McAfee Ultimate review: Comprehensive security that needs more polish

McAfee Ultimate offers strong antivirus protection and a vast array of online protections, but its apps, services, and tools could use more polish. Its scans also can tangibly decrease performance on mid-range and budget PCs. As attractive as this comprehensive all-in-one package is, it's currently a hard sell. Among the top-tier antivirus software plans, McAfee's version is an especially loaded offering--and less common in how it bundles together an extraordinary number of online protections. Many rivals have a premium antivirus suite, then offer services like a VPN, password manager, and identity protection and recovery as separate subscriptions. This simplifies how much you have to think about, of course, but there's just one problem--this security suite lacks the polish you'd expect of such a premium product. Further reading: See our roundup of the best antivirus software for Windows PCs to learn about competing products. The full list of features in McAfee's flagship subscription is exhaustive. Antivirus, link screening, and firewall protection are just the start.