Adaware Total Security is at the top of the company’s line of Internet security and antivirus products . Its list of additional features is impressive and includes everything from file shredding to advanced network monitoring and download protection.
Table of Contents
Security
Adaware has received top scores from several independent testing labs, and its high ratings seem justified. I’ve put together a folder full of known viruses, malware, and adware samples and successfully identified them during quick and full scans. It was immediately obvious that this is a very comprehensive program . In addition to three scan modes, users can adjust the scan speed to manage the impact on system performance . I was doing pretty processor-intensive work during the review process, so I set the performance setting to Low and even while running a virtual machine, the performance impact of the full scan was negligible. There is also the ability to set file and folder exclusions . What I liked about this was that the settings held for each type of scan, including Full .
In addition to virus scanning, adaware real-time protection uses behavior monitoring to block suspicious unknown malware. Although both real-time and web protection require additional components to be installed (and a system reboot each time), I highly recommend it. I threw an assortment of phishing URLs into the browser and it flagged each one. This feature does not require the installation of any additional browser extensions.
Characteristics
Adaware Total Security’s features do not disappoint. The list is long, but these features stood out.
Network Protection: Network Protection adds a twist to the way antivirus programs often handle port protection and firewalls. Total Security shows you a list of network adapters on your system’s hardware and allows you to assign a profile to each one . Users can also configure application rules that dictate how programs interact with the Internet. There’s also a handy button to control port scanning, which is set to on by default. Hackers scan open system ports for vulnerabilities, so I was glad to see this protection turned on automatically.
Parental Controls: Adaware Total Security also includes parental controls. The system provides age-based templates so you don’t have to manually set categories for each user. Some of the default options I found a bit amusing (retirement home options are automatically banned for young adults in the 18-21 age range!). So it’s worth tweaking to make sure they’re appropriate for your users or creating your own templates. I didn’t see the ability to block access by time period, day, or hour, which would have been a useful addition.
Email Protection: Adaware includes an email protection tool that integrates with popular desktop email applications. One of the features that stood out to me was the ability to create and manage a safe senders list . This allows users to avoid scanning emails from trusted senders, thus avoiding unnecessary scanning.
Easy to use
After purchasing the product, the download process was relatively easy. However, the download of the initial definitions (about 200MB) was quite slow and Adaware’s servers weren’t the fastest. I also had to put the system through two reboots to install the real-time and web protection components. These components are essential and I would have liked to see them installed from the start. On top of that, the user interface is very well designed and easy to navigate . Features are grouped into areas that can be undocked from the sidebar with the click of a button, and most settings can be turned on and off by moving a simple slider.
Medium
Adaware provides a large number of support options both online and within the program itself. There is a downloadable PDF software manual , FAQ section, Community Forum , and ticketing system, but no live chat or phone support. Despite this, the “contact support” form could be completed from within the product and includes the option to send the scan logs. My support ticket had a response in less than three hours, which isn’t the fastest, but still a very acceptable response time.
Prices
Adaware Total Security can be purchased in bulk directly through the website and is priced on a sliding scale, as more device licenses are purchased, the price per device decreases. The price for even a single device is a very good value , and if you’re buying this for a larger setup, it becomes even more of a bargain. All major credit cards are accepted and there is a 30 day full refund satisfaction guarantee.