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Saturday, June 25th
McAfee is probably one of the most well-recognized companies in the online security industry. They focus on protecting people, not just devices. The company is based out of San Jose, California and has a variety of products to meet the specific needs of customers. They provide products for digital virus protection, identity monitoring, malware and phishing protection, data cleanup, and parental controls.
Vague feature details
McAfee Family Safe is a parental control software aimed at keeping kids safe while they browse the internet. The features included are similar to what can be found through other companies, but McAfee doesn't give in-depth details about how customizable their platform is and doesn't show a demo or screenshots to give people an idea of what the app looks like. The main features they list include:
Pay monthly or yearly
There are two pricing options for McAfee Family Safe: pay $7.99/month or save and pay $49.99/year. If you want to try out the system before committing to a monthly purchase, you can use McAfee's 30-day trial. Once the 30 days are up, you'll be billed unless you cancel the service.
Unclear return policy
If you change your mind about McAfee once you've paid for it, you'll need to contact customer service to see if you're eligible for a refund. They give hardly any information about this besides stating that there is a money-back guarantee, but it depends on the type of product, subscription terms, time elapsed since purchase, and more. All of this is vague, but they do make it clear that if you're paying month-to-month, you can cancel, but you can't get any money back.
Cannot run on Macs
If you have an iPhone running the most updated version of iOS, an updated Android, or Windows 7, McAfee will work for you. At first we tried to access their free trial on a Mac and found that it wasn't supported. This is more limited than some other internet filtering services, so it's disappointing that not everyone will be able to use McAfee.
Frustrating to deal with
The Better Business Bureau does not have a rating for McAfee and unfortunately, in recent months the company has received a slew of criticism about their unpleasant customer service team, difficulties uninstalling software from devices, glitches, unwanted changes to devices on which the software is installed, and more. The reviews include feedback about their range of products, but there are also specific issues with Family Safe as well. Some complaints include how easy it is to disable the system, slow response time to control changes, lots of bugs, and other problems. It sounds extremely frustrating to deal with, so we don't recommend wasting your time with this particular internet filter.
More than ever, parents are looking for a reliable internet filter to protect their children from pornography and other explicit content that is readily available online. Harmful content can be found through nearly any platform or gaming site and whether an internet user is looking for it or not, offensive images and information are constantly being programmed to make their way into the safety of your home.
Understanding some statistics about the pornography industry will send nearly any sane person into shock. The industry is grossly manipulative and exists to harm individuals at every age and stage of life through their physical and verbal portrayals of relationships. They often show drug use and illegal activity related to minors.
Over $3,075 is spent on porn every second on the internet - and nearly 35% of all downloads are related to pornography. 34% or more (we would gamble that this statistic is much lower than reality) of people say they have been exposed to unwanted content through ads, misdirected links, popups, and emails. It is especially dangerous for children who are learning to use the internet, as they trust innocent-looking games and chat rooms online, then quickly become addicted to explicit content.
Thousands of new porn sites are created every week and the amount of easily-accessible, inappropriate content is staggering. To protect families, it requires a combination of strict rules and expectations for internet use as well as top-rated internet blockers to filter out content. Thankfully, there are quite a few companies working hard to develop systems to combat the harmful effects of the pornography industry and other individuals who seek to hurt members of your family.
Since there are many companies that offer internet filtering services, we have provided important information for you to consider when shopping around:
TopConsumerReviews.com has reviewed and ranked the best internet filter services today. We hope this information helps you find a solution you're confident with to protect you and your family.
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