Total Defense Antivirus Review: Total Security
Total Defense Antivirus Total Security
Pros
Cons
Quick Stats
Based in the US New York, Total Defense provides powerful protection from evolving online threats. Total Defense solutions include anti-malware, antivirus, intrusion prevention & mobile security, protecting more than 4 million consumers and their devices worldwide.
Total Defense team members are committed to keeping their customers and their families safe and protected on all their devices from the ever-evolving landscape of cyber threats, crimeware, and attacks. Is Total Defense the antivirus for you?
This article contains the plans, features, prices, and pros and cons to help you make up your mind on whether Total Defense is the antivirus for you or not.
Security and Protection
An antivirus's main job is to secure devices from threats in various forums, such as viruses and malware. In this section, we will check Total Defense's protection in the following:
1. Third-party test labs
In regards to antivirus security, how should an antivirus protection assessment be measured? Do we simply take the words of the AV creators for their own programs? The best way to assess an antivirus on its functionality is by using a third-party antivirus testing lab.
Third-party testing Labs are experts with well-constructed criteria and testing methods on testing AV-products, providing an unbiased opinion on product security.
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AV-Test scores
Unfortunately, the AV-test score for Total Defense dates back to 2011, making it useless and hindering the ability to judge their antivirus from multiple sources. Nevertheless, Total Defense, according to AV-Lab, scored as follows:
- Total Defense gets a 3.5/6 score on its ability to detect malicious ware.
- Total Defense scores 2/6 in the impact on device performance department, which means it won't take up your device's resources.
- Total Defense has a low false-positive rate with a 3/6 usability score. This indicates how likely to mistake regular files for harmful ones.
Total defense reports on AV-Test are outdated, with the latest update being back in 2011; hence it shouldn't be taken for granted.
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AV-Comparatives
According to AV-Comparatives:
- Total Defense scores 2/3 stars (Advanced) in the impact on the device performance department. This means it can hinder your device's performance to a certain degree.
- Total Defense has a Real-World Protection Test with a 1/3 stars (Standard) Real-world protection score. According to a test conducted with 758 Domains/Files, this score is to check the rate of detection of malicious files and Domains.
- Total Defense had a 7 false-positive rate (False alarms), with the industry average in the test being 17. While successfully blocking 97.9 % of threats.
- Malware protection test: Total Defense has a 2/3 (Advanced) score regarding malware detection. This was done by testing 10102 Test cases with a 99.96% detection and block, with six false positives.
Proper Real-World Protection takes into account how well an antivirus blocks threats and can differentiate between threats and none threats.
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SE Labs
Total Defense antivirus lacks testing data from SE Labs.
For a more comprehensively reviewed antivirus product with more third-party data products read our top recommendations Norton 360 and Bitdefender.
2. Firewall and IDS protection
Total defense antivirus lacks a firewall in its product and uses the Windows Defender Firewall to do the job. It lacks an intruder detection system (IDS).
3. USB rescue toolkit
A USB rescue toolkit is the last line used as a backup antivirus in case your device is infected and won't boot anymore. It can be helpful also against malicious ware that requires the system to boot for them to work. Unfortunately, Total Defense doesn't have a USB rescue toolkit.
Total Defense Plans and Features
Total Defense antivirus has three plans for users to choose from these are Essential Anti-Virus, Premium Internet Security, and Ultimate Internet Security.
All plans provide free US-based support and free expert installation and upgrades.
1. Essential Antivirus
This is the basic plan it provides users with antivirus, spyware, and anti-malware protection. It functions as a simple antivirus, with real-time and on-demand scanning. Regular automatic updates are provided to the essential antivirus plan.
The Essential Antivirus plan supports up to three devices.
The Essential Antivirus plan is compatible with Windows only.
2. Premium Internet Security
In addition to the protective functionality provided by the Essential Antivirus plan, this plan adds:
- Ransomware protection protects your most important files from ransomware attacks.
- Anti-Phishing protection is a newly added feature to Total Defense antivirus to protect you from phishing attacks, Internet fraud, and malicious websites.
- Family protection protects your children from online predators and offensive/unwanted content.
- Identity theft protection protects your personal information from cybercriminals.
- + 10GB online backup – keeps your photos and digital files safe by creating a backup.
Premium Internet Security plan supports up to five devices.
Premium Internet Security plan is compatible with Windows, macOS, iOS, and Android.
3. Ultimate Internet Security
This plan by Total defense antivirus provides users with the most features. In addition to the feature provided by the premium internet security, this plan adds:
- System tune-up tool to Speed-up your PC start times with smart PC optimization.
- Performance-oriented automatic scan fixes and updates, which function to improve your device's performance, speeding it up.
- Automatic vulnerability scanning and patching for outdated software you might have on your device.
- Cloud storage upgrades from 10GB to 25 GB.
Ultimate Internet Security plan secures up to 10 devices.
Ultimate Internet Security is compatible with Windows, macOS, iOS, and Android.
User Experience
The Total Defense user interface is fairly easy to use, with large buttons in the middle of the interface allowing users quick access to required actions.
Customer support
Total defense provides its customers with multiple forms of support, so you can rest assured you won't face any problems alone.
Customer support is available via:
Pricing and Payments
The pricing of Total Defense antivirus plans table:
| Plans | Essential Antivirus | Premium Internet Security | Ultimate Internet Security |
|---|---|---|---|
| One year | $29.99/3 device | $59.99 /5 devices | $99.99/10 devices |
| Two years | $69.99/3 devices | $109.99 /5 devices | $129.99/10 devices |
| Three years | $99.99/3 devices | $159.99/5 devices | $199.99/10 devices |
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Payment methods
Total Defense provides the following method for users to pay for their products:
- Major credit cards.
- Paypal.
Money-back guarantee
Total Defense antivirus provides a 60-day money-back guarantee to allow users to use their antivirus to their heart's content before making a final decision.
In addition, the Virus Protection Assurance Program, which is an exclusive benefit for customers enrolled in the Automatic Renewal Service. It provides users with a money-back guarantee in case a virus slips past total defense antivirus and virus removal ends up in failure.
Final Verdict
Relative to other antiviruses, Total Defense is subpar. Its security levels are below the top competitors, at least when it comes to Windows. Total Defense doesn't provide as many features as other antivirus providers.
We believe an antivirus such as Norton or Bitdefender would fare much better if you're looking for solid protection with extra features.
FAQs
No, Totals Defense doesn't provide a firewall with its products.
Yes, Total defense provides a 60-day money-back guarantee, in addition, they provide a Virus-Free Guarantee policy.
The virus-free guarantee is an exclusive benefit for customers enrolled in the automatic renewal service. In the event, a Total Defense security product fails and a virus slips past its powerful protection, expert technology advisors will remove the virus from your device for free. If the virus can’t be removed, a refund will be issued and you will get your money back.
According to AV-Comparatives (a third-party testing lab), Total Defense antivirus scores 2/3 stars (Advanced) in the impact on the device performance department. This means it can hinder your device performance to a certain degree relative to top competitors.
No, unfortunately, a VPN is one of many features Total Defense lacks.