

Given the absence of real-time protection, I wish it offered a daily scan option.

You can opt instead for a fortnightly or monthly scan. It also schedules a weekly scan, during a non-busy time that you specify, though it doesn't give you control over the day of the week for the scan. TotalAV runs a required Smart Scan after installation, an important step given that it doesn't offer any real-time protection. When you install the product, it requests that you activate your free account, a simple matter of supplying your name and email address. In a rare departure from the expected, even essential real-time antivirus protection is locked behind a paywall. TotalAV Free Edition makes all the paid features visible, but clicking on many of them just gets you an invitation to upgrade. A CISO who uses a free antivirus at home just might lean toward that company when it comes to equipping a whole enterprise with endpoint protection. Many antivirus companies put full-scale protection into their free antivirus offerings, figuring they’ll benefit in goodwill and mindshare rather than in cash.
