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In at present’s antivirus market, you possibly can make sure to discover quite a lot of free variations of premium and not-so-premium AV apps. TotalAV definitely considers itself to be a premium product, snagging a few awards right here and there, and like most within the area presents a free model which ought to provide you with a style of the actual product. Downloading and putting in the free model took below 5 minutes (together with the obtain of the antivirus engine), and we didn’t discover RAM utilization spikes throughout this course of. The preliminary scan was comparatively fast, however the upsell ways used made your entire expertise really feel like a advertising ploy. We perceive that they’ve constructed the software program and that builders and buyers must be paid; nevertheless, specializing in high quality and worth ought to herald prospects with out aggressively upselling within the free model. It’s mainly a detection and elimination program that provides real-time safety within the premium model. There are a number of bundles obtainable, however essentially the most complete one consists of an advert blocker, phishing safety, a safe browser, a VPN, and a browser extension that blocks malicious web sites and trackers.
After you’ve put in the app, you’ll be greeted by a nice-looking UI that has all of its primary components logically specified by the left-hand pane. Whereas it might look simplistic, TotalAV hides quite a lot of its customization options below the settings menu, the place you will get into the nitty-gritty of the way you need TotalAV to behave. One constructive factor we observed is that whatever the model you’re utilizing (Home windows, macOS, Android, or iOS), the structure plus feel and look are virtually the identical. Be aware, macOS and iOS have some options lacking, however that’s principally as a result of inherent safety features present in Apple’s ecosystem. Fortunately for Home windows customers, TotalAV manages to get respectable scores from unbiased testing labs, making certain that you simply’re effectively protected for those who select to put in TotalAV in your PC.
Options
When you go for the paid model of TotalAV, you’ll be coated with real-time safety, which mechanically scans your recordsdata and applications to stop malicious code from executing in your PC. Be aware, you’ll in all probability have the ability to obtain some malware (for those who do that on objective), however you will be unable to run it in your machine as TotalAV will block it instantly. In idea, so long as you retain your AV working, you ought to be protected. This may even maintain you protected from ransomware, however together with TotalAV’s WebShield extension, which blocks malicious URLs and low-trust web sites, you actually get an all-around malware and ransomware safety. As soon as WebShield is included, it supplies “protected search” mechanically. It grades each web site earlier than you click on on it, ensuring that it is protected earlier than you truly go to the web site. Unbiased testers declare that WebShield manages to detect 96% of fraudulent web sites, which sounds spectacular till you see that rivals like Avira, McAfee, NordVPN, and a few extra block 100% of those web sites. In fact, this will not be a deal breaker for those who’re a extra superior netizen who can simply acknowledge phishing web sites, however it’s vital to notice that WebShield is on no account an ideal answer.
TotalAV presents a few malware scans, the “fast”, appears to be like on the crucial places, and such a scan took below 5 minutes on the work laptop computer with an SSD roughly stuffed to 35% of its capability. System scan, however, is a full scan that takes over 20 minutes, scanning over 250,000 recordsdata. When you are likely to neglect scans, you possibly can schedule them, or lastly, you possibly can customise scans to your liking. Lastly, the good scan characteristic bundles a fast scan for malware, a safety and privateness scan, a efficiency scan and a system junk and duplicate recordsdata scan. When you’re in a rush, the good scan makes quite a lot of sense, although a phrase of warning, look manually by the duplicate recordsdata; the system will not be foolproof.
If you wish to deal with the functioning of your system, you possibly can individually launch TotalAV’s junk cleaner. It scans for junk recordsdata, like cached replace recordsdata, .temp recordsdata, and gadgets within the recycle bin. Such apps may be helpful, however once more, we’d supply a phrase of warning: for those who’re not a complicated person, it will be finest to skip this selection, as it could actually delete some helpful recordsdata. Beneath the efficiency functionalities, additionally, you will discover an utility uninstaller, We can’t suggest it over the built-in Home windows uninstaller, until you will have a damaged uninstaller and easily don’t know how one can take away an utility. Lastly, the startup supervisor and browser cleaner really feel extra like gimmicks; they provide one-click entry to those features, however it’s no more superior in any method than what you get along with your process supervisor or browser in your Home windows machine.
With Chrome eradicating some fashionable advert blockers from its extension retailer, TotalAV’s Complete Adblock involves the rescue. It’s an extension for hottest browsers (or an app on iOS and Android) that goals to enhance your searching expertise by blocking adverts, which may additionally include malicious code (relying on which web sites you’re frequenting). Moreover, for those who go for a better tier plan (TotalAV has three), you’re going to get a VPN within the bundle. Most of those bundled VPNs are not so good as standalone options, so for those who’re in dire want of a VPN, TotalAV doesn’t have a lot to supply right here. It has stable options, primarily by way of safety, due to OpenVPN and WireGuard protocols. There’s a kill-switch, no-logs, and AES-256 encryption. You additionally get entry to servers throughout roughly 30 international locations with 50 servers. In comparison with stand-alone VPN options, the variety of servers is kind of small, however you get main hubs within the US and Europe, so for those who’re not choosy, it could actually make it easier to get round some geo-location blocks.
When you go for the most costly tier, other than the VPN, additionally, you will get a password supervisor within the bundle. You will want to put in the browser extension if you wish to reap the benefits of the auto-fill choices. As soon as all the pieces is ready up, you’ll have to create your grasp PIN that can will let you entry the app vault. Complete Password makes use of a zero-knowledge structure, AES-256 bit encryption, and a random password generator. When you’re registering an account for the primary time, the extension will ask you whether or not you need it to auto-generate a password for you. A further perform is the Safety Report tab, during which the appliance will test the energy and security of your passwords, however it doesn’t carry out darkish net scans on your passwords. As well as, you possibly can shield your password supervisor utilizing two-factor authentication. In spite of everything is claimed and accomplished, it’s not a lot totally different from Chrome presents in-built with its password administration, making this a tough purchase. We discovered the Safe Notes and Distant Logout features essentially the most helpful. Notes will let you retailer textual content (solutions to safety questions, for instance) and Distant Logout, because the title suggests, logs you out of different units, which generally is a helpful characteristic for those who are likely to entry your accounts from varied machines.
When you’re on Android, TotalAV is straightforward to obtain and arrange, with the app containing just about each characteristic included within the desktop model. Here’s a fast run-down of the options within the Android app:
- Sensible Scan
- System Optimization
- Wi-Fi Checker (verifies that your present community connection is safe and protected)
- App Lock (restricts entry to apps containing delicate data)
- Breach Scan (checks in case your private information has been uncovered in recognized safety breaches)
- QR Code Scanner (safely analyzes QR codes to stop malicious redirects or hyperlinks)
- VPN Entry
- Net Protect
- Safe Browser
We didn’t take a look at the iOS model, however in line with different respected reviewers, it comprises a lot of the similar functionalities.
Pricing
TotalAV presents three pricing tiers (for those who exclude the free one), which differ within the supply and the variety of units you possibly can cowl. As acknowledged within the introduction, you will have the free model, which is kind of restricted, and during which you’re going to get bombarded with upsell notifications. When you determine to go for the paid model, the preliminary plan is misleadingly referred to as TotalAV Premium, beginning at $29 for the primary 12 months, and renewing at a whopping distinction of $99 a 12 months. It covers as much as three units and doesn’t include the VPN or the password supervisor. Shifting as much as TotalAV Web Safety, you get a VPN together with all different functionalities from the primary tier and protection for six units for $39 for the primary 12 months and a renewal value of $129 a 12 months. Lastly, you will have the TotalAV Complete Safety for eight units, for $49 for the primary 12 months and a renewal value of $149 a 12 months. Apart from all the pieces within the earlier plans, you additionally get the password supervisor added to the combination. Wanting on the renewal costs and the efficiency of the extra options, it’s actually tough to justify going for the higher-priced plans.
Safety
In response to the Malware Protection Test March 2025 carried out by AV-Comparatives, TotalAV scored a 95.8% in Offline detection price, 98.9 % in On-line detection price, and 99.97% in On-line safety price. Sadly, from a complete of 19 examined merchandise, TotalAV had fairly poor ends in the false alarms area. It managed to set off 28 false alarms, whereas rivals like Kaspersky triggered solely 3. Lastly, within the AV Comparatives Malware Safety, it has been awarded one star, or normal safety. Opponents like Norton, BitDefender, Kaspersky, and many others., have all been awarded three stars for superior safety, making TotalAV a tough promote over the competitors. A safety product that catches extra malicious recordsdata isn’t at all times higher if it additionally triggers frequent false positives. In some instances, an answer with barely decrease detection charges however fewer false alarms can supply a extra balanced and user-friendly expertise.
Ease of use
Maybe the very best characteristic provided by TotalAV is its ease of use, or user-friendly and logically laid out design. Even if you dig deep into the Configuration half to customise how TotalAV works, you’ll be greeted by flip-switches and an awesome clarification on what every characteristic does. We additionally applaud the truth that the design philosophy has been adopted throughout all platforms, so whether or not you’re on Home windows or Android, you’ll be greeted by a well-recognized surrounding and all the pieces will likely be the place you anticipated it to be. Updates may be carried out silently within the background, and for those who’re trying to take away TotalAV out of your PC, it may be accomplished in below two minutes, with all residual recordsdata of the AV being eliminated.
Ultimate verdict
TotalAV is, in itself, an general stable AV that comes filled with quite a lot of options even on the bottom paid plan. The upsell to higher-tiered plans merely doesn’t work for us, we’d a lot slightly have a separate VPN and use Chrome’s built-in password supervisor or go for a separate app like 1Password. Equally, the free model of TotalAV can be onerous to suggest since there are higher free options on the market, particularly ones that gained’t attempt to upsell you as onerous.
Taking a closing have a look at your entire package deal and evaluating its unbiased laboratory AV exams, we come to the conclusion that TotalAV will certainly have a slice of the market. However for those who ask us, we wouldn’t wager on TotalAV jeopardizing the likes of BitDefender, Norton, and the like. When you can snag it on an enormous low cost, it could actually make quite a lot of sense as your go-to AV. In any other case, check out the premium competitors and neglect that TotalAV even exists.
- Need to evaluate TotalAV to its rivals? Take a look at our best antivirus information