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McAfee Product Maintenance Policy

Quick Reference Guide

Anti-virus software, perhaps more than any other IT application, requires constant update maintenance. Even the best anti-virus solution is only as good as its last update.

To deliver the very best level of virus protection to our customers, our anti-virus research organization, AVERT®, has the world's largest deployment of security and virus researchers and developers, working 24/7 to keep McAfee® solutions ahead of the pack. AVERT develops new signatures to combat the latest virus threats, and works with our engineering team to ensure our scanning engine technology continues to lead.

McAfee Technical Support Delivers All Forms of Software Maintenance

Collectively we describe signature file (DAT) updates, engine revisions and new software versions as software maintenance. We offer access to all forms of software maintenance under the terms of our technical support services. Without a technical support service agreement, you are not entitled to any form of software maintenance.

McAfee Technical Support Software Maintenance and Grant ID Numbers

You must have a current technical support agreement to be entitled to download product updates and upgrades, including engine and DAT updates for both subscription and perpetually-licensed software. For now, you can download DAT files and engine updates without entering a valid grant identity number, but youare not legally entitle you to do so.

 

How to assure you have access to product updates and upgrades:

  • Make sure you are covered by technical support for the duration of your software license.
  • The grant number supplied with your support agreement allows you to download software updates and upgrades.
  • Remember: if you have no technical support agreement, you are not entitled to any form of software update.

Licensing and Software Maintenance

Perpetual Licenses, regardless of date acquired and subscription licenses purchased after January 1, 2001

McAfee offers two key forms of licensing: subscription and perpetual.

Subscription licenses  The current 2.1 subscription licensing model was introduced on January 1, 2001. This separated entitlement to software maintenance from entitlement to use the software. You must have a current technical support agreement before you are entitled to access software maintenance. The first year of the 2-year term product license includes technical support. You become entitled to software maintenance during the second year of the product license term by purchasing an additional one-year technical support agreement.

Perpetual licenses If you prefer an indefinite software license term, backed by renewable annual technical support contracts, McAfee perpetual licenses require you to choose an appropriate technical support agreement before you are entitled to software maintenance.

Please note that a license agreement does NOT confer maintenance rights for the customer to upgrade to new versions or update the product. Specifically, the entitlement to upgrade to new versions or access new virus signature files is ONLY available through a technical support agreement, which includes software maintenance

All customers receive a copy of the McAfee End User License Agreement (EULA). This extract from the EULA is our legal position:

Updates. This license is limited to the version of the Software delivered by McAfee and does not include subsequent versions, upgrades, updates, modifications or revisions, unless a separate maintenance contract is purchased. If such contract is purchased, then, for the time period specified in the applicable price list for the Software, you are entitled to download revisions or updates to the Software when and as McAfee publishes them via its electronic bulletin board system, website or through other online services. After the specified time period, you have no further rights to receive any revisions or upgrades without purchase of a new license to the Software.

About Downloads

McAfee technical support entitles a licensed user to full online maintenance from our web services site here.