McAfee blocking network drive connection

[bimfi122]

I just purchased and downloaded the McAfee antivirus Protection/internet security 2019 this afternoon. After I installed it my network drives were blocked. I uninstalled it and I could then access my network drives. I installed it once more and the same thing happened. I tried accessing the settings and network connection to add the network drives, but it still blocked them. Why??? The ONLY reason I purchased this software was because I was having an issue with Windows Defender firewall blocking one particular app (Sonos Controller). I don't understand why McAfee has to be so proactive that it blocks EVERYTHING. Unless I can understand how to fix this "blocking" issue, I will no doubt uninstall it for good and chalk up this $13 program as a big mistake and go back to WIndows Defender. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

[sivasubramanian]

@bimfi122 

Perform the below steps and update us.

1. Open McAfee
2. Click My Privacy.
3. Click Protect home network.
4. Trust your Network drives 

Regards
Siva

[bimfi122]

I opened McAfee, clicked My Privacy, clicked Protect home network. Did not see Trust your Network drives. Maybe this version is incomplete. What else can I do?

[sivasubramanian]

@bimfi122 

Please let us know what you see when you opened Protect home network also share the screenshot for the same.

Regards
Siva

[bimfi122]

Here is a screenshot of what I see when I open Protect home network.

[bimfi122]

The last screenshot was taken when I was using my VPN. I turned the VPN off and took another screenshot:

[sivasubramanian]

@bimfi122 

Please select the individual devices and check if you are getting an option to trust. Please try the below steps as well.

1. Open McAfee
2. Click PC Security >> Firewall on the left pane
3. Click Smart Advice and Advanced Settings
4. Enable Allow ICMP ping requests and click Apply
5. Select My Network Connections.
   NOTE: This option might be Connections or Network Connections, depending on your version.
6. Scroll through the list of IP addresses and IP ranges. Verify the IP address and Network used by your computer are not listed with a security level equal to Blocked.
7. If the computer's IP is in a blocked list, you can change the Network Type or delete the rule.
   
   NOTE: Your IP address must belong to a valid network connection rule i.e., Home or Work network.

Regards
Siva

[bimfi122]

I went through the steps that you requested. I scrolled through the list of IP addresses but did not find any that were blocked. All belonged to either Home or Work rule. I still cannot find a radio button that allows me to trust my network drives. I still cannot access my network drives.

[bimfi122]

After spending about 2 hours doing a technical support chat with McAfee, I found that, so far, the only way I can access my network drives or my router webpage was to uninstall McAfee antivirus from my PC. The tech did all he could do and then some. The only thing that he found that COULD be the issue was that all of my network devices are on port 4 while my desktop PC is on port 1. Even my laptop is on port 4. I have AT&T Fiber internet, so I contacted them to see about changing the port to 4 instead of 1. They said, after doing a line test, that there was no problem with the internet from their end. They said that I should contact a programmer (???) to fix my issue.

I'm thinking that maybe Windows 10 could be part of the problem, but what do I know? Maybe if I did a fresh install of WIndows it could fix the issue. Any suggestions would be very helpful.

[bimfi122 · Accepted solution]

I think I found the solution to this issue. Here is what I did. I uninstalled my VPN and removed the network adapter card, leaving me with only one ethernet port. I then re-installed McAfee antivirus. I then checked to see if my network drives were accessable and they were. I will wait a few days for this to stabilize, then I will try to install my VPN again. If that proves successful then I know what must be done in the future. I will mark this as a solution