Prospectus Summary
You should read the following summary together with the more detailed information regarding our company and our Class A common stock being sold in this offering and our financial statements and notes appearing elsewhere in this prospectus. In this prospectus, unless the context indicates otherwise, "McAfee.com" refers to both us and our predecessor business.
We are a leading provider of PC management solutions for consumers. Through our McAfee.com web site, we allow consumers to secure, repair, update and upgrade their PCs online. We are among the first consumer Applications Service Providers, or ASPs, hosting our software applications on our own servers and providing our applications services to consumers over the Internet. Our applications allow consumers to check their PCs for viruses, eliminate viruses from their PCs, repair their PCs, check for Year 2000 compliance, optimize their hard drives and update their PCs with the latest software patches and upgrades. In addition to our web-based software applications, we offer relevant content and contextual e-commerce services that enable users to maximize their investment in their PCs. To date, over six million users from over 230 countries have registered on our web site, and we have over 900,000 trial subscribers.
Increasing use of the Internet has transformed the home PC from merely a stand-alone processor into the primary Internet access device for consumers engaged in information retrieval, communication and e-commerce. According to Jupiter Communications, approximately 63 million U.S. households will be online by the year 2002, representing 59% of all U.S. households. Consumers are increasingly dependent on their PCs to reliably access, store and manage a growing amount of valuable and highly-sensitive data. PCs have become essential to many users, and a PC-related failure could lead to hours of lost time and significant financial loss. The combination of greater access to public networks such as the Internet and increasingly sophisticated PC applications has made both PCs and PC management more complex. Consumers, who generally lack the knowledge and sophistication necessary to properly secure and manage their PCs without assistance, may be overwhelmed by the variety and complexity of the products and services that are offered to help them perform these tasks.
McAfee.com is a one-stop destination for consumer PC security and management needs. Our web site provides a suite of online products and services personalized for the user based on the user's PC configuration, attached peripherals and resident software. Our integrated applications solution allows consumers to secure and manage their PCs by visiting our McAfee Clinic, Anti-Virus Center, PC Checkup Center, Y2K Center, Shopping Center, Download Center and Support Center. Our web site and software applications are designed to be easy to use and helpful for PC users of all skill levels, requiring limited consumer input. We also provide a wealth of PC-related information and educational materials for access and use by consumers on our web site, such as product reviews and features, a searchable virus library, electronic newsletters, early warning virus alert services and user-specific product and upgrade recommendations.
Our strategic objective is to become the leading trusted online destination where consumers secure, repair, update and upgrade their PCs and other Internet access devices. To achieve this objective, we plan to continue aggressively building brand awareness among consumer PC users through extensive marketing activities and strategic alliances. We intend to drive adoption of our ASP model by attracting new users to our web site and offering free limited-time trial subscriptions. To become a leading and trusted online destination, we must maintain our technological leadership and expand our target market. We plan to do so both through increased international penetration and by developing new or enhanced products and services for PCs and non-PC Internet access devices.
We are a wholly-owned subsidiary of Network Associates, which is a leading supplier of enterprise network security and management software. After completion of this offering, Network Associates will own all our outstanding Class B common stock, representing approximately % of the voting power of 3 our outstanding stock. In addition, as of September 22, 1999, Network Associates' officers and employees held options to purchase 1,984,150 shares of our Class A common stock.