Today, I am reviewing something a little different. I am reviewing a Intego's Mac Premium Bundle. You can purchase this product here. This bundle includes everything that you would need to protect your Mac and keep it running optimally. The products in this package include:
- Virus Barrier X8
- Net Barrier X8
- Mac Washing Machine
- Family Protector
- Personal Backup
First, I will go through my overall thoughts of the package and then I will review each of these products separately, listing my likes and dislikes of each. I used these products on my Mac mini that I purchased about two months ago. Here are the specs for my Mac mini:
- OS X Yosemite
- Processor: 2,6 GHz Intel Core i5
- Memory: 8 GB 1600 MHz DDR3
- Graphics: Intel Iris
*DISCLAIMER*: I was given Intego's Mac Premium Bundle in exchange for an honest review from tomoson.com. This in no way influenced my review of the product.
Overall Thoughts
My favorite thing about the bundle as a whole is the clean, user-friendly interface. All of the programs are dowloaded into a single folder on your Mac for easy access (see image on left).
The programs are user friendly, with tips overlaid with the interface so that first time users immediately know how to use the programs (see image on left). If at any time you do not remember how to get to a certain aspect of the program, all you have to do to bring up the tips is tap the "i" icon located on the top right of the image that is shown to the left.
Virus Barrier X8
Virus Barrier X8 protects your computer against both Mac and PC viruses. This prevents your Mac computer being a carrier to viruses that may infect your PC. You can schedule the program to do scans at the same time every day or week. The program can also be used to manually scan your computer. The program is very user friendly and has a nice interface (see above). The tips screen was helpful (see below).
The quick scan on Virus Barrier only took about 10 minutes for the first time on my Mac. The full scan took a bit longer (about an hour). Neither scan found anything on my Mac, but my Mac is fairly new. I had not used a virus scanner on my Mac prior to using Virus Barrier. I would give this program a 4/5 stars, tentatively since I have found no viruses so far.
Net Barrier X8
Net Barrier acts as a firewall, allowing or blocking incoming/outgoing internet and local connections. This programs asks for approval when certain apps or programs on your computer are trying to access the internet.
Net Barrier also allows you to view the apps that are using the internet.
I did not use this program too much.
Mac Washing Machine
Mac Washing Machine cleans up your Mac's unused files to increase speed and performance. It has three integrated programs: reclaim, duplicate, and organize.
Reclaim scans for files that you do not use in order to increase disk space and speed up your Mac's performance (see image above). Reclaim can remove caches, downloads, languages, logs and trash. After reclaim scans your computer, you can choose which files to keep and which files to delete with a simple drop-down menu.
Duplicates searches your computer for duplicate files (such as documents, pictures, and music). After searching, you can choose which files you want to keep and which you want to delete (see above). For each duplicated file, Washing Machine shows you images so you can make sure the files are really duplicates before you delete them.
Organize has to be the coolest part of Washing Machine. Are you the type of person whose desktop is really messy and it is difficult to find the files and folders you need? If so, this program is for you. Organize scans your desktop and allows you to seamlessly sort all of the files. It analyzes the folders to determine if it should be moved to documents, pictures, or another folder.
It also allows you to organize the Dock on your Mac. It will search for your most commonly used Applications and least commonly used Applications and suggest Apps that should be added or removed from your Dock. Finally, Organize can organize your files into "Smart Folders".
I really enjoyed Washing Machine. Washing Machine cleaned my computer of all the "junk" I had and to delete duplicate files (I had several). I also used it to clean up my desktop and to rearrange my Dock. I would give this program a 5/5 stars.
Family Protector
Family Protector protects from inappropriate web content. You can block specific users on you Mac from visiting sites with selected categories (alcohol, gambling, ect.) or sites with key words that you can add. You can also block certain websites.
Other advantages of Family Protector is that you can make the internet only available during certain time periods for certain users (see below) or block certain applications from using the internet. This program would be great in households with young children and teenagers. Although I do recommend parental guidance while children are using the internet.
If you or someone else attempts to access a site that has been blocked by Family Protector, you get this message:
This program does work well and I did not find any problems with it. It is easy to use and understand. I would give this program 5/5 stars. When I have children, I could see myself using this or a similar program.
Personal Backup
I did not use the personal backup program. Here is the explanation of the program from the website:
Intego Personal Backup makes copies of your files for quick and easy recovery in case of theft, data corruption, or natural disasters. Run manual backups or create an automated schedule that backs up your information for you. Whether you want control of your backups or prefer to set it and forget it, Intego Personal Backup’s got you covered.
I cannot rate this program because I did not use it. I generally manually backup files to a flash drive or to a cloud.
Summary
Overall, I would give this bundle a 4.5/5 stars. The interface was simple, easy to use, and visually pleasing. The help screens were easy to understand and greatly assisted me when I was first learning the programs. I may do another review after I have used this bundle for a longer period of time to see if my views have changed.
Do you use this program or similar programs on your Mac? If so, what are your thoughts on them? Please leave your thoughts in the comments below.
