McAfee Intros Two New Protection Solutions for the Mac

While we readily assume that the Mac is completely safe from all viruses and malware, such an assumption can quickly put our Mac products at risk.

Yes, these threats are still limited when compared with what the PC is up against; but there are still plenty of threats that can make your Mac experience less than desirable if you don’t have the right protection in place. To try and meet this demand for increased protection, McAfee (News - Alert) has released two protection products for the Mac.

According to a recent MacWorld report, the McAfee Internet Security and McAfee Family Protection solutions are now available. Both products are designed to allow users to surf the Web safely. The McAfee Internet Security product is designed to protect users from dangerous websites and browser exploits. This solution will also tell the user if a particular shopping site has been over by McAfee. The solution will scan e-mail and IM attachments from Mail and iChat apps to be sure no one is trying to slip anything rogue into your communications while you are online. It will also repair a number of files without damaging the contents.

With the dedicated Secure Search tool, users can make sure that phishing sites are not able to find their way into user results and a two-way firewall keeps an eye on all traffic entering or leaving the computer. Outside access is locked down to protect the system from hackers. McAfee Internet Security will also scan for both Windows and Mac malware.

This solution is available for $80 and provides one license for one year. Upgrade pricing doesn’t appear to be available, so you may just need to plan on buying a new copy once the year ends. The McAfee Family Protection solution helps to keep your kids protected while they are online. This solution allows parents to filter searches by keyword and prevents access to websites from 35 different categories of content. Reports also provide parents a complete overview of all the websites their kids have been visiting.

Parents receive alerts via e-mail or text message if a child tries to access a site deemed to be inappropriate for them. Parents can also specify time limits to manage their child’s Internet use and block the use of specific programs on the Mac. Remote modification for these profiles is also possible. Those seeking the family protection can get coverage for up to three Macs for a year at $40. Again, it appears a new copy must be purchased the following year.

In other McAfee news, the company announced in May an agreement to buy privately-held provider of security software to mobile phones Trust Digital (News - Alert), without providing financial details. Thanks to the acquisition, McAfee will be able to expand its existing security portfolio, meeting the growing demand on the mobile security market, CEO Dave DeWalt said. The deal will also help McAfee enter new markets and further beef up its major position in security software.