Customer Reviews
Buggy, NO support, total ripoff 
2003-11-13
There's no way to tell you how bad this package is in only 1,000 words. 100,000 is more like it.
SpamKiller puts "spam" into a separate folder. However, McAfee's VirusScan flashes warnings for each piece of virus-infected email which arrives in that folder, even though they have already been decontaminated by VirusScan. On bootup, I was getting 88 or more meaningless virus alerts, requiring two clicks each to dismiss!
McAfee took more than a month to figure this out. I wasted over 30 hours online with their totally clueless techs before I finally realized that my system wasn't massively infected - the whole problem was that McAfee's two products were in conflict.
Later, email from the McAfee Escalation Team was blocked by their own SpamKiller software, because it "looked like spam". When I finally got in touch with an Escalation tech, he wrote that he needed to find an expert in SpamKiller to help me...that was on October 20th. It is now November 12, and there has still been no word. McAfee has taken over THREE weeks to find an expert in THEIR OWN SOFTWARE, and they STILL haven't found one! This is incredibly bad service.
SpamKiller was also really bad with spam. It let a LOT of spam through, even after I'd set up some specific filters...others have reported this filtering glitch. It also marked a lot of good email as spam. This was totally unacceptable, of course.
The entire methodology of SpamKiller is inferior, because it primarily relies on a centralized list. Once the spammers figure out a way through the McAfee-defined filters, the entire McAfee customer base is open to them for another mailing. Individually-developed Bayesian filtering programs are much superior, since they reflect the actual spam that the user receives and are therefore not subject to a universal spammer workaround. I uninstalled SpamKiller and have been using a free program that uses Bayesian filtering (POPfile), and after a week it is at 98% accuracy, with the balance of error on including spam in my inbox - which is much preferable to losing good mail. As I continue to use the program it continues to learn and adapt, too. I'm very pleased with it. It's remarkable easy to use, too.
SpamKiller was slow to respond to new email (sometimes I could see that new email had come in with webmail, but it took SpamKiller ten minutes or more to receive it), and slow to process mail, too.
WARNING: Once you give McAfee permission to "auto-renew" your account with your credit card, it is not easy to get them to stop. Some people have had to make all sorts of calls and complaints. It took me more than a week to get them to take my card off the account, so that I can let my McAfee account lapse.
Taken separately, VirusScan is not a bad program. I subscribed to it separately for many years. But thanks to my awful experience with SpamKiller 5.0 I'm dropping McAfee altogether. If you'd like to know more, email me. I've got some stories that are pretty funny, if you didn't have to pay $65.00 for the experience.
Rebate offers a joke 2003-11-05
I purchased Virus Scan and Spam Killer because of an offer they were running for $10.00 off of Virus Scan and $30.00 rebate on Spam Killer. I submitted all of the documentation - receipt, UPC codes and coupons. I was told they never received the UPC codes - not so. Unfortunately I didn't take copies, go figure first time. Took forever for any response, they refused to take back products or process request.
In summary, not a good company to do business with. Horrible customer service. Can't get through, takes forever last person I spoke to was telephone rep in Guam....
Stick with Symantec....
SpamKiller 5 is not an upgrade 
2003-10-30
SpamKiller 4 is much better. I promptly reinstalled it after trying 5.0. SpamKiller 5 doesn't run in the system tray and doesn't notify you when your receive new email. The interface looks nicer but is slower and less functional. Recommend getting SpamKiller 4 while it's still available. (Update: One person told me they liked Norton AntiSpam, but all the reviews say it's buggy and slow, so I wouldn't recommend it over SpamKiller 4.)
As for the VirusScan part of the bundle...
Virusscan Good Spamkiller Bad 2003-10-02
The virusscan product does what it says and does it well, I'm very happy with this product.
Spamkiller 5 on the other hand is far inferior to Spamkiller 4 which was a very good product.
I've been a spamkiller user for a few years, even before McAfee bought it. I'm extremely dissapointed in version 5, which I was so looking forward to.
Half the reason I use SpamKiller is to be notified of new emails, last years version would change the icon and when I hovered my mouse over it tell me how many good/junk emails I had received. It would also play sounds for friends/good email/junk email. This years version only plays sounds for junk email and doesn't notify me in anyway other than a gunshot for junk email that I have any new mail (I'd prefer to know when I had new valid email!).
Then on top of this the product seems flaky, for instance when I wanted mark an email (classified as junk) as actually being from a friend SpamKiller 5 put my email address in the email address box to add as a friend vs. putting the senders address in the box (in previous versions this would add the user to the friends list and rescue the email), so to add a message to a friends list I have to type in the emailer's from address overwriting my own email address.
Also on some forums I've read of alot of people having issues with the outlook integration and some have had problems with rescuing messages.
I'd recommend waiting on an upgrade to this previously very good product, for now buy the Virusscan 8.0 Pro version which comes with 2 licenses instead of this combo.
increases your spam 2004-06-25
we now know that exploits like webbugs etc are used in html to confirm "visiting a site." well in html email adding a webbug that includes your email address is a way to confirm the email address is live and valid and worse yet, that the email has been read. this exploit is now very common. Spamkiller actually does this not just for the mail you kill but even for mail it filters and you never read.
IE every message with a webbug returns a message to teh spammer that your account is live and that you read spam! You can not turn off this feature in either spamkiller 5.0 or 4.0. this is incredible!
use this product and you will be added to every spammer's list, not only as a live email address, but as someone who opens their spam mail (even if you don't!)
Best anti-virus suite I've ever tried 
2004-04-01
Most of these reviews are not fair, PCMagazine and PCWorld gave VirusScan and SpamKiller editor's choice and 5/5 stars respectively. I downloaded latest updates and works great. Seemlessly works with my outlook accounts and found infected files and spyware that I didn't know about!!
STAY AWAY from this piece of JUNK 2004-03-19
one reason for buying antivirus is for protection.
This software will NOT update. so you are left with outdated virus signature.
support is a JOKE.. aha.. what support? their knowlege base has ONE line of info, and it does not relate to update problems.
if you like throwing $$$ away.. go ahead. else, go with another product
if there is a ZERO Star.. i would have used it
Bleeccccch 2003-12-18
There are better and cheaper programs out there, keep looking.
Not stable, more complicated (than other programs) to set up for email, rotten customer support.
Before buying any McAffe security products go to their website under technical support FAQs and read the section on manual removal of the program. This is what I had to do.
I shifted to PC Cillin, and it was so easy to install I assumed I had missed something.
AVOID THE SPAMKILLER PRODUCT! 2003-12-10
(Zero star rating if possible)
If you have Outlook 2000, skip this product. It requires you have a MAPI e-mail account and not a POP3 account as most home computer users have. It seems to have a big history of crashes and unexplainable behavior. If you take the time to read the McAfee support board, you will see all the problems this product has.
Avoid! Run away from this one! Burning your money would provide more value for you.
