TotalAV Review: I Tried It Over 30 Days -Here is the Deal.

Last updated on November 23rd, 2025 at 01:04 pm

I will tell you no more, but when at first, I noticed that TotalAV adverts were all around me, I believed it was another shifty antivirus who aimed at scaring me to make me buy the protection I was not actually in need of. However, my laptop began displaying strange behavior when I downloaded what I believe was a safe PDF, thus I believed I was worth trying. This is what has really happened using it.

Table of Contents

What Is TotalAV Anyway?

TotalAV is simply a one-stop security pack that is compatible with Windows, Mac, phones – almost everything. It includes the standard antivirus packages, but additional things, such as a VPN, password keeper, and system cleaners, are included. It has more than 30 million users and that to my surprise.

I chose the Internet Security plan with the annual cost of 39 electronics since it was inclusive of my laptop, phone and tablet. It was also coupled with the VPN, which appeared to be a decent offer.

Arranging It (Simpler than I Cared to Think)

It all began with me, it can with you, it will:

Step 1: Download and Install

I registered on their site, and found the installer and within a max of 3 minutes it was already up and running. No bizarre masses of popups or extra junk software attempting to creep in – that was also refreshing.

Step 2: Run Your First Scan

The computer program promptly proposed a Smart Scan. I clicked it. It identified 47 problems five mins later most of them being tracking cookies and a few startup programs that were slowing my booting time. Admittedly, it did not feel very right to watch how that many of the so-called threats were so dramatic, however, cleaning my laptop made it actually faster.

Step 3: Real-time protection is also turned on.

This is the important part. Open settings, and ensure that the active defense is set to real time. This is keeping the software on the alert of sketchy downloads 24/7. Otherwise, you will merely be performing manual checks, which is pointless.

Step 4: Enable WebShield

WebShield stops unsafe websites without even being loaded. The browser extension (installation time of a 10-second extension) has detected the two phishing websites that I nearly fell into by emails. Worth it.

Features I Actually Used

The Scanning Options

It has Quick Scan (less than 5 minutes, basics only), Full Scan (average of an hour to scan everything), and Custom Scan (you select particular folders). The quick scans are made every day and full scans every week during my sleep.

System Cleanup Tools

The disk cleaner deleted 4GB of junk files that I was not aware of their existence. The copycat file discovery was able to identify three versions of the same vacation photos consuming space. This was enormous to the likes of me who never clean his/her computer manually.

Safe Browsing VPN

I tested this at a coffee shop. I will switch the VPN on and then check my bank account in a public WiFi, and it would not be decipherable by a spy on that network. The relationship was not as fast although not irritatingly.

Password Manager

I will tell you, I have used my previous password manager; however, I have tried TotalAV version. It creates difficult passwords and stores them in the devices. Use this in case you do not have one. The way people are hacked is through the password reuse.

What I Liked

There was an actual increase in performance. My 4 years old laptop has less problems with freezing and it boots faster. The interface is minimized – there are no annoying menus or technical language pervading. And this WiFi checker that alerts you about the insecurity of a network is with the mobile app.

What Annoyed Me

Complete scans decelerate all that. Do not attempt to cheat or to make videos during its running. It also sometimes reports files that are safe as suspicious (false positives), and in such a case, I needed to tell it a couple of times that this was fine.

The bigger issue? Subscription management. Remember to remind your calendar to renew since people who do the online claim they are billed without prior notice. I’m keeping an eye on mine.

Is TotalAV Worth Your Money?

When you are greenhorn to the antivirus software, and you only need an average degree in technology without having to be a tech, then, yes, TotalAV is good. It monitored threats that I was unaware of and cleared my system without even as much as a finger lift.

Is it perfect? No. However, it is doing what I needed it to do at $39/year because it includes VPN and system tools. Acting as a hawk watch that auto-renewal.

FAQs

Q: Does TotalAV decrease the speed of my computer?

A: Daily quick scans? Barely noticeable. A complete system scan will cripple it around an hour. I organize mine in the evening which allows it to not interrupt anything. The real-time protection is a silent running program with no problems.

Q: Did I see that I could use TotalAV on my phone, as well?

A: Yep, works on Android and iOS. Android version supports this cool App Lock, which allows putting passwords on a certain set of applications. iPhone version prevents spam texts with the database used to block phishing websites. Both versions contain the VPN, which I do use whenever I am on the open WiFi.