What is McAfee Safe Connect? (All You Need to Know)

(Last updated on January 9th, 2023)

Being a McAfee product, a lot of people confuse Safe Connect for antivirus software. But, in reality, it doesn’t have anything to do with virus protection.

Safe Connect is more of a privacy protection service that uses a Virtual Private Network (VPN) to connect you to the internet. A VPN is used to add security and privacy to private and public networks, such as Wi-Fi networks.

The increased privacy results from the fact that VPN replaces the user’s initial IP address with one issued by the VPN provider, which makes it virtually impossible for third parties to track the user’s location. Additionally, all the data that goes through a VPN gets encrypted, making to inaccessible to anyone trying to tap into it.

So, for instance, you may be a resident of New York, but with a VPN, you will appear to live in California or Los Angeles. Basically, your actual location is replaced by a server location.

So, in a nutshell, McAfee Safe Connect offers you the following:

• Added privacy on the internet and identity protection
• Anonymous internet browsing
• The ability to access blocked/ region-specific websites (since you don’t appear to be in your actual location)

How is McAfee Safe Connect Useful?

Up until recently, VPNs were mostly used by businesses to protect their sensitive data and so that employees could securely log into work networks from any location.

But they are increasingly becoming popular for personal use as well as a lot of people work for home. Besides, the increase in cybercrimes has also led people to want higher security for home networks.

Although VPN is not an antivirus program, as mentioned above, the added security saves you from dangerous threats such as sniffing and man-in-the-middle attacks.

For instance, if you’re connected to a public Wi-Fi, because of the weak security of these networks, hackers can easily intercept your online activity and use that information to steal your private data, including login information, bank details, and credit card information.

But if you use a VPN, all your online activity and private data will be encrypted, and hackers won’t be able to track it.

Safe Connect uses AES 256-bit encryption by default, which is considered to be one of the most secure encryption methods. The 256-bit encryption is used in the most advanced encryption algorithms, protocols, and technologies of today.

In theory, it would take a supercomputer that could check a million trillions of AES keys per second, an infinite number of years (about 3×10⁵¹ years) to crack this encryption.

Features offered by McAfee Safe Connect

Safe Connect provides you with the following features:

Public Wi-Fi Privacy Protection
Safe Connect uses bank-grade encryption to protect your personal data and online activity from spying eyes. It means that you get to enjoy the same level of online privacy as available to corporate organizations.

Private Internet Access
Private access means that you’re pretty much operating in isolation when you’re online, in that, your data, including physical location, bank account details, and credit card information are all protected on the internet.

Virtual VPN Locations
By virtue of using a virtual location while browsing online, Safe Connect enables you to access your favorite content and geo-restricted apps and websites from anywhere.

Network Activity Monitoring
You can keep tabs on your network connection activity in the last 24 hours, as well as the type of networks used.

Multi-Device Protection
You can use the same encryption for up to five different devices, including Windows, iOS, and Android devices.

24/7 Security Experts
Safe Connect offers you round-the-clock support from their dedicated security team.