Security for everyone - Review Kaspersky Total Security

Security for everyone - Review Kaspersky Total Security
Rating

Firewall protection

Kaspersky Total Security includes a good firewall module that is well integrated with Windows 10. The firewall can detect the type of network that you are connected to (public or private) and can automatically adjust its protection level depending on what you choose in Windows. This process is automated, so you do not have to configure the firewall manually.

Kaspersky, Total Security, 2018, Internet Security
Kaspersky, Total Security, 2018, Internet Security

To test Kaspersky's firewall efficiency, we used two different network vulnerabilities scanners: Nmap and Nessus. When using a private network profile, Nmap managed to identify 9 open ports, while Nessus found 7 open ports and vulnerability to man-in-the-middle attacks. After setting the network profile to private, Nmap found 5 open ports, while Nessus managed to identify 3. Both Nmap and Nessus were able to read the MAC address but not the name of the operating system used on our test system. Unfortunately, these are not great results. The effectiveness of Kaspersky's firewall is rather average when compared to the firewall modules that are included in other security suites.

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We like the fact that the firewall module from Kaspersky Total Security is well integrated with Windows 10. However, regarding network protection, the firewall is only average and does not excel.

Antivirus and antispyware protection

The first thing we checked about the antivirus was to see how well it handles online threats that you encounter while browsing the web. Earlier we mentioned that Kaspersky Total Security includes a browser add-on called Kaspersky Protection. If you are using Google Chrome or Mozilla Firefox, this extension gives you instant security ratings for your search results, as well as helping you block banners on the pages you visit, or block websites from collecting data about you.

Kaspersky, Total Security, 2018, Internet Security
Kaspersky, Total Security, 2018, Internet Security

Even if you do not enable the Kaspersky Protection browser add-on or if you prefer using other web browsers like Microsoft Edge or Opera, Kaspersky Total Security still protects you by scanning all the internet traffic that goes through your Windows computer.

To see how well you are protected while surfing the internet, we used the most popular web browsers (Microsoft Edge, Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, and Opera) and visited several dangerous websites. To get equivalent results, we did not use the add-on provided by the security suite in any of these web browsers. The good news is that Kaspersky Total Security blocked our access to the infected web pages each time we tried, in all the web browsers.

Kaspersky, Total Security, 2018, Internet Security
Kaspersky, Total Security, 2018, Internet Security

Next, we wanted to see what the security suite does when we plug in a removable USB memory stick full of malware. The behavior we saw was what we wanted: Kaspersky Total Security detected the USB memory stick and asked whether we wanted to scan it for malware. We said yes and, in a few minutes, it was cleaned automatically of all malware.

Kaspersky, Total Security, 2018, Internet Security
Kaspersky, Total Security, 2018, Internet Security

Next, we took our test laptop, we installed Windows 10 on it, and we filled it with malware of all kinds, including some nasty ransomware. After a few reboots in which we made sure that the test computer was a ticking time bomb, we went online with the purpose of downloading and installing Kaspersky Total Security. We managed to do that and, after the security suite was up and running, infected files started to get disinfected or removed from our system.

Kaspersky, Total Security, 2018, Internet Security
Kaspersky, Total Security, 2018, Internet Security

After another few reboots, the laptop was usable again, and Kaspersky confirmed that it still is a solid product when it comes to the anti-malware protection that it offers.

Kaspersky, Total Security, 2018, Internet Security
Kaspersky, Total Security, 2018, Internet Security

We believe that antivirus scanning speed is yet another important attribute when evaluating a security product. On our test computer, which runs on Windows 10, Kaspersky Total Security spent an average of 3 minutes to scan the 126 GB system partition with 35 GB of files on it. That is a fast scanning time in our opinion.

Finally, we looked at what other independent security organizations had to say about Kaspersky:

  • AV-Test rated Kaspersky with their maximum score of 6 points out of 6, in all their tests (Protection, Performance, Usability).

  • AV-Comparatives awarded Kaspersky with their top Advanced+ badge in all their security tests this year (Malware Protection, Performance, Real World Protection).

  • Virus Bulletin gave Kaspersky their VB100 mark.

Kaspersky Total Security offers one of the best antimalware engines on the market. If you want the best of the best, we are sure that you cannot go wrong if you choose to use a Kaspersky antivirus.

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Extra features

Kaspersky Total Security bundles more than a few additional tools and some of them will undoubtedly be useful, while others maybe not so much:

Kaspersky, Total Security, 2018, Internet Security
Kaspersky, Total Security, 2018, Internet Security
  • Safe Money - when performing financial transactions online, Safe Money opens a protected browser window that continuously checks if your data is safe from prying eyes. You should use it for online banking and shopping.

  • Password Manager - stores your passwords in a safe manner and lets you use them whenever you need, in your web browsers. It works with Windows, OS X, Android, and iOS. You have to create an account on the My Kaspersky portal to use it. By default, this tool is not installed, but you can download and install it directly from the main user interface.

  • Privacy Protection - includes reports and settings for Private Browsing sessions and a Webcam Access feature that lets you know if someone is trying to use your webcam.

  • Backup and Restore - lets you create backups of your files so that you can later restore them if you need to.

  • Parental Control - allows you to set how much time your child uses the computer and when.You specify the apps and games he or she is allowed to run, restrict internet access according to your rules, block or allow communication through instant messengers and block the transfer of private data (e.g., home address, credit card numbers) from your child to third parties.

  • Protection for all devices - lets you connect all your Kaspersky protected devices to your account on the My Kaspersky portal. There, you can manage the protection of your devices remotely, from any web browser.

  • Software Updater - searches for updates that could improve your computer's performance or that could fix bugs or security issues found in the apps that you have installed on your computer. You can find the list of all the software monitored by Kaspersky, on this webpage: Compatible applications.

  • Software Cleaner - checks whether you have installed apps on your computer that you use rarely, or that could be classified as adware. If you believe they were installed by mistake, you can quickly remove them using this tool. However, some people might find it annoying to see it pop up repeatedly to remind them that they have apps they have not used for a while.

  • Data Encryption - lets you create a data vault that is encrypted using AES-256 encryption, and in which you can place the folders and documents that you want to protect.

  • Trusted Applications mode - when enabled, this mode protects you by automatically blocking any app that is not found in Kaspersky Security Network database.

  • Cloud Protection - lets you connect or disconnect your computer to the Kaspersky Security Network. It is a good idea to keep this option on, as it helps Kaspersky's security suite protect you better and respond faster to cyber threats.

  • On-Screen Keyboard - an on-screen keyboard that should be used when you want to make sure that the data you enter is not logged by third-party apps or by malware.

  • Vulnerability Scan - this wizard scans Windows and third-party applications (like Flash or Java) for known vulnerabilities, and it warns you when appropriate.

  • Kaspersky Rescue Disk - a free tool which you can download from Kaspersky's website. You use it to create a rescue disk that can be used for disinfecting computers that are so severely infected with malware that they cannot boot Windows.

  • Browser Configuration - this tool analyzes the configuration of Internet Explorer, and it recommends improvements to its security settings. If you are using Windows 10 and you never open Internet Explorer, this tool is rather useless.

  • Privacy Cleaner - cleans your computer history of recent commands and accessed files, cookies, caches, logs and other data, so that your activity is kept private.

  • File Shredder - gives you the option to delete sensitive data from your computer permanently, with little or no chance of recovery.

  • Unused Data Cleaner - searches and deletes unused data on your device, things like log and history files, temporary files or recycle bin contents. This tool adds little value to the whole package, as Windows can clean junk files by its own - you do not need a particular app for this purpose.

  • Microsoft Windows Troubleshooting - this wizard checks for system problems that may have been caused by malware activity or the disinfection performed by the suite and tries to help you out when problems are found.

  • Secure Connection - a VPN service offered by Kaspersky in association with Hotspot Shield. Using a VPN service is an excellent idea especially if you want to stay safe when you connect to public untrustworthy wireless networks. It is an excellent addition to Kaspersky Total Security, but unfortunately, it is capped at a maximum of 200MB internet traffic per day. If you want more, you have to buy a separate subscription. We have tested Secure Connection VPN tool here: Security for everyone - Reviewing Kaspersky Secure Connection VPN.

Kaspersky, Total Security, 2018, Internet Security
Kaspersky, Total Security, 2018, Internet Security

There are many additional tools bundled in Kaspersky Total Security. Most of them are useful and some, like the Secure Connection VPN, are mandatory if you want increased privacy and protection. We like most of what Kaspersky bundles but you should note that a few of these extras do not provide much value.

Default settings you might want to adjust

Most of the settings in Kaspersky Total Security are configured well by default, but there also a few which you might prefer to change:

Kaspersky, Total Security, 2018, Internet Security
Kaspersky, Total Security, 2018, Internet Security
  • Kaspersky Total Security is set by default to scan your computer while it is idle. This is a great approach. However, there are no antivirus scans scheduled at regular time intervals. If you want to increase your security even further, you might want to schedule at least a full scan once a month. You can do this in "Settings -> Scan -> Scan schedule."

  • Kaspersky Total Security can be set to detect not just viruses, worms, trojans, adware but also other types of software that can be used by hackers to "damage your computer or personal data." This is a setting which is disabled by default - you can find it in "Settings -> Additional -> Threats and Exclusions settings -> Detect other software that can be used by criminals to damage your computer or personal data."

  • By default, Kaspersky Total Security uses its "Advanced Disinfection technology" and, although it is a good thing, this technology also "requires considerable computer resources." That means that, unless your PC is powerful, Kaspersky Total Security can slow it down significantly when malware infections are detected on it. If you would rather preserve your computer's performance, you might consider disabling this option. This setting is found in "Settings -> Additional -> Threats and Exclusions settings."
  • It is a good thing to get notifications about security-related events that take place on your computer, but if you do not want to hear sounds when you get them, or if you do not want to receive advertisements and promotional notifications from Kaspersky. You can change these behaviors in "Settings -> Additional -> Notifications."
  • If Kaspersky Total Security is having a hard time running scans when your processor and disks are under heavy load because you work on your computer, you can postpone Kasperky's scans until your computer resources are being freed up. This setting is found in "Settings -> Performance -> Postpone computer scan tasks when the CPU and disk systems are at high load."
Kaspersky, Total Security, 2018, Internet Security
Kaspersky, Total Security, 2018, Internet Security

We found Kaspersky Total Security to be well configured by default. However, it has a lot of settings and options to choose from, so it is a good idea to review everything and set Kaspersky to run according to your personal preferences.

What is your opinion about Kaspersky Total Security?

Kaspersky Total Security is a premium security suite that excels at protecting you against malware and dangerous websites, although it is not so spectacular when it comes to stopping threats originating from your local network. Considering that some governments do not appear to like Kaspersky's products lately, we are curious what you think. Would you buy it, or do you prefer to look elsewhere? Share your views in a comment below.

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