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McAfee SiteAdvisor Reaches 38 Million Downloads Milestone

Posted on: Wednesday, 14 March 2007, 09:00 CDT

SANTA CLARA, Calif., March 14 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- McAfee, Inc. today announced the achievement of a significant new milestone: McAfee(R) SiteAdvisor(TM), the world's first safe search and surf technology, has already been downloaded more than 38 million times by Internet users.

"Put into perspective, McAfee SiteAdvisor delivers Web site safety ratings 320 million times every single day, educating consumers about which sites are safe and which ones might compromise their Internet experience," said Tim Dowling, VP, Consumer Growth Initiatives, McAfee. "By any measure, McAfee SiteAdvisor has enjoyed very strong adoption since its launch last year and has demonstrated the urgent market need for this technology."

McAfee SiteAdvisor is a FREE Web safety tool which adds ratings to Web sites and search results as users search, browse, and transact online. It tests and rates, on an ongoing basis, nearly every trafficked site on the Internet for a wide variety of Web safety issues, providing advance warning of dangerous and risky Web sites. McAfee SiteAdvisor works with Microsoft Internet Explorer and Mozilla Firefox to mark search results from most search engines with a safety rating for each Web site preventing users from going to harmful websites. SiteAdvisor is a great complement for businesses and consumers to use with their existing McAfee products or to enhance security products made by other manufacturers. McAfee SiteAdvisor is a 30-second download and is available at http://us.mcafee.com/.

McAfee SiteAdvisor uses advanced technology to conduct automated Web site tests for spyware, adware, exploits, excessive pop-ups and spam. It also integrates feedback from individual users and analysis by SiteAdvisor staff to enhance SiteAdvisor's automated testing and to reveal potential online scams.

For example, one of SiteAdvisor's testers reported "official-green- card.org" as a misleading Green Card site to SiteAdvisor staff. This site charged users to enter them in a U.S. green card lottery -- a free program run by the U.S. State Department (dvlottery.state.gov). Eventually, more than ten sites that engaged in similar practices were identified. Another typical scam involves Web sites that try to sell consumers free software such as Internet Explorer, Opera, or Netscape.

More recently, fake YouTube video players that linked to a site named yootube.info began appearing on MySpace pages. Clicking on the player exposed consumers to unwanted adware. Within hours of yootube.info's appearance, SiteAdvisor users had flagged the site as a scam. McAfee staff investigated, confirmed the scam, and rated the site red for "risky."

"We are equally excited that the Internet community has embraced McAfee SiteAdvisor and evangelized its benefits, contributing to its rapid success," added Dowling. "SiteAdvisor's proactive protection helps consumers stay safe as they search, surf and transact online, and we are happy to offer it free of charge."

McAfee SiteAdvisor's pioneering safe search software protects Internet users from adware, spam, viruses and other online dangers. Already downloaded tens of millions of times, SiteAdvisor has received numerous honors including: 5-star reviews from CNET's download.com, Time Magazine's "50 Coolest Web Sites," Popular Science's "Best of What's New" and the US Department of Commerce's "Recognition of Excellence in Innovation" honor. SiteAdvisor is available for free at http://us.mcafee.com/.

About McAfee, Inc.:

McAfee Inc., the leading dedicated security technology company, headquartered in Santa Clara, California, delivers proactive and proven solutions and services that secure systems and networks around the world. With its unmatched security expertise and commitment to innovation, McAfee empowers home users, businesses, the public sector, and service providers with the ability to block attacks, prevent disruptions, and continuously track and improve their security. http://www.mcafee.com/.

NOTE: McAfee and SiteAdvisor are registered trademarks or trademarks of McAfee, Inc. and/or its affiliates in the US and/or other countries. McAfee Red in connection with security is distinctive of McAfee brand products. All other registered and unregistered trademarks herein are the sole property of their respective owners.

McAfee, Inc.

CONTACT: Eric Goldman of GlobalFluency, +1-646-652-5203, oregoldman@globalfluency.com, for McAfee, Inc.; or Francie Coulter of McAfee,Inc., +1-408-992-8407, or francie_coulter@mcafee.com

Web site: http://www.mcafee.com/

Source: PRNewswire-FirstCall

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