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Activating McAfee antivirus on your Mac is simple using the official mcafee.com/activate portal. McAfee Total Protection and all McAfee+ plans provide award-winning security for macOS, including real-time threat scanning, Secure VPN, Personal Data Cleanup, and identity monitoring. Whether you are setting up McAfee on a new MacBook or reinstalling it on an existing Mac, this guide shows you how to activate McAfee antivirus online — from entering your McAfee activation code at www.mcafee.com/activate to running your first scan.
macOS system requirements for McAfee:
  • OS: macOS 13.x (Ventura) or later
  • RAM: 2 GB minimum
  • Free disk space: 1.3 GB minimum
  • Internet: Required for activation, updates, and cloud-based threat detection
1

Open Safari or Chrome and go to mcafee.com/activate

Launch Safari or Google Chrome on your Mac and navigate to mcafee.com/activate. Verify that the page loads over a secure connection (https://www.mcafee.com) before entering any personal details.
2

Enter your 25-digit McAfee activation code

Type or paste your 25-digit activation code into the product key field. The code is divided into five groups of five alphanumeric characters (e.g., XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX). Take care with characters that look similar, such as O and 0, or I and 1.
3

Sign in with your McAfee account or create one

Enter your McAfee account email address. If you already have an account from a previous subscription or another device, sign in with your existing credentials — your new subscription will be added to the same account. First-time users can create a free McAfee account directly on this page.
4

Select macOS as your platform and click Download

After your activation code is verified, select macOS as your operating system when prompted. Click the Download button to save the McAfee installer disk image file (.dmg) to your Mac. The file will typically appear in your Downloads folder.
5

Open the downloaded .dmg installer

Navigate to your Downloads folder and double-click the .dmg file to mount it. A Finder window will open showing the McAfee installer package. Double-click the installer icon (.pkg file) to begin the installation process.
6

Follow the installation wizard and grant permissions

Work through the installation wizard by clicking Continue and Install at each step. When prompted, enter your Mac’s administrator password to authorize the installation. After the installer copies its files, macOS will display a security prompt — navigate to System Preferences → Security & Privacy → General and click Allow to permit the McAfee system extension to run.
7

McAfee runs its first scan automatically

Once installation completes, McAfee launches automatically and performs an initial scan of your Mac to establish a security baseline. This first scan may take several minutes depending on the number of files on your system. You will see a notification in the McAfee app when the scan is complete and your Mac is confirmed secure.
macOS Ventura (and later) may ask you to allow McAfee kernel extensions or system extensions in System Settings → Privacy & Security. Click Allow for all McAfee-related requests — these permissions are required for real-time threat detection and the McAfee firewall to function correctly. Without them, your Mac will not be fully protected.
After activation, open the McAfee application from your Applications folder to verify your subscription status. Go to My Info or Account within the app to confirm your plan name, expiration date, and the devices currently protected under your subscription.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Yes. McAfee actively maintains compatibility with the latest macOS releases. McAfee Total Protection and all McAfee+ plans support macOS 13 (Ventura) and later, including macOS Sonoma. McAfee releases regular updates to maintain compatibility as Apple introduces new OS versions. Visit mcafee.com/activate to download the most current version of McAfee for your Mac.
If you have purchased a new Mac and want to transfer your McAfee subscription, you do not need a new product key. Follow these steps:
  1. On your new Mac, visit mcafee.com/activate or go to home.mcafee.com.
  2. Sign in with the same McAfee account email and password you used during your original activation.
  3. Click Download next to your active subscription to get the macOS installer.
  4. Run the .dmg installer and complete the setup as described above.
If you want to free up a device slot, log in to your McAfee account and remove your old Mac from the My Devices section before adding the new one.
McAfee installs its application files in the /Applications folder — you will find the McAfee Security app there. Supporting system components and extension files are installed in system-level directories that macOS manages automatically. To uninstall McAfee, use the built-in McAfee Uninstaller tool found inside the McAfee app under Preferences, or download the McAfee Consumer Product Removal (MCPR) tool from the McAfee support site rather than simply dragging the app to the Trash.