F-Secure issues and observation - trial on MacBook with Catalina (10.15.7)

Ruud24

Hello All,

I am new here and have been using F-Secure (as a trial) just for a couple of days. Before I used software from another company, but decided it was time for a change. My system is a MacBook with MacOS Catalina (10.15.7).

Issues I encountered with F-Secure are listed below as well as my observations. I expected to be able to write a kind of “problem report” to F-Secure by mail, however did not find a mail address. Only discovered two ways to report issues: either (1) call or chat with an F-Secure expert during business hours or (2) write to the community. So I write the issues I found here, seeking solutions and/or suggestions on how to proceed.

Issues I encountered and some observations and questions:

(1) F-Secure crashes after each start-up (switch-on) of my Mac, however seems to recover each time. These crash files are located in MacBook-Library-Logs-DiagnosticReports.

(2) After selecting DeepGuard in preferences and clicking advanced the first time after installation of F-Secure, F-Secure DeepGuard crashes. This crash file is located in User-Library-Logs-DiagnosticReports.

(3) After changing the DeepGuard setting from default to classic, F-Secure DeepGuard crashes a few times after selecting DeepGuard and clicking advanced. These crash files are located in User-Library-Logs-DiagnosticReports.

(4) F-Secure only scans about 60-70% of the number of files compared to other antivirus software. Is this because does F-Secure does not scan for example dmg or sparsebundle files (unless these are mounted), “root”-files, files in other “forbidden” directories and/or “archived” files?

(5) Is it correct that F-Secure does not create a scan logfile and neither a database update logfile (at least I could not find these files)?

(6) It is not possible to start a manual scan from the Mac Finder. Will this become possible on the shorter term?

(7) F-Secure for Mac does not offer an option to block the camera and/or the microphone. Will this become possible on the shorter term?

(8) F-Secure assumes that after each start-up of my Mac (switch-on), my Mac is connected to the internet. My way of working is different, so I hope F-Secure does not write an attempt to connect to internet every second or minute to a logfile as this would fill-up my free-disk-space. Is my hope/assumption correct?

(9) Removing (uninstall) F-Secure does not reduce the number of available licenses in the “My F-Secure”. On the contrary, completely un-installing F-Secure on a certain device and re-installing it again after some time on the same device means two licenses are required. Why is this?

(10) I am sorry, but I am Dutch, so why is F-Secure going to charge me 67% more if I purchase the number of Total-Security licenses I want after my trial from within “My F-Secure” (€100), compared to the offer you make on your website (€60)?

Please comment, suggest and advice.

Firmy

Hello @Ruud24

Welcome to the F-Secure Community page. Thank you for your post.

I expected to be able to write a kind of “problem report” to F-Secure by mail, however did not find a mail address.

We do not have email support; we encourage our users to reach us via chat or phone call for a better experience of customer service and of course, you can also make a new post on the community page. And we will assist you with your inquiry.

(1) F-Secure crashes after each start-up (switch-on) of my Mac, however seems to recover each time. These crash files are located in MacBook-Library-Logs-DiagnosticReports.

(2) After selecting DeepGuard in preferences and clicking advanced the first time after installation of F-Secure, F-Secure DeepGuard crashes. This crash file is located in User-Library-Logs-DiagnosticReports.

(3) After changing the DeepGuard setting from default to classic, F-Secure DeepGuard crashes a few times after selecting DeepGuard and clicking advanced. These crash files are located in User-Library-Logs-DiagnosticReports.

It seems you have a lot of issues with F-Secure SAFE crashes on your Mac. Did you check for your macOS updates? Is it on the latest version? Have you tried to reinstall the app by using the Uninstallation tool as a quick solution? You may reinstall SAFE as guided by the following link and kindly release the license before reinstalling the app How do I install F-Secure SAFE on my Mac? - F-Secure Community

(4) F-Secure only scans about 60-70% of the number of files compared to other antivirus software. Is this because does F-Secure does not scan for example dmg or sparsebundle files (unless these are mounted), “root”-files, files in other “forbidden” directories and/or “archived” files?

May I confirm whether you are referring to manual scanning or automatic scanning? For automatic scanning, the file will be scanned before you can access it to ensure the file is safe and does not contain malware. For more detailed information, you can refer to this link Scanning files automatically | SAFE | Latest | F-Secure User Guides

(5) Is it correct that F-Secure does not create a scan logfile and neither a database update logfile (at least I could not find these files)?

An infection report will only be generated if detection is found. And if there is any, the file will be moved to trash. For database updates, once the version is updated, it will store it locally in your device. For database updates, you can check from this link F-Secure Latest Database Updates However, the main component of F-Secure SAFE is the Security Cloud which it will protect you in real-time as long as you are connected to the network. You can check this link for more information Capricorn-updates ONLY HALF THE WEEK - still the same - SEEMS to be solved, for now — F-Secure Community

(6) It is not possible to start a manual scan from the Mac Finder. Will this become possible on the shorter term?

To run a manual scan, you can perform it from the SAFE app as guided from here Scanning files manually | SAFE | Latest | F-Secure User Guides

(7) F-Secure for Mac does not offer an option to block the camera and/or the microphone. Will this become possible on the shorter term?

F-Secure SAFE does not have the option to block your camera or microphone. It will protect your device from malware attacks and it does have browsing and banking protection to protect you while you are online SAFE for Mac | SAFE | Latest | F-Secure User Guides If you are looking for protection in the level of the network, I would suggest you use FREEDOME VPN to mask your IP, secure your traffic and prevent online tracking What is the difference between FREEDOME VPN and SAFE? | FREEDOME | Latest | F-Secure User Guides

(8) F-Secure assumes that after each start-up of my Mac (switch-on), my Mac is connected to the internet. My way of working is different, so I hope F-Secure does not write an attempt to connect to internet every second or minute to a logfile as this would fill-up my free-disk-space. Is my hope/assumption correct?

F-Secure does not write a log every time you are connected to the internet. After booting up your machine, the SAFE app will reboot and run in the background. Once you are connected to the network, it will fetch the updates (version updates, database and Security Cloud).

(9) Removing (uninstall) F-Secure does not reduce the number of available licenses in the “My F-Secure”. On the contrary, completely un-installing F-Secure on a certain device and re-installing it again after some time on the same device means two licenses are required. Why is this?

Uninstalling the app on your machine will not automatically release the license on your account. To re-use the license kindly release the license in your F-Secure account. To release the license, you may go to this link How do I release a license from My F-Secure? - F-Secure Community

(10) I am sorry, but I am Dutch, so why is F-Secure going to charge me 67% more if I purchase the number of Total-Security licenses I want after my trial from within “My F-Secure” (€100), compared to the offer you make on your website (€60)?

The offer you see is for a first newly registered customer. If you would like to receive the same offer, I can suggest you use a different email address than what you are using right now to receive the offer. Once you have made the purchase, you will receive a confirmation email with a registration link to your new account. Kindly register the account by using your new email and reinstall the app on the newly created account to activate the subscription.

Kindly let me know if you require further assistance.

Thank you and have a good day.

Ruud24

Hello @Firmy

Thanks for your comments and suggestions.

With reference to your comments concerning my items (1) and (2) and (3):

- Yes, I am running the latest version of Catalina (10.15.7)

- I did uninstall in the past days F-Secure SAFE twice (using the “Uninstall F-Secure SAFE.app” in Application-F-Secure) for test reasons. Restarted my Mac, removed some F-Secure flies left as well as applicable log and plist files, and reinstalled F-Secure SAFE via the downloaded F-Secure-Safe-Installer package. After the reinstalls in the past week:

   - No change concerning item (1)

   - No change concerning item (2). DeepGuard crashes as mentioned in (2) the first time after installation. This is reproducible.

   - No change concerning item (3). DeepGuard crashes as mentioned in (3), however not every time.

With reference to your comments concerning my item (4):

- I am referring to manual scan using the tool “a full computer scan”.

Thanks for answering and clarifying the other items (5), (6), (7), (8), (9) and (10).

Maybe you could place items (6) and (7) on a future-wish-list?

Firmy

Hi @Ruud24

Thank you for your reply.

 - No change concerning item (1)

   - No change concerning item (2). DeepGuard crashes as mentioned in (2) the first time after installation. This is reproducible.

   - No change concerning item (3). DeepGuard crashes as mentioned in (3), however not every time.

May I know do you have conflicting software or another AV installed on your machine? This can be the cause of the crash. If you do, we recommend you only have 1 AV installed on your machine because having more than 1 AV does not provide you with extra security. It will consume your resources and the AV will detect each other as malware and cause them to malfunction Can I have more than one security product installed on my device? - F-Secure Community

With reference to your comments concerning my item (4):

- I am referring to manual scan using the tool “a full computer scan”.

I believe the question has been answered in your other post F-Secure SAFE “full computer scan” seems not to scan all files — F-Secure Community which is why there are differences in the number of files scanned between the first and second scan. And every AV has its own scanning and database, hence, it might affect the number of files scanned.

However, we understand your concern. The main component in SAFE is Security Cloud which will protect you in real-time and 24/7. It will be faster in terms of response and protection.

For more details about F-Secure technology, you can visit this link What technology is the anti-virus program using? — F-Secure Community

Maybe you could place items (6) and (7) on a future-wish-list?

The option to run a scan is available on the app, and at the menu bar, by clicking "Virus and spyware scan". It will scan the whole computer. You can view the guide from here Scanning files manually | SAFE | Latest | F-Secure User Guides

We do not have any future plan to block the camera and microphone on a device since it normally does not contain the harmful file that can infect a machine. However, we welcome our users to submit any idea or suggestion to improve the product Feature Requests — F-Secure Community

Thank you and have a good day.