Kaspersky Total Security or Kaspersky Internet Security: which one to choose?

The new product of ours, Kaspersky Total Security, has just hit the shelves, and our customers have been bombarding us with questions ever since: “What are the key differences between

The new product of ours, Kaspersky Total Security, has just hit the shelves, and our customers have been bombarding us with questions ever since: “What are the key differences between these two offerings? Which is the best option? Which protects better?”, and so on. In this article, I’ll try to answer all your questions and go that little bit further as well.

So, which one is better: KIS or KTS? I can’t help but ask a counter question: what do you want to protect? Before choosing the product, you need to understand what the purpose the solution should serve is, and what capabilities are required.

The level of protection against viruses and threats is the same for both. Malware signatures and cures the products use are also identical. Even the components listed in the “Protection” tab are the same.

However, a number of additional capabilities Kaspersky Total Security has are not present in other products from the ‘home’ portfolio. These features, to some extent, serve as a means of data protection. To have a better look, let’s launch the main window of the program.

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We start with a capability that allows managing all devices on which Kaspersky Total Security is installed, with help of My Kaspersky portal. Management, in this case, is an ability to remotely access the software from any location and any device through a web interface.

After logging in on the portal and finding the device you need in the list, you can find out information about the license and level of protection, run a quick or full check, update databases, or turn on/off any protection component. All of this is available at your fingertips wherever you are – for instance, on a beach, with a tablet in your hands.

Now, moving further. Data backup is a measure strongly recommended by all security experts. Any hardware is prone to breaking unexpectedly, at the most inconvenient moment. Windows OS may make you wonder at any time. In order to keep your data safe whenever you restore you operating system, all information should be backed up so you could restore the data in case of failure. That’s what we mean by backup.

In order to get enough of storage for backup, one may simply use Dropbox – a cloud storage service

Of course, you can use a separate external hard drive or transfer all photos onto another computer for this purpose. The Backup feature in Kaspersky Total Security automates this manual task, in accordance with a user-defined schedule.

In order to get enough of storage, one may simply use Dropbox – a cloud storage service. In the event of Windows letting you down, your beloved photos will be available anyway.

In case your data is too critical to store as is, Kaspersky Total Security can allocate them in a virtual safe box. The files you prefer to secure will be encrypted by an encryption method resistant to hacking and will be decrypted only on entering a password – like in a bank depository!  So, the only task a user is responsible for is keeping the password safe and not lying around written on a piece of paper. And, of course, for not forgetting the password! Kaspersky Total Security will take care of the rest.

By the way, passwords. Right. One of the most useful features in Kaspersky Total Security  is Password manager. Throughout a couple of years, it undertook various transformations and was fully modernized. Now, it looks quite hip and, moreover, employs smart algorithms to generate reliable passwords and store login credentials in a database. All passwords are synced to the cloud, so they are available from any device where Password manager is installed.

Also, this software is now compatible with iOS, OS X and Android, besides Windows. Having once added a password to the database, it is available on any device you use to log in – a table, a smartphone, whatever. Note: you must have a user profile on My Kaspersky to use Password Manager or remotely manage your devices.

To sum it up, Kaspersky Total Security is Kaspersky Internet Security enhanced with a number of useful and user-friendly tools. Of course, you can continue to use siloed products to enable each of these additional features (excluding remote management tool) and employ Kaspersky Antivirus to fight malware.

It is a feasible approach. But you can never guess whether software products by different vendors are fully compatible on one machine. Also, managing the entire batch of programs is not going to be easy: there is no single entry point to tame all software you have.

However, as I have said before, this article is meant to explain differences between the products, and it is up to you to decide which one you pick, depending on your needs and requirements. I can promise one thing: both are of supreme quality, as always.

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