jerrybev
Level 1 (4 points)
iCloud

Q: McAfee Antivirus quit when El Capitan loaded

I advised my friend to update to El Capitan and she now tells me her McAfee antivirus quit once El Capitan was installed.  Checking McAfee website but it's not clear to me whether they provide an update.  Has anyone else experienced this?

Posted on Oct 5, 2015 2:00 PM

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jerrybev

Q: McAfee Antivirus quit when El Capitan loaded

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  • by Carolyn Samit,

    Carolyn Samit Carolyn Samit Oct 5, 2015 2:06 PM in response to jerrybev
    Level 10 (120,969 points)
    Apple Music
    Oct 5, 2015 2:06 PM in response to jerrybev

    Advise her to uninstall the McAfee software >  How to install or uninstall McAfee Internet Security for Mac

     

    It may not be El Capitan compatible.

     

    About OS X security >  The Safe Mac » Mac Malware Guide : How does Mac OS X protect me?

  • by Old Toad,

    Old Toad Old Toad Oct 5, 2015 2:17 PM in response to jerrybev
    Level 10 (140,940 points)
    Photos for Mac
    Oct 5, 2015 2:17 PM in response to jerrybev

    As Carolyn has already suggested tell your friend to uninstall the AV software.  It's not needed on Macs and has been noted to compromise performance. 

     

    Also never user any "cleaning" or "optimizing" apps on a Mac.  They are know to cause damage to systems and iPhoto/Photo libraries. 

    OTsig.png

  • by jerrybev,

    jerrybev jerrybev Oct 5, 2015 2:19 PM in response to Old Toad
    Level 1 (4 points)
    iCloud
    Oct 5, 2015 2:19 PM in response to Old Toad

    Thank you.  I'll pass it on.

  • by John Galt,

    John Galt John Galt Oct 5, 2015 2:20 PM in response to jerrybev
    Level 8 (48,715 points)
    Mac OS X
    Oct 5, 2015 2:20 PM in response to jerrybev
    1. Back up your Mac if you have not done so already. To learn how to use Time Machine read Mac Basics: Time Machine backs up your Mac - Apple Support.
    2. Uninstall "McAfee". One or both of these removal instructions may be applicable:

  • by jerrybev,

    jerrybev jerrybev Oct 5, 2015 2:23 PM in response to Carolyn Samit
    Level 1 (4 points)
    iCloud
    Oct 5, 2015 2:23 PM in response to Carolyn Samit

    Thanks very much.  I'll pass it on to her with hopes she doesn't have big issues with getting it off her system.

  • by jerrybev,

    jerrybev jerrybev Oct 5, 2015 2:49 PM in response to John Galt
    Level 1 (4 points)
    iCloud
    Oct 5, 2015 2:49 PM in response to John Galt

    Fantastic.  The links will be helpful for sure.  Thank you.

  • by Heyalda,

    Heyalda Heyalda Jun 8, 2016 7:56 PM in response to jerrybev
    Level 1 (4 points)
    Jun 8, 2016 7:56 PM in response to jerrybev

    I upgraded to El Capitan and McAfee Internet Security quit working. None of the info in this post worked for me. The mcafee uninstaller would not run on El Capitan and the newly downloaded installer from AT&T/McAfee was failing to install and unable to remove the old version.

     

    Not having AV on a Mac is probably not a good idea. I have had McAfee Internet Security on my Mac for about 2 years now with minimal system impact and I do a lot of photoshop, Xcode, Parallels with multiple VMs, etc. (granted I do have a powerful macbook pro 16GB 11,3).

     

    With the growing popularity of Mac over the past several years OSX has become more of a target for opportunistic cyber criminals.

    So all OS's have vulnerabilities from time to time and tools such as antivirus and intrusion detection/prevention can reduce your chance of finding yourself with a compromised Mac.

     

    What worked for me was to delete all of the references to McAfee in /Library/Application\ Support/Mcafee, /Library/LaunchAgents/...,  /Library/LaunchDaemons/...,  and finally delete the McAfee app code lingering on my mac with: sudo rm -fr /usr/local/McAfee/


    After deleting all traces of the old non-El Capitan compliant McAfee, I was able to successfully install the proper McAfee Internet Security that works with El Capitan.


    WARNING: Make sure you know what you are doing before you try to force remove a folder with sudo rm -fr.

     

    Q: Does AV and other tools impact mac performance. A: Yes.

    Q: Does it impact my ability to use my Mac for many different purposes. A: No.

    Q: Does it reduce my risk of getting my mac compromised. A: Yes. How much does it reduce my risk? Hard to say. Depends on signatures from the AV provider and how I configure the firewall. How good the intrusion prevention rules/signatures are.

    Q: Would I be better of if I chose not to use some form of AV, firewall, and IPS. A: Probably not.