New Dell - McAfee _ Comcast

IPODMAN,

You may find the following complaint of interest, found on a Consumer Affairs site regarding McAfee's Free trial:

'Dell installed a free 30 day subscription of McAfee software on my new laptop, despite my requesting they do not because I have McAfee free through comcast. I received a fradulant e-mail from Dell/McAfee claiming that I had agreed to a subscription and requesting payment. Everyone gets this, they know the consumer did not request the subscription even though the e-mail clearly says this-- many consumers may be confused and believe they actually requested the subscription as part of the computer purchase.

Now, I am harrassed daily by constant pop ups saying my subscription has expired and offering me only the options of renewing or being reminded later-- no way to reply no and stop the pop ups. On calling both Dell and McAfee service centers, McAfee told me I have to uninstall and reinstall the software, not only taking-- stealing-- hours of my time but also losing all my previous preferences and allow lists. There are several layers of ciber fraud here, from the bogus e-mail claiming an agreement to purchase to harrassing consumers with pop ups that offer no option to decline or cause the pop ups to desist.'

Whether or not the above is true, I don't know.   I realize it's not relevant to your situation.  The only reason I'm pointing it out, is to stress the importance of finding out what the facts really are.  I would venture to say Dell offers it, with the "hopes" that you'll continue (and pay) to use it, once the trial period is over.   Nothing more.

You wrote, " Do I have to download the Dell installed version and reload the Comcast version to register it or can I just register the dell version using the Comcast Free offer?"   If you have the 30 day trial installed and if you're going to use Comcast's free version,  you'll need to wipe your computer (completely) clean of  the Dell version.   The McAfee version Dell installed, is not exactly the same, as the one you will get from Comcast.    The two versions differ somewhat.    It would be my guess, if you're going to use Comcast's McAfee, you'll need to register it with Comcast.  (Ideally, I would want to register it with McAfee too.  FWIW)

I think you would best be served calling both Dell and Comcast.   Sorry I can't offer anything more concrete.

My new Dell came with a 30 day McAfee Internet Security installed.  I am a Comcast user where we get this program for free.. Do I have to download the Dell installed version and reload the Comcast version to register it or can I just register the dell version using the Comcast Free offer?

IPODMAN, the 30-day Dell trial version and the Comcast free version are two separate programs despite the fact that they are both from McAfee. If you start using the Dell version then you will be prompted to purchase it after your 30-day trial period has ended and it will continue to prompt you until you either purchase the product or uninstall it. According to the Comcast website their version is free as long as you are a Comcast High-Speed Internet customer. If you plan on using the free Comcast version then you should not activate the Dell trial version. The best solution, in my opinion, would be to uninstall the Dell trial version using the "Uninstall a program" option in Control Panel and then download and install the free Comcast version from the Comcast website. Doing this should eliminate any conflict that may arise if you try to have both versions installed at the same time. If you haven't set up the Dell version then the uninstall should be painless. However, there may be additional steps required if you have gone through the setup process for that version. You will need to sign in to the Comcast site using your Comcast.net e-mail address and password in order to download the program as you will notice in the instructions on that page. Another page that may come in handy is the Comcast FAQ for McAfee Security. You will also notice on the download page for the Comcast version that there are guides for using that version on the left-hand side of the page. If you have any questions, let me know.