Do we like them?

Do we like McAfee?

Consumer antivirus, identity and online-protection software; based in San Jose, California, USA.

Our score: 5 out of 10. Mixed. It's a long-running, mainstream security brand, but our searches found old fines over auto-renewal and revenue reporting and nothing recent to lift it. We'd hold off.

McAfee is the old-school antivirus name. In late 2021 an investor group led by Advent International and Permira agreed to take it private at $26 a share. The deal closed in early 2022, and it's now a consumer-only business.

Greg Johnson, previously head of Intuit's consumer group, became President and CEO in June 2022. The move was part of the shift to a pure-play consumer business.

The dramas are mostly old. In 2006 McAfee paid $50 million to settle SEC charges that it overstated revenue. It denied wrongdoing. In 2009 it paid $375,000 to settle with the New York attorney general over auto-renewing subscriptions.

Later class actions in 2014 and 2015 alleged it charged more than the advertised price when subscriptions renewed. The proposed settlement offered members $11.50. We couldn't confirm it was finally approved. We found nothing recent, so we land in the middle.