Over the past few years Bitdefender Total Security has proven to be a worthy, cost-effective alternative to well-known rivals such as Norton 360 and last year’s edition was the best yet.

Total Security 2010 builds on this success but the company hasn’t introduced any major new features into what is already a comprehensive collection of security tools.

A new approach to scanning omits files that are known to be safe – we noticed significantly faster scan times as a result. Parental controls have been improved to offer more flexibility and the interface has been redesigned.

It remains one of the most approachable suites on the market for beginners and the new Simple View complements the intermediate and expert modes, which vary the range of options and information presented. New usage profiles, with categories such as Parent, Gamer and Typical, allow users to switch between preset security configurations depending on the situation.

Otherwise Total Security remains essentially the same, still offering a comprehensive level of security to protect against the latest viruses, spam and online threats, along with a powerful firewall. The extra features are useful, such as encryption, secure deletion and the ability to back up files to a disk connected to your computer or to a secure internet service (2GB of internet storage is provided).

A range of tune-up tools including clean-up, Registry repair and disc defragmenting means that just about everything is provided to protect, clean and manage the day-to-day running of a computer.

Admittedly, finding your way around this extensive collection can take a bit of time but the only problems we had involved on properly configuring the behaviour and various notification alerts to a required level, though this isn’t something that undermines usability in the long-term.

Bitdefender Total Security is still cheap compared with competing programs that offer similar features – the 2010 edition costs just £45 for up to three PCs for one year. The cheaper Internet Security, which skips backup and tune-up tools, is a bargain £30. Whichever you prefer, this feature-packed, total solution to home security is still one of the most appealing on the market.