McAfee Releases Mac Security Tools

Security vendor McAfee Tuesday announced the release of two new security products for the Apple Macintosh operating system: McAfee Internet Security and McAfee Family Protection for Mac.

McAfee Internet Security is aimed at creating a more secure browsing experience by protecting users from malicious websites, browser exploits, and reporting whether online financial websites have been scanned by McAfee and ruled as legitimate. In addition, the software adds site ratings to the results of 22 online search engines, includes a two-way firewall to monitor all data coming into or going out of the computer, and uses malware scanning to block all known Windows and Mac viruses, spyware, and adware.

McAfee Internet Security works with Mac OS 10.5 or later, can be purchased in the United States, Canada, Australia, United Kingdom, Italy, France, Germany, Spain, Mexico, and Japan, and retails for about $80.

Meanwhile, the other new Macintosh security product, McAfee Family Protection, "allows parents to keep a watchful eye over their kids' activities," said Todd Gebhart, McAfee's executive VP and general manager for consumer, mobile, and small business, in a statement.

In particular, the software allows parents to filter the content their children can view by blocking up to 35 different categories of content. Parents can also configure instant alerts via e-mail or SMS when kids try to access blocked sites, set time limits for browsing the Internet, and review activity reports.

According to a recent study of teenage behavior online conducted by Harris Interactive for McAfee, half of surveyed teens said they hide their online activities from parents, and one-third said they alter their behavior when their parents are watching. While that's not immediate cause for alarm, it does suggest that many parents might like to at least monitor what their kids are doing online.

McAfee Family Protection is available for Mac OS 10.5 or later in the United States, United Kingdom, and Australia, and retails for about $40.