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Cox Communications

Cox Communications review: mcafee security suite false advertisement 5

J
Author of the review
4:27 pm EDT
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I downloaded the free McAfee Security Suite after I was instructed to uninstall any other security programs on my system. McAfee allowed a trojan, virus or worm into my system and now I cannot use my computer. Customer support was no help and their Technical Solutions department wants to charge me $199.00 to come out and fix the problem Cox created. I am VERY DISPLEASED. They have not heard the end of this.

5 comments
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JayneDough77
, US
Nov 22, 2019 7:26 pm EST

McAfee from Cox may not have planted this mans Trojan however Cox gives a false sense of security for people with their garbage Cox Security Suite including McAfee. I am a PCI compliance officer and Op Mngr for 3 E-commerce websites. My cox residential service was hacked ( docsis) on two occasions. Once by someone from Yadtel communications in N.C. ( I only know this because they took over my Norton account and Norton gave me their email which is a Yadtel email) who wiped out one of my 5 computers with a RAT Trojan and then again in April of 2019 by ?!? Who knows. Cox has a captive portal with major CVE issues. That is the primary method of gaining access to ones Cox account. My advice is don’t TRUST anyone from Cox. They just had a news write up about Cox employees opening accounts for people in other states without their knowledge in order to get bonuses. Horrible dishonest people. Yuck!

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JoeSchmow
tempe, US
Mar 22, 2012 7:56 am EDT
Verified customer This comment was posted by a verified customer. Learn more

McLAfee Security Suite provided though DIX is garbage. Apparently unfinished and containing bugs. Mine updates several times a day and a pop-up appears in my lower right corner throughout the day stating "Your Computer is at Risk" Proceeding, I'm further told, "Real Time Scanning is Turned Off". Every attempt to turn it on fails as it turns itself off quickly afterward. MVT is a waste of time. After running it, I'm told I have several unresolved threats and then I'm led to a sales page where I'm offered to purchase their regular security suite. What a joke. DO NOT GET DIX INTERNET SERVICE IF THE DECIDING FACTOR IS THEIR FREE SECURITY SUITE. I am keeping their internet service. It's the fastest most reliable internet service around here regardless of the garbage they peddle along with it or their less than capable customer service department. I found NORTON 360 is the best security suite available today and worth the price. It is absolutely 1000% superior to the "FREE" McLAffee junk offered with DIX. Once again, "you get what you pay for".

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George Beard
Las Vegas, US
Oct 27, 2010 4:23 pm EDT

COX McAfee virus protection is a sham. The trojan viruses are there because this program DOES NOT PROTECT your computer and they have false advertisments as such. MICROSOFT AVG hacks into your computer when it advertises their software for sale. This action deactivates your firewall, and allows the trojan viruses to destroy your hard drive.
SuperAntiSpyware will remove those viruses with their free software as well as AVG. I have contacted the BBB, Washington Post, and a lawfirm about this problem which destroyed two of my computer hard drives. I figured this out because I have a third computer using SuperAntiSpyware, and I sent those virus definitions to McAffe proving they could protect my computer but their software is flawed and ineffective when MICROSOFT decides to advertise their software. My third computer works OK when I reactivated the firewall and downloaded new definitions and scanned my computer.
Read the following information sent to the washinton Post, etc.

Please read all of the following content. Is this a conspiracy between these companies? COX offers computer recovery for $69.95. Is this a planned method to bilk money from computer users? Tim at Laptop Doctor, Henderson, NV, says, many computers are repaired at his shop for this reason. He would prefer these facts not to be known to the public, as well, to continue business as usual. He recommends not to use McAffe software because it does not protect computers, and recommends the installation of MICROSOFT AVG. COX refuses to pay for these repairs even though I have discovered and proved their guilt. If AVG and SuperAntiSpyware software can protect computers, why can't McAffe? Their general disclaimer frees them from reparations. COX false advertising claims should be stopped. Please investigate.
George Beard

Dear George:
We appreciate the opportunity to assist you. If we can be of any additional service to you in the future, please do not hesitate to contact Cox Communications again.
Thank you,

Cox Communications

Las Vegas E-Support Team

Follow us on Twitter @CoxLV_Tech_1

Original Message Follows: ------------------------

I have submitted a complaint to the BBB.
George Beard

In a message dated 10/25/2010 8:59:12 A.M. Pacific Daylight Time, LasVegas.Services@cox.com writes:
Dear George:

We are sorry to hear of this issue and apologize for the inconvenience you have been caused.

We appreciate your taking the time to write and express your opinion regarding McAfee and the protections offered. We apologize for any inconvenience you have been caused and will be happy to forward your comments to the appropriate department for review and consideration.

We appreciate the opportunity to assist you. If we can be of any additional service to you in the future, please do not hesitate to contact Cox Communications again.

Thank you,

Cox Communications

Las Vegas E-Support Team

Follow us on Twitter @CoxLV_Tech_1

Original Message Follows: ------------------------

The updates from the free version of SUPERANTISPYWARE protected my Toshiba laptop computer from Trojian viruses detected by MICROSOFT AVG and taking over and my other computer's, deactivating McAfee programs and the firewall. AVG and SUPER ANTISPYWARE can detect these viruses. If COX McAfee cannot do this, they should not be advertising on TV that their software does this. This is false advertising. If you want these trojian virus updates, your company should install these other virus programs and add them to your Database Definition Information. I get them for free. COX McAfee is a sham. MICROSOFT AVG can destroy any computer using COX virus programs which cannot seem to update the real virus threat. MICROSOFT can do this to any computer with WINDOWS installed because they have control, unlike APPLE. Saying "get protected" is a false statement used to assure computer owners COX has an anti-virus program which will protect, when it can not.
The following updates I got for free, protected my Toshiba computer hard drive from being destroyed. I suggest you add these updates to your definitions or stop advertising lies.

The following contains information regarding the latest public database definitions available for SUPERAntiSpyware. We recommend that you always update to the latest definitions before scanning.

Definition Set Version Date / Time Size Download

Core Definitions 5746 10/25/2010 07:01AM PDT 5800KB
Download
Installer
Trace Definitions 3558 10/25/2010 07:01AM PDT 171KB

Database Definitions Updates

The following are the updates and additions for the current version of our definition files. At times, there may be several definition updates in a 24 hour period as our rapid response team analyzes samples and deploys updates as needed to protect you from the latest threats.

Database Version [protected]

Trojan.Agent/Gen 21 Items Added/Updated
Trojan.Agent/Gen-Backdoor 1 Items Added/Updated
Trojan.Agent/Gen-Exploit 1 Items Added/Updated
Trojan.Agent/Gen-FakeAlert 1 Items Added/Updated
Trojan.Agent/Gen-Frauder 1 Items Added/Updated
Trojan.Agent/Gen-Koobface 1 Items Added/Updated
Trojan.Agent/Gen-OnlineGames 5 Items Added/Updated
Trojan.RootKit/Gen 2 Items Added/Updated

In a message dated 10/24/2010 6:55:29 P.M. Pacific Daylight Time, LasVegas.Services@cox.com writes:
Dear George:

Thank you for contacting Cox Communications. Cox is committed to
providing the best customer service possible.

We sincerely apologize for the inconvenience you have been caused. Due
to the ever-changing nature of viruses and spyware, Cox does not
guarantee prevention or removal of all viruses and spyware. If you
suspect you have a virus or spyware on your PC, then consider the
following options:

Contact McAfee
Contact a local PC technician
Research solutions on the Internet

For McAfee Technical Support, visit http://cox.mcafee.com to select from
the following support options:

McAfee Virtual Technician
McAfee Knowledge Center with FAQs and Search
McAfee Chat and Email

We must also inform you that you were required to accept a User
Agreement prior to downloading this software and Section 10 of this
contract states the following:

10. Limitation of Liability UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES AND UNDER NO LEGAL
THEORY, WHETHER IN TORT, CONTRACT, OR OTHERWISE, SHALL MCAFEE, OR ITS
AUTHORIZED PARTNERS OR SUPPLIERS BE LIABLE TO YOU OR TO ANY OTHER PERSON
FOR LOSS OF PROFITS, LOSS OF GOODWILL, OR ANY INDIRECT, SPECIAL,
INCIDENTAL, OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES, OR DAMAGES FOR NEGLIGENCE OF ANY
CHARACTER INCLUDING, WITHOUT LIMITATION, DAMAGES FOR LOSS OF GOODWILL,
WORK STOPPAGE, LOSS OF DATA, COMPUTER FAILURE OR MALFUNCTION, OR FOR ANY
OTHER DAMAGE OR LOSS. IN NO EVENT SHALL MCAFEE, OR ITS AUTHORIZED
PARTNERS OR SUPPLIERS BE LIABLE FOR ANY DAMAGES IN EXCESS OF THE PRICE
PAID FOR THE SOFTWARE, IF ANY, EVEN IF MCAFEE, OR ITS AUTHORIZED
PARTNERS OR SUPPLIERS HAVE BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH
DAMAGES. This limitation shall not apply to liability for death or
personal injury to the extent that applicable law prohibits such
limitation. Furthermore, some jurisdictions do not allow the exclusion
or limitation of incidental or consequential damages, so this limitation
and exclusion may not apply to you. Nothing contained in this Agreement
limits McAfee´s liability to you for McAfee´s gross negligence or for
the tort of fraud. McAfee is acting on behalf of its suppliers and
Authorized Partners for the purpose of disclaiming, excluding and/or
limiting obligations, warranties and liability as provided in this
Agreement, but in no other respects and for no other purpose. The
foregoing provisions shall be enforceable to the maximum extent
permitted by applicable law.

You may access the full agreement by logging into our website at:
www.cox.com/internettools

Once logged in, click on "Manage Cox Security Suite" from the "Account
Management" column. On the next page, click on the first option that
states "Manage your Cox Security Suite". Click on the red "Download"
button and the printable End User License Agreement will appear. To
avoid download, simply close the page or click "Disagree".

Again, we are very sorry to hear of this issue and regret that we could
not be of further assistance. If we can be of any additional service to
you in the future, please do not hesitate to contact Cox Communications
again.

Thank you,

Cox Communications
Las Vegas E-Support Team
Follow us on Twitter @CoxLV_Tech_1

Original Message Follows: ------------------------
Form Message
Subject:
General Questions
Detail:
Customer Support
First Name:
George
Last Name:
Beard
Email Address:
gbeardace@aol.com
phoneCode:
[protected]
AddressLine1:
3116 Congress ave
City:
Las Vegas
State:
NV
ZipCode:
89121
CoxPIN:
5177
CustomerInquiry:
The following is an email sent to my laptop computer from AVG MICROSOFT
10/22/10. The same shield appeared in my toolbar on the computers now in
the shop for repair, before the hard drive on my computer was
permanently affected, and will not reinstall. I had to order a new hard
drive at considerable cost. The Microsoft shield on my Toshiba Laptop
computer turned off the firewall and tried to sell me AVG software to
protect the computer, but I turned it back on and said no to the offer.
This did not turn off the SuperAntiSpyware program completely like it
did in my main computer with Cox McAffe. This is my second attempt to
inform your company that McAffe does not protect computers from
Microsoft programs which turns off the McAffe program shield and scans
the computer finding many Trojian viruses removed by SuperAntiSpyware in
my Laptop which continues to work, and shutting down the hard drive
completely. As far as I am concerned, COX McAffe is responsible for both
my computers needing computer repair. I want this paid for. Your virus
protection software is a scam. It never removed any of the Trojians my
free software took care of on my laptop. I will not use your virus
protection program any longer, and I will contact the Better Business
Bureau and complain your company is claiming something which is not true
and is not even aware of this potential computer problem which most
probably affects many of your customers yearly. Keeping Your Computer
Safe Dear Computer User, Computer viruses are a growing threat to user
all around the world. Recently, the Department of Homeland Security
announced its intention of spending billions to keep American government
computers safe. Shouldn't you be doing the same? Antivirus Code: 5014
Get Protected! See how our antivirus was chosen by Homeland Security to
keeps its government computers safe from infection viruses, foreign
hackers and other classified threats. Keep your computer safe, Mike
Robertson AV Anitvirus Team
ReenterEmail:
gbeardace@aol.com
AccessMyCoxAccount:
Yes
Over13:
Yes

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Kaos
Goodyear, US
Mar 30, 2009 1:24 pm EDT
Verified customer This comment was posted by a verified customer. Learn more

You're an idiot. Cox didn't let a worm into your system. You let a worm into your system. I JUST installed that software and I didn't get a worm. I doubt you could use your computer before it broke. You're probably one of those people that when you call tech support you cry don't you? Need tech support to explain to you where the windows start button is? What about the address bar in internet explorer? Know where that's at? If you're claiming cox put a virus or worm on your computer you my friend are a ###. The INTERNET put a virus or worm on your computer. Buy a router, and a firewall. Anti-Virus shouldn't be your only form of protection. If it is. You deserve what you got.

ONE HAPPY COX CUSTOMER.

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Elizabeth44
, US
Sep 04, 2017 3:14 pm EDT
Replying to comment of Kaos

Wow. The arrogance displayed in this reply is everything that's wrong with this country. Hopefully, the years since have instilled a sense of humility or kindness in you. People should be able to post on a public forum without having insults hurled their way. Clearly, you had entirely too much time on your hands at the time. I took a page out of your playbook to climb down from my soapbox and suggest you learn appropriate grammar. SURELY you know not to end a sentence with a preposition? Don't YOU?

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