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McAfee Intros Family Protection Software

June 4, 2009

McAfee Family Protection, a new software program that can prevent a child from online dangers, such as viewing inappropriate content, participating in cyberbullying and engaging in risky interactions on social networking sites is now available.

“Cyber threats are increasing exponentially, and at the same time more and more children are spending time online. I see these dangers every day and the threats are very real for kids,” said Brent Remai, vice president of consumer marketing at McAfee, and a father of three. “It takes both education and technology to protect kids from online dangers, and the McAfee Family Protection software makes it simple for parents to keep their kids safe online.”

Recent statistics show:

62% of parents worry just as much or more about their teens’ online safety as they do about drinking and driving (McAfee and Harris Interactive, October, 2008)
52% of teens have given out personal information online to someone they didn’t know (McAfee and Harris Interactive, October, 2008)
One out of 17 kids have been harassed, threatened or bullied online (netlingo.com, March, 2007)

“I’ve been very concerned about my kids’ online safety over the last year,” said Michelle Quinn, a mother of three from Chicago, IL, and a participant in McAfee’s Family Protection software user trial. “I learned that my daughter was approached on IM by an older man and within a few days of meeting online was offered an airline ticket to meet him in person. I’ve also had fears of my boys being involved in cyberbullying. In the past, I have struggled to stay on top of my kids’ online activities, but after using McAfee Family Protection software I know that I can easily monitor their activities and they can continue to enjoy the Internet. The IM and social networking notifications will also put me at more ease.”

McAfee Family Protection software includes a variety of unique features appropriate for each age group to help parents keep their kids safe online. Now, parents can receive text or e-mail alerts when a child has tried to access banned Web sites; they can filter inappropriate YouTube videos; and they can completely block programs, such as IM, peer-to-peer or e-mail, in addition to Web sites with similar functionality. Unlike other products, it does not expose families to unwanted advertising within the product.

McAfee Family Protection software includes the following features:

Web Blocking lets parents block up to 35 categories of inappropriate content including such categories as pornography, hate sites and school cheating.
Program Blocking helps parents steer kids and teens away from such programs as peer-to-peer file sharing programs that may compromise family PCs or games that may only be appropriate for certain age groups.
E-mail Content Management allows parents to both pre-approve e-mail addresses of kids’ friends and block unknown e-mail addresses via such programs as Microsoft Outlook. It can also completely block Web-based email programs (such as Gmail or Hotmail) so children or teens are not communicating with strangers.
The Social Networking feature records and alerts parents when inappropriate or personal information is posted to popular social networking sites such as Facebook and MySpace.
Instant Messaging lets parents monitor and record IM chats as needed to understand if kids are being communicated to by cyberbullies or strangers. IM clients include AOL, ICQ, MSN and Yahoo!, and parents can also block IM programs that are installed on the PC by using the Program Blocking feature.
Time Limits enable families to select the amount of time children and teens can use the Internet.
Reports provide parents with a complete view of sites visited, including banned sites, as well as recorded IM activity.
Instant Alerts by e-mail or text give parents a heads up when access to objectionable material is attempted and when confidential information is posted on social networking sites.

McAfee Family Protection software costs $39.99 and works with McAfee’s consumer security suites including McAfee VirusScan Plus,