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With successive versions of Windows serving up ever-improving system tools, the makers of utility software have really had to focus their efforts to maintain demand for their products. This brand-new version of McAfee Utilities packs in an impressive array of features, from spring cleaning tools to crash protection and automated data backups.
With many of the tools working at such a fundamental level, we fully expected to have to reboot after installation. But we didn't think we'd have to reboot a total of three times before we finally arrived back at the Desktop. But once there, everything was accessible from the well-crafted front end, and on display were useful reminders such as the last time the Registry was backed up and the current fragmentation levels of the hard disk.
The best time to install a product such as this is immediately after a clean install of Windows and, with it busy behind the scenes, the system should remain in fairly good shape. In particular, the new Active Tune defragmentation tool works in the background to stop files from becoming fragmented and, remarkably, does so without any noticeable performance hit.
Crash Protector aims to help rescue the data being worked on in the event of a crash and seemed to work fairly well, while those who never quite get around to backing up their important data should appreciate Safe and Sound's ability to back up user-definable files automatically in the background to a protected volume file which can be restored if disaster ever strikes.
Particularly user friendly is First Aid, with its easy to use graphical front end and ability to perform the computing equivalent of an automotive MOT check with just one click of the mouse. Every aspect of the PC's hardware and software configuration can be checked and more than likely fixed.
It doesn't do much that the more 'hands-on' standalone tools don't already do but for less confident users it's just the ticket. It's by no means perfect though; we tried it on a well maintained two-month old installation of Windows Me and suffered several fatal crashes that Crash Protector was unable to remedy. We were more impressed with the Guardian: a background task that quietly monitors memory and resources, warning you when they drop below a predetermined level.
Sensitive unwanted files can be comprehensively shredded to ensure total obliteration and the non-US version of Phil Zimmermann's encryption suite, Pretty Good Privacy, is also included for those worried about data security. Sadly, McAfee hasn't included the Windows Me compatible version of PGP.
For those with an inquisitive nature, Discover Pro is able to provide a wealth of detailed information about any particular system. It appears not to have changed much from previous versions and this is borne out by benchmarking comparisons, which still only provide comparisons to 486 and 100Mhz Pentium machines. We were also quite bemused at the misidentification of our 1.1Ghz Athlon processor as a 500Mhz model, and there was a similar misreading of a Duron.
FEATURES:
- Crash protection and recovery
- Registry tune-up
- Benchmarking and diagnostics
- Repair of common hard disk problems
- On-the-fly backup of critical files and data
- Removal of unwanted clutter
- Optimisation of system performance
- First Aid for checking PC and peripherals
- International PGP encryption suite (not Windows Me).
CONTACT: Network Associates
0800 092 7160
www.mcafee-at-home.com
See also:
All File & Disk Management
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