onto the Webkinz site at times when we parents just didn’t have time to go downstairs with them, and then they began to discover and want to explore additional websites too. My oldest is 8-1/2, and then I had a 6-year-old (now age 7) as well, and I just didn’t feel comfortable letting them go online when there wasn’t an adult sitting right there. Plus, we were having issues with that particular computer in general.

We really couldn’t get this software to work properly until I finally moved the computer upstairs and my husband found the time to get the problems straightened out. What I did then was to follow the instructions for McAfee Family Protection (MFP) and set up separate Windows XP logins for each of my girls. This way their McAfee Family Protection accounts are lined right up with their Windows logins, so we can keep track of who’s logged on when and for how long. Plus the girls love having their own user icons and being able to customize their own Windows backgrounds and such (which also helps me out because I can see at a glance who’s logged in if nobody’s sitting right at the computer).

We have a master account for MFP, that only I know the password to. Then each of my girls has an account (named with a nickname, not their first name or other personal information). I can go online to the MFP site and set the customizations for each girl’s account from my master account. Right now I have general categories of websites blocked (you can probably guess which ones), but there is the capability to either block or allow specific websites if you need to as well. The main thing that we use it for at the moment, since there are only 2 or 3 websites that my girls ever visit, is to limit the amount of time they’re able to access the Internet. Previously we had used a kitchen timer, but there were problems with it not getting set correctly or getting ‘accidentally’ turned off. With MFP, the time starts counting as soon as they go online and once the limit is reached, the program will no longer allow them to access the Internet at all. However, if I (as the master account) choose, I can go in and extend their time for that particular session if there are extenuating circumstances. So far it’s working incredibly well for us – since the accounts are linked to their Windows log-in, they are automatically logged into their MFP accounts as soon as they open the Internet browser, and it immediately opens a little pop-up message in the bottom system tray letting them know how much Internet time is still available that day. And my girls know that as soon as their time is up, they’ll get a message from MFP and they’re done for the day. It’s very nice to have the computer itself being the ‘bad guy’ and not myself having to tell them that their time’s up.

Right before Thanksgiving, I had the opportunity to test out the software further, when our 12-year-old niece (‘D’) stayed with us for a week while her mom was out-of-town. She has a Facebook account that her mom allows her to have, and also uses the Internet for research purposes for her homework quite often. Since her needs are greatly different from my own girls’, I simply created a new Windows log-in and MFP account for her use while she was with us. I blocked the same general categories of ‘unsafe’ sites as for my daughters’ logins but gave our niece more time online and specifically allowed her to use Facebook (it was a good way for her to stay connected with her mom while she was gone). I did make sure that usage monitoring was set up, just so I could see if anything specifically was flagged (there never was). During that week D was able to easily go online for her own needs and I felt comfortable that I was keeping her as protected online as her own mom would want. Afterward, I simply deleted the extra accounts – they’re easy enough to set back up again if I ever need to.

So far we really haven’t had any trouble with this software at all, although I do recommend making sure that you have separate Windows logins so that you can link each child’s MFP account to his/her Windows user account. That way you can set up time limits and usage monitoring based on each child’s age and needs. From time to time the automatic logging into MFP doesn’t work and the user has to manually log-in, but since I’m always close by when my kids are online, it hasn’t been an issue. I also should mention that the computer we’re using this on is a PC, running Windows XP. I can’t speak therefore, as to how well McAfee Family Protection would work on a different operating system.

The bottom line:

As my girls grow older, I know that they are going to be online more than any generation before them ever has. Even in elementary school, my older girls are learning how to use simple programs and they are accessing Advanced Reader and other learning programs online there as well. And my 3-1/2-year-old has become quite adept at turning the computer on, logging herself into Windows, opening Firefox and clicking on her favorite site (NickJr.) from her Favorites list. She even can log-off and shut down the computer (properly) all by herself too – and with McAfee Family Protection, I trust that I don’t need to be standing over her (or her sisters’) shoulder at every second to make sure that she’s safely surfing the ‘net. I’m glad that this program can monitor their Internet use, allow us to set parental controls and also to monitor their usage to make sure that they’re not ending up on any sites we’re uncomfortable with. I know that MFP will grow with our children as their needs change over time and I’m glad that we can customize the program to work with us to keep our children safe online.

Where can you find it?:

You can purchase McAfee Family Protection directly from the McAfee website at http://www.mcafee.com/familyprotection and it’s also available from Amazon as well. The list price for the software is $39.99 PER YEAR (please see below).

In addition, if you have any questions you’d like to ask an expert, McAfee’s Chief Cyber Security Mom, Tracy Mooney, is available at cybermom@mcafee.com or at www.mcafee.com/cybermom.

Re-Visiting this review (August 2010):

I need to do an update to this review because I am very frustrated. I have no problem with the way that the software works – in fact we’ve loved being able to limit the time that our girls spend online. I went into it today because the time limits didn’t appear to be working, although they are configured correctly in the admin account. When I called McAfee, I was told that the product was only good for one year and that it has now expired.

I have multiple problems with this. First of all, all of the information I had never said anything about the software only being good for one year. Like most softwares, I assumed that once you own it, it’s yours for however long you care to use it. But even aside from that, I never received one notification either that the software was going to expire or that it had expired. I’ve checked through my e-mail and there’s nothing. When I log into the software online, it doesn’t tell me that it’s expired (or even tell me what the expiration date was). The computer it’s installed on doesn’t tell me that it’s expired. There’s been absolutely NO notification to me whatsoever that this software would become unavailable for me to use after a certain date – and I have a big issue with that. They should certainly notify you beforehand – and the software itself should absolutely tell you itself that it is expired, and let you know when that occurred.

Although I do still like how this software works, to me it’s not worth the $40/year price tag. From what I can tell, there are options available online for free, so we will try one of those instead and see if we are happy with that. We no longer use McAfee’s virus protection software, and at this time are not using any McAfee products in our home – and right now I’m so frustrated that I have no intention of using any ever again.

I wrote this review while participating in a blog tour campaign by Mom Central on behalf of McAfee and received a sample to facilitate my candid review. In addition, McAfee sent me a blanket and care package to thank me for taking the time to participate.

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