I think it is quite likely that the warnings from McAfee are a false positive. Nevertheless, there are bad consequences that can accrue if the administrators of a site ignore the fact that users of one of the top Internet security suites are seeing scary red warnings about the site being unsafe.
Some users will heed McAfee's warnings and therefore stop visiting the site. We will all lose the benefit of their contributions.
Word may get around that the site is not safe. The site could even be added to lists of unsafe sites. That hurts the site and again may discourage people from visiting it.
Telling people to dump McAfee in favor of another security suite is a non-starter. Dell, to take just one example, provides McAfee by default on millions of computers that they sell each year. Many buyers have neither the knowledge or inclination to uninstall a security suite and switch to a different one.
If it was my site, I would want to find out why McAfee is triggering on the site and take steps to see that it stops. This is a wonderful forum, and I'd hate to see its reputation harmed in any way.
- Jeff