McAfee Total Protection scores well on scam defense but costs a lot

PCMag has updated its review of McAfee Total Protection, a security suite, which is a bundle of tools meant to protect your devices. The verdict is short and clear: strong scam defense, but a steep price. The review was updated on October 30, 2026.

What is known

The review was written by Neil J. Rubenking, PCMag's principal writer on security. He joined PCMag in 1986 and has focused on antivirus software since the early 2000s. He is also an advisory board member of the Anti-Malware Testing Standards Organization, a nonprofit that works to improve how security tools are tested.

For risky tests, he runs real-world ransomware inside virtual machines, which are sealed software computers that keep the danger contained. PCMag says its team tests more than 1,500 products each year.

What is not known

The material available does not give the price, the test scores or a list of McAfee's scam protection features. It also does not say how the cost compares with rival products. So the size of the "steep" price, and what exactly earned the praise for scam defense, remains unclear.

Anyone shopping for family or business security should read the full review for those details. The key question is whether better scam protection is worth paying more for in your situation.