McAfee has announced LiveSafe, a premium software and security service it believes can shore up the failing edifice of antivirus protection using a mixture of encryption, cloud storage, password management, authentication and malware defence for PCs, Macs, tablets and smartphones.

Protecting a single PC from viruses, malware, and other security risks is difficult enough. Now that the typical tech'd-out household contains multiple tablets and smartphones, as well as one or more PCs, securing all of them can quickly become a big hassle. Responding to all this hardware proliferation, McAfee has announced a new tool called LiveSafe that's designed to be a protective umbrella for pretty much all the devices we may juggle (Windows Phones and Chromebooks being the notable exceptions).

McAfee, part of Intel, today announced a profound shift in how it distributes and prices its consumer security products by introducing LiveSafe, a service that combines anti-malware plus a score of other capabilities, such as anti-theft protection and a so-called "safety deposit box" in the cloud that can only be accessed by means of the user's face or voice biometric.

Intel is introducing new ideas to secure the public cloud, offering a service in which online files can be accessed after users are verified by an authentication scheme including face and voice recognition.

McAfee is taking advantage of its new owners by rolling out a high-throughput intrusion-prevention system (IPS) family built on Intel technology.

Like every new Windows release, Windows 8 is more secure than the operating systems that came before it. That's due in large part to three major enhancements: An increased emphasis on UEFI Secure Boot optimizations, the extension of the SmartScreen Filter across the operating system, and the default inclusion of a more robust version of Windows Defender, which now protects against all kinds of malware--not just spyware.

For years now I've harangued relatives about their shoddy password practices. Either they use easily-hacked passwords or forget the passwords they've created--sometimes both.

Stealthy, sometime long-term cyber-espionage attacks to steal sensitive proprietary information -- what some now call "advanced persistent threats" (APT) -- have become a top worry for businesses.

McAfee's latest version of its managed security service includes new features that let companies scan their Web sites for vulnerabilities as well as check for compliance with payment-card industry standards for handling financial data.

McAfee is expanding its staff in China amid a boom in the country's security market fueled by the launch of next-generation mobile networks.