How do I download the McAfee virus scan software that the university provides to my laptop? My laptop does not register on the University of Alabama campus network so it won’t let me download it online.
My free trial expires before the end of the month, so is there any way that I can get the software downloaded before school starts.
You won’t be able to download the free software until school begins or possibly once schedules are confirmed are confirmed at the earliest.
No sorry. I went there before and it said I couldn’t download it. This was the message it gave me.
Cannot Download McAfee VirusScan (Home Use)
McAfee VirusScan (Home Use) can only be downloaded on computers on The University of Alabama campus network. Your computer is not located on this network.
If you are a member of the University of Alabama faculty, staff, or student body, you can bring a ZIP disk or a blank CD-R to the HelpDesk in A-203 Gordon Palmer Hall to get a copy.
but I really need the software before I get to school. Is there anything I can do?
Are you a new or existing student? I would call the IT help desk and ask what you can do. Because @bamagirls post suggests that you cannot do it yet.
Yeah, unfortunately we called about this and were told that a student must be actively enrolled in classes to download the software. We were hoping she could download it on her new laptop, but she will have to wait until classes begin. We were asking about Microsoft Office, but I would think the answer would be the same.
There are plenty of excellent free antivirus programs out there. Look for Avast! or AVG. I’ve used both and they work very well. Also download the free Malwarebytes program to scan and delete malware on your computer.
Here’s the cynical me: I actually believe that some anti-virus software have a built-in bug that when the trial ends or the subscription expires, things start to go wrong. Now that Office is on subscription, too, I bet this will happen with MS products. It’s a self-perpetuating business model, after all. “Buy this new product that fixes all of the problems with the old product we sold/rented you, but were too lazy to fix in the first place.” Avast is great and son swears by it.
I’ve been using Avast! for a about 3 years now with no complaint.
Note an alert on your mybama about updating to Windows 10 and incompatible with McAfee. Look under “Campus Announcements”.
“On July 29th, Microsoft released Windows 10 to consumers. The Office of Information Technology is strongly discouraging users from updating to Windows 10 in these first few months. At this time, some essential products like McAfee Virus Scan are confirmed to be incompatible with the new operating system, and a number of administrative and security functions may not work until further updates are made. Using Windows 10 without proper anti-virus support may expose both your machine and others in the network to security risks. OIT anticipates that Windows 10 is likely to be safe to use in a few months, and further communication will be made at that time.”
ALSO!!! I just upgraded home computer to Windows 10, and now find my wireless printer is incompatible! 
Super annoyed by this. So, beware and check if your printer driver will support Windows 10 (or the other way around). I’m not computer savvy, so this is an unexpected expense now that I have Windows 10.
Lots of reported problems with Windows 10, there are already packets of fixes available. It is better to wait on upgrading,
I don’t know why people are in such a hurry to upgrade. Any v1.0 Microsoft OS is the true beta version.