Free firewall protection on windows xp software for windows

System Requirements: windows xp service pack 2 or higher

Enhancements: Reduced CPU usage and new features added.

The McAfee Total Protection package was designed to provide comprehensive, proactive 12-in-1 security that guards what you value and with McAfee SiteAdvisor Plus, actively shields your PC from interaction with dangerous Web sites. Continuously and automatically updating, McAfee service helps prevent online hacker attacks with the latest protection. Also, it features a back-up and restore capability for computer crashes and environmental mishaps.
McAfee Total Protection includes multi-user Parental Controls, protection from identity theft, spam, and scams. With McAfees security service you always have the latest enhancements and threat updates that block viruses and spyware. Also, it includes a firewall to deter hacking.
McAfee SecurityCenter
McAfee SecurityCenter allows you to monitor your computers security status, know instantly whether your computers virus, spyware, e-mail, and firewall protection services are up-to-date, and act on potential security vulnerabilities. It provides the navigational tools and controls you need to coordinate and manage all areas of your computers protection.
Before you begin configuring and managing your computers protection, review the SecurityCenter interface and make sure that you understand the difference between protection status, protection categories, and protection services. Then, update SecurityCenter to ensure that you have the latest protection available from McAfee.
After your initial configuration tasks are complete, you use SecurityCenter to monitor your computers protection status. If SecurityCenter detects a protection problem, it alerts you so that you can either fix or ignore the problem (depending on its severity). You can also review SecurityCenter events, such as virus scanning configuration changes, in an event log.
McAfee SecurityCenter major features:
- Simplified protection status
Easily review your computers protection status, check for updates, and fix potential protection problems.
- Automated updates and upgrades
Automatically download and install updates for your registered programs. When a new version of a registered McAfee program is available, you get it at no charge while your subscription is valid, ensuring that you always have up-to-date protection.
- Real-time alerting
Security alerts notify you of emergency virus outbreaks and security threats, and provide options to remove, neutralize, or learn more about the threat.
McAfee VirusScan
VirusScans advanced detection and protection services defend you and your computer from the latest security threats, including viruses, Trojans, tracking cookies, spyware, adware, and other potentially unwanted programs. Protection extends beyond the files and folders on your desktop, targeting threats from different points of entry?including e-mail, instant messages, and the Web.
With VirusScan, your computers protection is immediate and constant (no tedious administration required). While you work, play, browse the Web, or check your e-mail, it runs in the background, monitoring, scanning, and detecting potential harm in real time. Comprehensive scans run on schedule, periodically checking your computer using a more sophisticated set of options. VirusScan offers you the flexibility to customize this behavior if you want to; but if you dont, your computer remains protected.
With normal computer use, viruses, worms, and other potential threats may infiltrate your computer. If this occurs, VirusScan notifies you about the threat, but usually handles it for you, cleaning or quarantining infected items before any damage occurs. Although rare, further action may sometimes be required. In these cases, VirusScan lets you decide what to do (rescan the next time you start your computer, keep the detected item, or remove the detected item).
McAfee VirusScan major features:
- Comprehensive virus protection
VirusScans advanced detection and protection services defend you and your computer from the latest security threats, including viruses, Trojans, tracking cookies, spyware, adware, and other potentially unwanted programs. Protection extends beyond the files and folders and on your desktop, targeting threats from different points of entry?including e-mail, instant messages, and the Web. No tedious administration required.
- Resource-aware scanning options
If you experience slow scan speeds, then you can disable the option to use minimal computer resources, but keep in mind that highter priority will be given to virus protection than to other tasks. VirusScan offers you the flexibility to customize real-time and manual scanning options if you want to; but if you dont, your computer remains protected.
- Automatic repairs
If VirusScan detects a security threat while running a real-time or manual scan, it tries to handle the threat automatically according to the threat type. This way, most threats can be detected and neutralized without your interaction. Although rare, VirusScan may not be able to neutralize a threat on its own. In these cases, VirusScan lets you decide what to do (rescan the next time you start your computer, keep the detected item, or remove the detected item).
- Pausing tasks in full-screen mode
When enjoying things like watching movies, playing games on your computer, or any activity that occupies your entire computer screen, VirusScan pauses a number of tasks, such as manual scans.
McAfee Personal Firewall
Personal Firewall offers advanced protection for your computer and your personal data. Personal Firewall establishes a barrier between your computer and the Internet, silently monitoring Internet traffic for suspicious activities.
McAfee Personal Firewall major features:
- Standard and custom protection levels
Guard against intrusion and suspicious
activity using Firewalls default or customizable protection settings.
- Real-time recommendations
Receive recommendations, dynamically, to help you determine whether programs should be granted Internet access or network traffic should be trusted.
- Intelligent access management for programs
Manage Internet access for programs, through alerts and Event Logs, and configure access permissions for specific programs.
- Gaming protection
Prevent alerts regarding intrusion attempts and suspicious activities from distracting you during full-screen gameplay.
- Computer startup protection
As soon as Windows starts, Firewall protects your computer from intrusion attempts, unwanted programs and network traffic.
- System service port control
Manage open and closed system service ports required by some programs.
- Manage computer connections
Allow and block remote connections between other computers and your computer.
- HackerWatch information integration
Track global hacking and intrusion patterns through HackerWatchs Web site, which also provides current security information about programs on your computer, as well as global security events and Internet port statistics.
- Lockdown Firewall
Instantly block all inbound and outbound traffic between your computer and the Internet.
- Restore Firewall
Instantly restore Firewalls original protection settings.
- Advanced Trojan detection
Detect and block potentially malicious applications, such as Trojans, from relaying your personal data to the Internet.
- Event logging
Track recent inbound, outbound, and intrusion events.
- Monitor Internet traffic
Review worldwide maps showing the source of hostile attacks and traffic. In addition, locate detailed owner information and geographical data for originating IP addresses. Also, analyze inbound and outbound traffic, monitor program bandwidth and program activity.
- Intrusion prevention
Protect your privacy from possible Internet threats. Using heuristic-like functionality, McAfee provides a tertiary layer of protection by blocking items that display symptoms of attacks or characteristics of hacking attempts.
- Sophisticated traffic analysis
Review both inbound and outbound Internet traffic and program connections, including those that are actively listening for open connections. This allows you to see and act upon programs that can be vulnerable to intrusion.
McAfee Anti-Spam
Anti-Spam (formerly called SpamKiller) stops unsolicited e-mail from entering your Inbox by examining your incoming e-mail, and then marking it as spam (e-mail soliciting you to purchase something) or phishing (e-mail soliciting you to provide personal information to a potentially fraudulent Web site). Anti-Spam then filters the spam e-mail and moves it to the McAfee Anti-Spam folder.
If your friends sometimes send you legitimate e-mail that may appear as spam, you can ensure that it is not filtered by adding their e-mail addresses to Anti-Spams friends list. You can also customize how spam is detected. For example, you can filter messages more aggressively, specify what to look for in a message, and create your own filters.
Anti-Spam also protects you if you try to access a potentially fraudulent Web site through a link in an e-mail message. When you click a link to a potentially fraudulent Web site, you are redirected to the Phishing filter safe page. If there are Web sites that you do not want filtered, you can add them to the whitelist (Web sites in this list are not filtered).
Anti-Spam works with various e-mail programs, such as POP3, POP3 Webmail, Yahoo, MSN/Hotmail, Windows Live Mail, and MAPI (Microsoft Exchange Server) accounts. If you use a browser to read your e-mail, you must add your Webmail account to Anti-Spam. All other accounts are configured automatically and you do not have to add them to Anti-Spam.
McAfee Anti-Spam major features:
- Spam filtering
Anti-Spams advanced filters prevent unsolicited e-mail from entering your Inbox, and are updated automatically for all your e-mail accounts. You can also create custom filters to ensure that all spam is filtered, and report spam to McAfee for analysis.
- Phishing filtering
The Phishing filter identifies potential phishing (fraudulent) Web sites that solicit personal information.
- Customized spam processing
Mark unsolicited e-mail as spam and move it to your McAfee Anti-Spam folder, or mark legitimate e-mail as not spam and move it to your Inbox.
- Friends
Import your friends e-mail addresses to the friends list so that their e-mail messages are not filtered.
- Sort list items by relevance
You can sort your personal filters, friends, address books, and Webmail accounts by relevance (simply click the appropriate column name).
- Additional support
Anti-Spam supports Mozilla Thunderbird 1.5 and 2.0, and provides Windows Vista 64-bit support for Windows Mail. In addition, the new gaming mode feature stops Anti-Spam background processes so that your computer does not slow down while you play video games or watch DVDs. Anti-Spam also filters Microsoft Outlook, Outlook Express, or Windows Mail accounts on any port, including SSL (Secure Socket Layer) ports
- McAfee Privacy Service
Privacy Service offers advanced protection for you, your family, your personal files, and your computer. It helps you to guard against online identity theft, block the transmission of personal information, and filter potentially offensive online content (including images). It also offers advanced Parental Controls that allow adults to monitor, control, and log some unauthorized Web browsing habits, as well as a secure storage area for personal passwords.
Before you begin using Privacy Service, you can familiarize yourself with some of the most popular features. Details about configuring and using these features are provided throughout the Privacy Service help.
- Parental Controls
Parental Controls lets you filter potentially inappropriate images, configure content rating groups (age groups used to restrict the Web sites and content that a user can view), and set Web browsing time limits (the period and duration of time that a user can access the Web) for SecurityCenter users. Parental Controls also lets you universally restrict access to specific Web sites, and grant or block access based on associated keywords.
- Personal Information Protection
Personal Information Protection lets you block the transmission of sensitive or confidential information (for example, credit card numbers, bank account numbers, addresses, and so on) across the Web.
- Password Vault
The Password Vault is a secure storage area for your personal passwords. It allows you to store your passwords with confidence so that no other user (not even an Administrator) can access them
McAfee QuickClean
QuickClean improves your computers performance by deleting files that can create clutter on your computer. It empties your Recycle Bin and deletes temporary files, shortcuts, lost file fragments, registry files, cached files, cookies, browser history files, sent and deleted e-mail, recently used files, Active-X files, and system restore point files. QuickClean also protects your privacy by using the McAfee Shredder component to securely and permanently delete items that may contain sensitive, personal information, such as your name and address. For information about shredding files, see McAfee Shredder.
McAfee Disk Defragmenter
Disk Defragmenter arranges files and folders on your computer to ensure that they do not become scattered (that is, fragmented) when saved on your computers hard drive. By defragmenting your hard drive periodically, you ensure that these fragmented files and folders are consolidated for quick retrieval later.
If you do not want to maintain your computer manually, you can schedule both QuickClean and Disk Defragmenter to run automatically, as independent tasks, at any frequency.
QuickClean provides various cleaners that delete unnecessary files safely and efficiently. By deleting these files, you increase the space on your computers hard drive and improve its performance.
McAfee Shredder
McAfee Shredder deletes (or shreds) items permanently from your computers hard drive. Even when you manually delete files and folders, empty your Recycle Bin, or delete your Temporary Internet Files folder, you can still recover this information using computer forensic tools. As well, a deleted file can be recovered because some programs make temporary, hidden copies of open files. Shredder protects your privacy by safely and permanently deleting these unwanted files. Its important to remember that shredded files cannot be restored.
McAfee Network Manager
Network Manager presents a graphical view of the computers and components that make up your home network. You can use Network Manager to remotely monitor the protection status of each managed computer in your network, and remotely fix reported security vulnerabilities on those computers.
Before you use Network Manager, you can familiarize yourself with some of the features. Details about configuring and using these features are provided throughout the Network Manager help.
McAfee Network Manager major features:
- Graphical network map
Network Managers network map provides a graphical overview of the protection status of the computers and components that make up your home network. When you make changes to your network (for example, you add a computer), the network map recognizes those changes. You can refresh the network map, rename the network, and show or hide components of the network map to customize your view. You can also view the details for any of the components on the network map.
- Remote management
Use Network Managers network map to manage the protection status of the computers that make up your home network. You can invite a computer to join the managed network, monitor the managed computers protection status, and fix known security vulnerabilities from a remote computer on the network.
McAfee EasyNetwork
EasyNetwork allows you to share files securely, simplify file transfers, and share printers among the computers in your home network. However, the computers in your network must have EasyNetwork installed to access its features.
Before you use EasyNetwork, you can familiarize yourself with some of the features. Details about configuring and using these features are provided throughout the EasyNetwork help.
Main features:
- File sharing
EasyNetwork makes it easy to share files with other computers on your network. When you share files, you grant other computers read-only access to those files. Only computers that have full or administrative access to your managed network (members) can share or access files shared by other members.
- File transfer
You can send files to other computers that have full or administrative access to your managed network (members). When you receive a file, it appears in your EasyNetwork inbox. The inbox is a temporary storage location for all the files other computers on the network send to you.
- Automated printer sharing
After you join a managed network, you can share any local printers attached to your computer with other members, using the printers current name as the shared printer name. It also detects printers shared by other computers on your network and allows you to configure and use those printers
System requirements:
- Registered Beta Account