Highlights of 360 Total Security

  • It is a free product
  • An antivirus and PC maintenance tools in one package
  • Lots of options and features
  • Compatible with Windows XP and Windows 10
  • Also available on Mac OS and Android
  • Low system impact in the background

Developed by Qihu, a Chinese company, 360 Total Security is a free product. With it, you'll get a PC maintenance suit, along with a decent security tool. The built-in antivirus can protect your device from malware, ransomware, and phishing. The world-famous Avira and Bitdefender engines are at the very core of it, and the user can switch between them.

Furthermore, Total Security offers shopping/webcam protection, a sandbox, and keylogger blocking. With it, you'll also get automatic Wi-Fi security checks and download-installation of new patches for Win, Java, Adobe, and other popular apps. Also, PC maintenance tools are excellent for speeding up the OS, cleaning up the hard drive, and scheduling tasks.

Reliability and Security

As we discussed in the intro, 360 Total Security uses the Avira and Bitdefender engines. However, during the lab tests, it performs worse than the free editions of the mentioned antivirus products. And the overall test results are somewhat disappointing. Of all the leading third-party labs, only AV-Test includes this product into its regular tests considering it worthy to be tested.

They rate antivirus software based on three criteria - Performance, Protection, and Usability. In the Protection test, TS earned a perfect score (six out of six); the same is true for Usability. In the Performance test, it only managed to receive a four/six rating; that's because of the above-average system impact during a scan. Bitdefender Antivirus Plus received a perfect six in all three tests; the overall Avira score is 17.5 out of 18.Malware Protection

Our team of experts ran its own series of tests to see how this antivirus performs against malware attacks. We planted a folder full of malware samples on the HDD, just like we always do during these tests. Some products, like Avira, interfere the second we try to do that. Others (like Webroot, for example) stay idle until the user copies those files to the hard drive.

Total Security, in turn, waited until we were about to launch them. According to the officials, this only happens in the Balanced mode (it's the default mode). And when you switch to Security, the antivirus will scan every single file that is being saved to the drive. However, during our tests, that didn't happen, and we still had to launch every file manually.

When Total Security detects malware, a big warning message appears on the screen. If the user does nothing, it deletes that file/app in 30 seconds. At the end of the test, it detected 84% of the malware samples and earned a fair 8.1/10 score. This result is not very impressive, as the stand-alone version of Avira identified 94% of the samples and Bitdefender, in turn, received an impressive 9.3/10 rating.

Ransomware Protection

Whenever the user visits a shopping site, the Secure Online Shopping tool is activated. It prevents unknown apps from launching and protects the user from keyloggers. Plus, it also has hijacking protection. Yet, again, it's not very effective in real-world tests. We modified a couple of files on the hard drive disk, but that didn't trigger Total Security.

Our contact at the company claimed that they specifically designed this antivirus to react to actual threats. We do understand their desire to ensure this tool doesn't affect legit programs. At the same time, we can't be 100% sure that it's on par with the best offers on the market.

Anti-Ransomware Tool

Known as the Ransomware Terminator, this module was developed to protect sensitive documents from ransomware. Real-time (24/7) monitoring, along with automatic backups, are its biggest pros. Like the previous two features/tools, the RT works in the background and is fully autonomous.

It's quite effective against malicious tampering, system crashes, and, of course, viruses that take control of files/folders on the OS and require a ransom. Depending on the case, the criminals may demand you to pay hundreds or even thousands of dollars to decrypt the encrypted files.

And sometimes, you won't even get control over these files/folders back even after you pay the ransom. That's precisely why it's so important to have protection against ransomware. And one of the best things about the 360 Total Security Ransomware Terminator - it's free. Plus, the auto-backing system immediately backs your documents upon modification. That means you'll be able to use the copies (backups) and never pay the hackers a penny.

Phishing Protection

Phishing websites aim at stealing your credentials by imitating bank sites. They trick users into giving away their logins-passwords by thinking they're entering their identity data in a safe environment. In our test, we collect dozens of new phishing URLs and check how the antivirus behaves against them.

We were surprised by how well 360 Total Security handled all those phishing URLs. Bitdefender, Webroot, and Norton are the leaders in this field, and this antivirus had a similar detection rate. That is important: a year ago, TS failed at this same test. Thankfully, the company did an excellent job of improving phishing detection in the new version.Extra Features

Along with malware/ransomware/phishing protection, 360 Total Security also offers robust optimization tools.

  • Cleanup can be found on the dashboard: you can access it by hitting an icon on the main screen. Just click on 'Scan' to check the plug-ins and junk files in the system and tidy it up a little bit.
  • The Speedup is also located in the dashboard and can be activated with one single click. All you'll have to do is select 'Optimize' and wait for this tool to do its job. Compared to other tune-up software, 360 TS is quite solid.
  • Patch Up automatically updates the most common programs, while Wi-Fi Check performs DNS security/password strength checks.
  • Secure Online Shopping and Sandbox are also a part of the package.

And if you purchase the 360 Total Security Premium package, you'll get access to even more features.