Over many years in the IT field, I’ve come to know and use a variety of security tools for my own PCs. Like you, I’m pretty picky, and don’t mind a product that requires a little more “elbow grease” if it does the job well. For reasons I won’t get into here, I use products from several different companies to cover my anti-virus, anti-spyware and firewall needs. They work great for me, but that’s because I know how to configure and manage them over time.

So when it comes to recommending security software to my customers, I don’t always recommend the same tool set I use. That may seem odd, but my reasoning is pretty straightforward - unless the customer is technically inclined, I’d rather not see them struggle with tools that will frustrate them to the point of insanity (learned that one the hard way). I’d rather use the K.I.S.S. approach - Keep It Simple, Stupid.

Recently, a customer I hadn’t heard from in quite a while contacted me for recommendations on antivirus software. She wanted to cover three PCs in her household. So I thought of the Big Three: Norton, McAfee and Trend Micro. Yes, there are others, but these are perhaps the most widely used in the consumer arena. I also recommended she choose an integrated suite that incorporated anti-virus, firewall, and anti-spyware functionality. Again - the K.I.S.S. approach. I sent her links to the three web sites with pricing information. Trend Micro and McAfee offered multi-user packs, which was attractive given her desire to protect three PCs. She ended up getting McAfee Internet Security Suite - it offered a three-user download for $99.99 after rebate.

So she contacted me after she made the purchase reporting that she had made the online purchase, but couldn’t figure out how to get the other two computers set up. I figured I’d drop in, help her re-download the installation package, and burn it to CD so that we could install it on the other PCs. Well, McAfee didn’t make it so easy. After we logged into her account, the transaction history said she had the retail version, not the download version. Yet the printout she had from her purchase clearly said download version. Hmmmm.

After digging around, I located the live chat support area and thought I could get this resolved with its expert guidance. After going around in circles, I was referred to its toll-free customer service number as the problem couldn’t be resolved. The call to its customer service center didn’t go any better. The people there couldn’t explain to me how to re-download the software (mind you, she even paid $7.99 for the extended download service, adding insult to injury). I had to painfully explain to the CSR that we’d purchased the software and simply wanted to download it so we could install it on the other PCs we were entitled to. They just kept referring back to the same Web page, and round and round we went. It’s like if you don’t ask them a question on their script, they short circuit and give you a jibberish response.

They sent an e-mail with a link they assured me that would allow me to download the software again. That didn’t help. McAfee seems to deliver its sofware by pushing it through the browser through ActiveX technology, rather than a traditional installer package that you can download and save and burn to CD. From what the CSR told me, it also uses e-mail addresses to manage its licenses. So for the three-user pack, and I swear this is what I was told, you have to use three unique and valid e-mail addresses for the software to be authorized. If that’s really true, that is ludicrous. What happens if you have six PCs and only two e-mail addresses and you want to use its software?

Look, most of us have experienced poor customer support at one point or another. But this was beyond maddening. It had scant documentation on how the process worked for a multi-license download, and its support was all but useless. McAfee is supposed to be sending a CD with the software on it, but I’m leaning towards having her get a refund and perhaps going with Trend Micro’s three-user Internet protection bundle.

I’m open for suggestions, but remember, I’d rather not have them use a complex a la carte solution with more complicated tools from different companies. I am aware of the free security tools out there, some of them I’ve come to know and love, but they tend to be more for the tech savvy and not so much for the average consumer in terms of ease-of-use.

Finally, a word to McAfee: make the process easier or you will lose business.