McAfee Inc. shortly plans to release four versions of its new "Falcon" security products, designed to rival Symantec and newcomer Microsoft.
McAfee, Inc., the leading dedicated security company, lately announced that it will offer four security service suites, all based on the “Falcon” platform which was architected to provide consumers with the latest protection against both traditional and emerging threats as well as a new streamlined interface that allows consumers to manage their service with just a few clicks.
The four editions will vary in the number of security features, giving consumers the option to buy a less comprehensive package. Offering various editions also allows McAfee to try to sell its customers a more expensive option at a premium price. Microsoft’s OneCare and Symantec’s Norton 360 are pitched as "one size fits all."
The Falcon project has been in the works for a year, according to Marc Solomon, McAfee’s director of product management for consumer products. The service will enter beta in a few weeks’ time.
Solomon said that all four McAfee products would include the basic security features–antivirus, anti-spyware and a firewall. Additionally, all editions include SiteAdvisor, which adds ratings to Web search results, and PC health tools for tasks such as hard-drive defragmentation, he said.
Our more than seven years of experience offering security as a service and listening to and understanding consumers has taught us that different people have different security needs, said Solomon.
Rather than try to force a “one-size-fits-all” service on all consumers, we have tailored four specific service packages for four different consumer profiles to ensure each customer can subscribe to the service level that best suits their individual computing and online practices. Since all security service suites are based on the Falcon security platform, we can ensure that each service is easy to use, yet provides the powerful threat protection every consumer needs to remain safe online.
Although Microsoft has touted the benefits of its subscription-style Windows OneCare Live, available soon, and Symantec’s Genesis will also present security protection in the form of a service, McAfee has been offering a subscription-based security suite for years.
One of the Falcon project’s aims is to make security as simple and unobtrusive as possible for the average user, Solomon said. Every important feature should be available with a single click, according to the company.
McAfee will offer the following service packages this summer:
- McAfee Total Protection: A comprehensive security service for families and consumers who have a wireless home network and use the Internet to surf the Web, shop, bank, use e-mail and instant messaging; and store valued personal information on their PCs including financial records, family photos, and music files. "As we come out with new features, those would be included in Total Protection."
- McAfee Internet Security Suite: An integrated security service for Internet users who surf the Web, shop, bank, use e-mail and instant messaging; and who also have children who access the Internet and store valued personal information on their PCs including financial records, family photos, and music files. It includes all the features of the lower-end products and adds phishing and spam shields as well as parental controls. Furthermore, the suite also includes a feature that warns people when personal data such as a credit card number is being transmitted to the Internet, for ID theft protection.
- McAfee PC Protection Plus: An easy-to-use security service for basic Internet users who surf the Web, use e-mail and instant messaging, and keep digital assets on their PC. It also includes features that let users back up data to a CD, DVD, external drive or a networked drive. This product is being pitched as McAfee’s response to OneCare.
- McAfee VirusScan Plus: An easy-to-use security service for basic Internet users who surf the Web as well as use e-mail and instant messaging.
According to McAfee, security threats have been divided into "traditional" and "emerging". Traditional threats include viruses, spyware, and direct hack attacks. Falcon will take special aim at emerging threats include phishing scams, social engineering, and dangerous web sites. With McAfee’s acquisition of SiteAdvisor McAfee can unequivocally identify dangerous web sites and steer users away – Falcon users will benefit from this technology.
The new SystemGuards feature will block suspicious behavior in much the way ZoneAlarm’s OSFirewall does. Like OneCare and Genesis, Falcon will back up essential files to prevent data loss in the event of an accident.
McAfee designers interviewed average users in their homes and concluded that the most essential features are viewing security status, scanning for problems, and checking for program updates; these will feature prominently in the Falcon user interface, Solomon said. For the most part, consumers are confused about security, and a plethora of configuration options just make things worse. Basic Falcon configuration will simply involve turning components on or off – for example to temporarily disable the antivirus when another vendor’s tech support requests it. Expert users can access a full range of configuration settings, logs, and other advanced features.
In addition, McAfee pioneered the dashboard-style security center, with the status of all security modules visible at once and easy access to antivirus, firewalls, and so on. McAfee’s VirusScan antivirus was one of the first such products to completely incorporate spyware protection. Falcon’s elements will be even more thoroughly integrated both in the user-interface and their actual functions, Solomon said.
With McAfee, all updates (against newly discovered malware as well as and new product features) download in the background automatically so consumers never have to interact with the service. With McAfee’s newly redesigned SecurityCenter, consumers can choose to view their computer’s security status; check for updates; and if a security application is not set to provide optimal protection, they can simply click a button to fix it. McAfee further accommodates consumer choice by providing both "Advanced" and "Basic" views, each revealing different levels of detail about their security service.
For consumers who wish to see an advanced look at the new Falcon security platform, McAfee plans to offer a beta test versions of McAfee Total Protection and McAfee VirusScan Plus software are slated to be available this month, and the final product is scheduled for release later this summer, Solomon said. Pricing has yet to be announced.
Like Microsoft and Symantec, McAfee is promoting its Falcon products as easy to use. They will be sold as a service, with the customer paying a recurring subscription price. Microsoft’s Windows Live OneCare and Symantec’s Norton 360 will be sold on the same basis, the companies have said.
Additional details on each service package, including pricing and availability will be provided later this summer. Once launched, the Falcon security service platform will finalize McAfee’s shift to a complete subscription model.