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McAfee WaveSecure (Trial)

WaveSecure Mobile Security - Your Perfect Anti-Theft?

by Yan Matusevich on Mar 7, 2010 9:24:16 PM — read 13,660 times

Tested version: 3.0.0.55
Latest version: 4.3.0.140
Requires Android: from 1.5

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Summary

Every year over 20 million people lose their phones and along with them their contacts, messages, call log, and pictures.

Is all of this now a thing of the past?

This is at least what WaveSecure Mobile Security is setting out to do.

P.S. If you register before March 31st, 2010, you'll receive a lifetime subscription for free.

Features & Use

Section rating:

The current beta-version of WaveSecure offers you the following options on the start screen:

  • Backup
  • Upload Media
  • Restore
  • Lock Down Phone
  • Wipe Now!

Backup
Here you can select which files you would like to secure. You can secure your contacts, text messages, or call log.

Upload Media
With this option you can view all your available photos and videos in a list. You can then select individual pictures or videos and have the uploaded to
the WaveSecure server.

Restoring Contacts and Text Messages
Here you can restore previously saved contacts as well as text messages. As part of this test, I first saved all my messages and then restored them to my phone. Despite a warning message about the possibility of duplicate messages, I didn't encounter any problems of this sort. I had the same results with my contacts, as well.

Phone Lock
With this feature you can lock your phone at any time. You'll need your six digit WaveSecure PIN to unlock it. The importance of this feature is explained later in the test report. All I can say is, the phone lock is combined with an extremely loud alarm signal. Believe me when I tell you that it's a horrendous sound...

Wipe your Files
All your contacts, text messages, call logs, videos, and your entire memory card are wiped clean. This function could be really helpful in case your phone gets lost or stolen as you can access it from any computer.

In the settings, you have multiple program options that you adjust to your needs. Let me just name a few of them. You can, for example, activate a sim-lock that prevents other sim cards from being inserted into your phone. A loud screeching noise can also be added to this feature. What's even better is you can create your own little warning message that will show up on the screen of your phone when someone else tries to use it. A possible message could be:

"This phone is locked. Please contact (***)***** **** to return this phone"

You could also be a bit blunter by saying:

"This phone is locked and being tracked. Please drop it off at the closest police station".

Feel free to have fun and be creative with your writing.

There's also the possibility of sending an automatic text message to a friend's number informing them about your lost or stolen phone.

The best thing about this program is that all the features are accessible online on your computer. This means that with a click of a button you can wipe your phone before a thief or passer-by with bad intentions has the chance to access your information. Make sure to regularly secure your phone's data in order to be able to restore them at any time on a different device.

PC Features:
Once you're logged in on the WebSecure website you can access even more information:
Track: Here you can see what sim-card is currently in your phone.
Location: View your phone's current location (unfortunately did not work in our test).

Bottom Line:
I wasn't the only one to find the idea behind this program good. Based on the Android Developer Challenge jury ratings, this program ranked 2nd among all the individual category winners. At the moment, WaveSecure is available in beta-version. Therefore not all of its features seem to function well (i.e. phone location-finder). During the test, the phone also significantly drained the phone's battery life. It is important to keep in mind that your personal data gets uploaded to the WaveSecure server. Although WaveSecure promises you the highest security standards, you should exercise caution when selecting which files to upload to their server. Theft-protection can be activated without uploading any files to their server, but then there won't be anything to restore.

My tip:
Register now and secure yourself a lifetime subscription to this service. Start using the program only once the beta-phase is over and all the little bugs have been taken care of.
 

Screen & Controls

Section rating:

In this section, WaveSecure also deserves some extra points. The program has a really solid look to it with a clear and self-explanatory menu. A real advantage is being able to use the program on your computer as well as your phone. If worst comes to worst and your phone simply disappears from the face of the earth, you can prevent any potential harm to your phone by deleting all personal data with a single mouse click on your PC. The online version of this program is just as easy to navigate as the one on the phone.
On the whole, a program you'll hopefully never have to use, but always want to keep around.

Speed & Stability

Section rating:

The app speed is good and stable. Since the beta-version works well, we can expect the full-version to be even better. On a less positive note, the program really depletes your battery. Also, the location-finder feature didn't work a single time during the test. I'm hoping these drawbacks will get taken care of in a future update.

Price/Performance Ratio

Section rating:

WaveSecure offers a free lifetime subscription to all Android users that register before March 31st, 2010. 

Communication with your phone is done via text message. Users don't have to pay anything for incoming text messages. Uploading files to the WaveServer may incur extra charges if you don't have an unlimited data plan. 

Comparable Apps

Theft Aware

AntiDroidTheft

Lookout Security & Antivirus

☆ GotYa! Face trap !

Prey Anti-Theft

WaveSecure UPA

EasyRecover

EasyRecover (Trial)

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Reviews of this app in other languages

Review "McAfee WaveSecure" from Jan 13, 2010 (German)

Developer

McAfee, Inc. en

Singapore

Your life is in your smartphone. Protect it with WaveSecure!

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Mar 7, 2010 10:17:11 PM

This app is really useful and simple to use, but the sound is soooooo annoying =D

Works fine

Mar 8, 2010 9:36:21 AM

Yeah, the sound is pretty annoying. On the other hand - this is the idea behind it... ;)

Mar 8, 2010 12:19:46 PM

Sends international texts via Singapore - which can end up expensive!

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Market Comments

Andrew, Apr 22, 2012
Dear McAfee, screw you. That is all. Pure unadulterated crap.
Jono Miller, Apr 22, 2012
Idiots You took a great product, changed "lifetime" subscription rules without notice, then did nothing to fix the resulting mess.
Simon, Apr 22, 2012
Not nice Restore sms does not work. Also the screwing of us beta testers with promised life-time subscription weighs in.
David, Apr 19, 2012
Horrible Customer Service After master resetting my phone I'm no longer able to log in because it says the email i logged in with is different from the original email i used even tho i didn't even log in with an email. Anyway i'be been working with the same Rep 3 days to get this resolved and it still isn't fixed not to mention they reply once every 19hrs on average and they keep telling you to do the same thing over and over even tho you told them it isn't working.It's what happens when u buy from a company that outsources 2 India
German de la Cruz, Apr 19, 2012
Excelente application I've probe it and it´s a great application. But.. It doesn't work on ICS as the McAfee support deparment told me
Patrick, Apr 18, 2012
To retain your Lifetime subscription... If you downloaded WaveSecure during their free lifetime subscription promo, please note this only applies to your original device. If you have upgraded your phone and you would like to KEEP your lifetime subscription, do not install version 4.3.x on your new device (at least not initially). Versions 4.3.x and beyond will enforce the above policy and, upon detecting a mismatch between the device ID associated with your profile and your new device ID, downgrade your subscription to a Trial. Versions 4.2.x and earlier will simply update the associated device ID on your McAfee profile to that of your new device, and allow you to continue with a lifetime subscription. -Source: McAfee T2 Tech Support
Suraj, Apr 17, 2012
SuRaJ !!!!! Nice app..
Kaitlyn, Apr 17, 2012
Tech support Is terrible. I needed help with this app and I went to their website, contacted tech support, and their solution was to send me to a website that told me to contact tech support. I'm just going to uninstall and use something else
onefix, Apr 17, 2012
Lifetime membershit Life time membership is a joke... It's life time if you keep the same phone... I've always given 5stars buy no more.... :-( if u don't install the update you keep the lifetime membershit so no updates for me.....
sina, Apr 16, 2012
Rip off I had this app from beta and I had to factory reset my phone a couple of days ago and now their saying lifetime subscription doesnt apply anymore because of the latest update. Da*# u McAfee. The app was just fine without u...
Christian, Apr 15, 2012
Doesn't work. Not only are "lifetime subscriptions" a lie, but support staff are totally uninformed. No one at McCr*ppy even understands what rooting is, or how to install a system app. Hence, I can't remotely activate GPS. It doesn't give me much confidence in their security systems. Uninstalled.
Vladimir, Apr 15, 2012
This is ridiculous! My free lifetime subscription ended when I upgraded to a new device! Doesn't this company understand anything about customer loyalty and relationships? You should go to university and learn a thing or two about marketing!
mike, Apr 14, 2012
Liars Had a lifetime subscription went to instal it today an told to buy a new subscription, how about no u cheeky scumbags
Chaffro, Apr 14, 2012
Used to be great... But then they sold out to McAffee.
pavitra, Apr 14, 2012
Ammmm Gud!
Edward, Apr 13, 2012
Latest version incompatible with Lookout. FAIL
, Apr 12, 2012
Beware lifetime licence not for life Apparently my 'lifetime' licence is not for mine or anybody else's lifetime! If they think I'm buying this twice they must be mistaken.
Mick, Apr 12, 2012
Far Q McAfee Downgraded to trial version following change of phones, you suck!
Jeff, Apr 12, 2012
What a waste Mcafee has ruined this product. Scheduler runs randomly. Backup is much longer than competing products. Lifetime subscription has been changed to a trial. Support is worthless. Pick a better alternative.
Neil, Apr 12, 2012
Batwank Had the full product then changed my phone number to another provider but kept the same phone, now I'm on a trial even though I had a lifetime subscription.
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