Frequently Asked Questions

If you have a question, we advise you to have a look on our support page which will provide you with information about both common and more advanced solutions.


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Can I disable McAfee Personal Firewall Plus if I have a firewall on my router?

If you have a conventional Router, you can disable Personal Firewall and ignore the Firewall protection is disabled warning in SecurityCenter.

However, Personal Firewall goes far beyond the basic protection offered by conventional home Routers, so disabling Personal Firewall will result in decreased security for your computers. Consequently, McAfee does not recommend disabling Personal Firewall.

To disable firewall protection:

  1. On the McAfee SecurityCenter pane, do one of the following: 
    • Click Internet & Network, and then Configure. 
    • Click Advanced Menu, then Configure on the Home pane, and then point to Internet & Network.
  2. On the Internet & Network Configuration pane, under Firewall protection is enabled, select Off.
  3. A warning appears saying 'When firewall protection is disabled, your computer is vulnerable to intrusion and unwanted network connections'.
  4. In the warning box, you have the option of automatically re-enabling the firewall after 15 minutes (you can change this to 30 minutes, 45 minutes or 60 minutes).

Click OK to disable the firewall. Clicking Cancel leaves the Firewall protection enabled.

To re-enable firewall protection:

  1. On the McAfee SecurityCenter pane, do one of the following:
    • Click Internet & Network, and then Configure.
    • Click Advanced Menu, then Configure on the Home pane, and then point to Internet & Network.
  2. From the Internet & Network Configuration pane, select On.

What are the system requirements to run McAfee Data Backup?

Data Backup is a component of McAfee PC Protection Plus, Internet Security Suite, and Total Protection. Please refer to the system requirements for that particular product. The system requirements for Data Backup are:

  1. Storage Device.

    You must have at least one of the following storage devices attached to your computer to archive your data files with Data Backup: 
    • CD/DVD burner 
    • External or internal hard disk or USB drive 
    • Network drive
  2. Available Storage. 

    CD/DVD - If you are archiving your files on a CD or DVD drive you will need a sufficient number of blank CDs/DVDs to contain your archive. Each new archive you create will consume additional CD/DVDs. 

    Hard disk, USB drive or network drive - If you are archiving your files on a hard disk, USB drive or network drive, the disk/drive must have sufficient free storage available to contain each archive you create. Please note that Data Backup does not overwrite or delete any of your prior archives when it creates a new archive. Each new archive you create will consume additional storage space for that new archive.
  3. Microsoft .Net Framework 1.1. 

    Data Backup requires Microsoft .Net Framework version 1.1 to run. If .Net 1.1 is not detected on your computer when you try to run Data Backup, you will be prompted to download and install it at that time. Please follow these prompts to download and install .Net 1.1 on your computer.

How do I open the MCAFEE SECURITY CENTRE?

To open McAfee SecurityCenter, you can do any of the following:

  1. Click the M icon on your desktop
  2. Go to Start -> All Programs -> McAfee -> McAfee Security Center
  3. Right-click the M icon on the system tray, and click one of the following:
    1. Open SecurityCenter
    2. Updates
    3. Quick Links

How do I “Exit” or close MCAFEE SECURITY CENTRE? I used to be able to right-click on the system tray icons and click “Exit”

To close the McAfee Security Center, you can

  1. Right-click on the system tray icon and click “Exit”.
  2. Select the “X” in the upper right-hand corner

What do I do if I forget my Administrator password?

If you forget the Administrator password, you can retrieve it using the following steps:

  1. Right-click the SecrityCenter M icon, and then click Switch User.
  2. In the User Name list, select Administrator, and click Forgot Password.
  3. Enter the answer to the secret question you selected when you created your Administrator account.
  4. Click Submit. Your forgotten Administrator password appears.

How do I launch the EasyNetwork application so I can easily share files and printers?

To launch the EasyNetwork application, you can do any of the following:

  1. Click the EasyNetwork icon on your desktop
  2. Go to Start -> Program Files -> EasyNetwork  

How do I use the Task Scheduler?

To free up valuable drive space and optimize the performance of your computer, you can schedule QuickClean or Disk Defragmenter tasks to run at regular intervals.  To maintain your computer automatically:

  1. Right-click the main SecurityCenter icon, point to QuickLinks, and then click Maintain Computer.
  2. Under Task Scheduler, click Start.
  3. In the operation list, select QuickClean or Disk Defragmenter.
  4. Do one of the following:
    1. To modify an existing task, select it, and then click Modify. Follow the on-screen instructions.
    2. To create a new task, enter the name in the Task Name box, and then click Create. Follow the on-screen instructions.
    3. To delete a task, select it, and then click Delete.
    4. Under Task Summary, view when the task was last run, when it will run next, and its status.

What are Full and Quick Archives, and how should I use them?

Full Archive

Full Archive creates an entirely new and complete archive of all of your watched data files which are based on your watch locations and watch file type settings.

Quick Archives

Quick Archive only archives new or modified files in your watch locations since the last full or quick archive. Because Quick Archive only archives incremental changes to your watched files, it takes less time and storage than Full Archive.

Using Quick and Full Archive

McAfee recommends that you create Quick Archives in between Full Archives to save time and archival media, while ensuring up-to-date protection for your data. Full Archives should still be performed periodically to ensure that you can restore a prior version of a file to your computer, and have a secondary backup of your data.

Watch Locations

Watch Locations are the locations on your computer that Data Backup archives and monitors for changes. Data Backup uses Watch Locations and Watched File Types as the basis of what data on your computer gets archived.

What is Encryption and how is it used?

Encryption is a process by which data is transformed from its original text form to code to ensure that the information is unreadable to others. Your files have been preset by McAfee to be encrypted before they are archived to ensure the security of your archived data. If you turn the encryption setting off, this step will be skipped and save you the time it takes to encrypt your watched files when the archive is created.

Disabling Encryption

  1. Open SecurityCenter.
  2. Click Backup and Restore Files.
  3. Click Settings.
  4. Click Advanced Settings.
  5. Uncheck Enable Encryption.
  6. Click Save.

What is Compression and how is it used?

Compression is a process by which data is encoded to reduce the number of bytes required to store a file to save disk space or transmission time. Your files have been preset by McAfee to be compressed before they are archived to reduce the amount of storage required to archive your data. If you turn the compression setting off, this step will be skipped and save you the time it takes to compress your watched files when the archive is created.

Turning Compression off

  1. Open SecurityCenter.
  2. Click Backup and Restore Files.
  3. Click Settings.
  4. Click Advanced Settings.
  5. Uncheck Enable Compression.
  6. Click Save.