McAfee has announced plans for its 2008 security solutions.

The company stated that its Virus Scan Plus, Internet Suite and Total Protection software packages will feature triple-play protection to secure PCs against threats caused by social networking sites, mobile phones, instant messaging and multimedia usage.

The McAfee features include Safe Search and Surf and Link Checker, which alerts users about dangerous sites before they visit using colour-coded signs.

The most risky sites are coded red, yellow sites may contain threats and green sites are safe. Link Checker also detects links sent to instant messaging accounts and informs the user of any potential dangers.

Parents who are worried their children may ignore the alerts can automatically block infected sites with the Protected Mode feature in the Total Protection suite.

Parents can also configure the software to redirect children to a safe page if the computer is about to interact with a risky site. Protected Mode is password protected, enabling parents to control the feature.

Internet Security Suite and Total Protection both offer Virusscan, a virus protection feature for mobile devices using Microsoft Windows.

The new software has also been designed to prevent interruption of films by deferring scheduled security tasks, including program updates and scans, until a more appropriate time.

When the computer is first switched on, the software automatically waits for a few moments before updating, allowing users the opportunity to check email or go online without the PC slowing down.

McAfee Total Protection costs £59.99 and caters for up to three users. It features anti-virus, anti-phishing and anti-spyware features, a two-way firewall, and System Guards, which watch the PC and warn of specific behaviours that may signal virus, spyware or hacker activity.

It also comes with Rootkit scanning, which detects and removes rootkits and other malicious applications that hide from Windows. Script Scanner also blocks malicious scripts while surfing the web.

The Shedder feature digitally destroys confidential files.

In addition, users can set up and manage home networks, and share printers and files, through the Easy Network feature. The Network Manager allows users to view the security status on other PCs connected to the home network and fix any security problems.

Internet Security Suite costs £49.99 for up to threee users and includes all the features of the Total Protection suite except Link Checker, Protected Mode and Easy Network.

Virusscan Plus is the entry level suite. It comes with anti-virus, anti-spyware, a two-way firewall, anti-phishing and McAfee System Guards, as well as Rootkit scanning, Script Scanner and Shredder. It costs £39.99 for one user.

All three programs also have a feature that automatically updates the software if McAfee launches a new version.