Based on my recent experience with McAfee, customer service is an oxymoron with this company. Their customer service department was not interested in assisting me. They use a variety of methods to try and discourage solving complaints, such as putting you on hold endlessly, saying they don't have the ability to transfer a call, promising to research and let you know their findings (but not doing so!). Don't frustrate yourself by dealing with them. There are plenty of free anti-virus programs available to you instead of spending money with McAfee. Save yourself time, money and aggrevation...my experience should not become yours.

When I checked my credit card I found an unauthorized item that had been charged to my account. The purchase date was 11/04/2011 for the amount of $99.95 and was from McAfee.com 866-622-3911CA. I never ordered anything from McAfee as I already have the software on my computer which does not need updating or anything extra added and have no idea why they would charge me for something I didn't order.

I am extremely angry and ask that you please make sure that you credit my account with $99.95 immediately.

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Name: xxxxxxxxx#: RA929380080
Date: Sunday, February 27, 2011
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McAfee SecurityCenter 1-year subscription: $79.99 (USD)
Tax: (USD)
Total Price: $87.09 (USD)

I RECEIVED TODAY THIS CHARGE FOR A SOFTWARE I NEVER ORDERED
dont trust this company - once i used one of their software then I did not want to renew and I could not remouve a continous sollicitation to renew... they are orrible!

I just received an email that auto renewal, which I didn't sign up for, was going to renew my subscription to Total Protection. The cost of renewal is $79.99. You can buy the same 3 pc license from Wal-Mart for $49.99. You can even buy it from the McAfee website for $44.99. When I chatted with customer service to complain I was referred to a web page for an explanation. It says that with auto renewal, which of course is only available to current customers, you are charged the current list price. Discounts and promomotions don't apply so you get to pay double. This policy certainly shows that they think their customers are stupid. I'm certainly done with them. I'll play more for something else before I do business with a company that plays these type dirty tricks.

I did some contract work with McAfee back when I was still living in the Bay Area. After I moved to Fresno, however, I promised myself that I would do whatever I could to kick the writing habit. This meant refusing any work that involved technical writing of any sort, so now I work at a coffee shop on Shields Avenue and live in a rooming house down the street.

I didn't throw out any of my old work, however. You know, you hear stories all the time of failed writers ceremoniously tossing all their unwanted material out into the ocean, or something else equally melodramatic. The thing is that I do not want to cast myself loose from the past. I would rather carry it around with me like a lodestone, forever reminding me of my foolish ways.

But now I am also beginning to sound a bit melodramatic. I should be careful how I turn my thoughts into words. That has always been my problem. There is always a pernicious disconnect between what I would like to write and what I actually get down on paper (or down on the computer screen, as it were). This is why I wanted to rid myself of this filthy habit entirely.

Yet here I am, writing once more.

I should tell you a bit about what I did at McAfee. The first time they hired me I wrote a few white papers about online security. The manager of charge of our group was a fellow named Newmark who had been with the company since the early days and who pretty much just wanted to be left alone. I remember on my first day on the job I filled out some forms with the HR people and then I went to meet Newmark in his office. We shook hands and I saw down across from him and waited for him to begin talking about what I was supposed to be doing. But he didn't say a word. He looked at me, as if he expected me to begin the conversation.

"I'm looking forward to working here, " I said finally, only because one of us had to say something.

Newmark stared at me, clearly confused. "Why did you say that?" he asked me.

"It seemed like the right thing to say, " I confessed.

"I know that phrase, " Newmark said. "I switched to a new dentist a few months back. I called up the office and made an appointment. About a week before I was supposed to go I get a call here at the office. It's the dentist's office calling to confirm the appointment. So we did that, and then the woman on the phone says, 'We're looking forward to your visit.' Can you believe that?"

"It's a polite thing to say, " I said.

"My 'visit', " Newmark repeated. "Like I'm going on vacation."

"I could tell you that I'm not looking forward to working here, if that would make you feel better, " I told Newmark.

"You won't like working here, " Newmark said. "I can tell you that right now. You'll work like mad to meet some arbitrary deadline, and then your work will be filed away in some vault. Nobody will ever read it. I promise you that. We have boxes of stuff filed away all over the place that nobody ever reads."

I suppose it was Newmark's cynical attitude about our role within the company that motivated me to break the rules and write whatever I pleased. I still have all the white papers that I wrote during that work term. Here is how the first one begins:

"Online security is an issue that we must all take seriously. As the world becomes more connected, it also becomes more dangerous. One man sitting alone in his basement apartment can wreak more havoc than all the weaponry mankind has ever built. You have to think about the issue in these terms. If you do not, you will not prepare yourself sufficiently for the threats that lurk out there in the online world.

"Imagine for a moment how the human mind operates. Our minds are awash in thoughts at all hours of the day, including when we sleep. Many of these thoughts encourage us to be productive and good citizens of the Earth. They tell us to eat, work, and engage in social activities with those around us. Such thoughts can be considered to be the orthodox actors within our hopelessly complex brains. They are the thoughts that allow us to live productive lives.

"Now imagine those thoughts which, if acted upon, generate negative consequences. These are the thoughts that encourage us to do harm to ourselves or to others. They tell us that we would be better off living in misery than in contributing positively to society. These thoughts are the lone wolves of the mind, hiding in its depths, waiting to strike during a moment of temporary weakness.

"Such thoughts may sound like nothing much to worry about, given that the positive thoughts that flow through our minds are much more abundant. But there is a problem with the functioning of the mind that these negative thoughts prey upon. As mentioned, such negative thoughts pounce on our conscious minds at times when we are weak and tired. They cause us to do harm, but perhaps only a little harm. Yet when such a negative thought is acted upon, the orthodox actors in our mind - that is to say, the positive thoughts that we generally obey - recognize our disobedience, and may often turn against us.

"Such a situation is quite catastrophic. The mind literally becomes an enemy of the will. Those good thoughts that were motivating us to lead such productive lives now begin to attack us. They recognize that they are now living in hostile territory. We allowed a negative thought to motivate us to act, and therefore we poisoned their atmosphere. These thoughts - these actors - will then do everything in their power to destroy this toxic environment.

"When we think of online security issues, we must keep this model in mind. It is a sad sight to see a human being reduced to a shell of his former self, having fallen victim to the sorry fate described above. Our vast interconnected network of computers and electronic equipment must never be allowed to suffer similarly, for such a disaster would affect each and every one of us."

The rest of the paper went on more of less in this fashion. I remember being back in Newmark's office when he read it over. Even though he did not like to be bothered, he was duty-bound to read over all of our work before it was filed away. When he finished with this one, he dropped it on his desk and folded his hands on top of it. "That's an interesting perspective you have there, " he said.

"I wanted to frame the issue in such a way that a non-technical person could understand it, " I said.

Newmark laughed at that. "I guess you have our little system pretty much figured out here, don't you?" he then said.

"I did what I was told, " I said. "This paper had to meet certain objectives. I believe that it does. If you think otherwise, please say so."

Newmark took the paper and flipped through its pages. "I think this will do, " he said. "We'll get you an edited copy by the end of the week."

So now we have to jump ahead in time a bit. After that first stint at McAfee I was out of work for a little while and quickly eating through my savings. So I went back there once again as a temporary hire in a different department. This time I was writing internal policy documents. The thing about these policy documents is that they circulated everywhere throughout the company. That is to say, I didn't have the leeway I did back when I was writing the white papers. I could not play games.

About a month into this contract I ran into Newmark out in the parking lot. He was leaning against his car and reading the newspaper. When I got close enough he heard me coming and raised his head. "Who are you waiting for?" I asked him.

"Nobody, " Newmark replied. "It's a nice day."

"So go home and go read in the backyard, " I told him.

"I don't have a backyard, " Newmark said. "But of course you knew that already."

"Why would I know something like that?" I said.

Newmark smiled and tucked the paper under his arm. "I heard that you're with the standards group now, " he said.
"It's just another temporary thing, " I told him.

"They're a strange bunch over there, " Newmark said. "I went to one of their meetings once. They invited me to sit in and watch them. They talk and talk. They don't stop talking even for a second. This went on for maybe an hour and a half."

"There's a lot to talk about, " I said. "Issues that have to be resolved."

"I'd hire you back, but I know you'd make me look foolish again, " Newmark said.

"I'm happy where I am, " I told him.

"I find that hard to believe, " Newmark said.

"I'm saying what I'm supposed to say in this kind of a situation, " I told him.

Newmark turned around and opened his car door. "Like I said, you're not someone I can trust. You're not someone anyone can trust. So I can't take you back."

"I wasn't asking, " I said.

"Well, then that's settled, " Newmark said. He climbed into his seat, shut the door, and drove away.

So I worked on another couple of contracts with McAfee after that, and then I decided to make the move to Fresno. Before I left, however, I made sure to send an email off to Newmark. I also made sure to keep a copy for myself and print it off. So this is what I wrote:

"Newmark,

"We haven't seen each other in a while. It occurs to me now that you were waiting that one time by your car because you knew that you'd run into me. Maybe you saw my car parked close by and knew that I'd see you. I can't say for sure. But that would make sense, would it not?

"I remember what you told me about your department the day I first arrived. You said that the work we did was entirely irrelevant. That everything we wrote would be tucked away in some dark corner somewhere and forgotten. I assume that you give this same speech to every new hire. Or maybe you don't. Maybe you sized me up and decided that I needed to hear something like that. Again, unanswered questions.

"I wanted to let you know that the act of writing has slowly eating away at my mind. This is something that I am just now beginning to realize. It was something that I was trying to express when I worked for you, though I did now know it at the time.

"I understand now that man was not meant to spend his days hunched over a desk, a computer, or a typewriter, trying to mangle words together into sentences. There is a romance that we attach to the act of writing that is false and dangerous. It is such falsehoods that must be eradicated from this world.

"Though you perhaps were not planning for this to happen, I must say that I have you to thank for allowing me to come to this realization. You offered me an outlet for my innermost thoughts to come out. For that I can only thank you.

"You seem like a lonely person. You should quit your job and do something you like."

I keep this message and all of my white papers in a bundle underneath my bed. I like to think that they protect me while I sleep.