The rule of security software is – usually at least – that you never install more than one anti-virus or anti-malware tool at the same time. That rule can usually be relaxed when it comes to installing anti-malware scan-and-removal tools, as they don’t offer real-time protection, which is where the conflicts come into play.

Rules are made to be broken, however, and IOBit Security 360 is one of a number of tools that offer real-time protection while being specifically designed to act alongside your existing anti-virus tool. This means that threats missed by one may well be spotted by the other, giving your system a welcome additional layer of protection against threats. It’s not foolproof – no security tool is, but it does give you an extra barrier.

The program offers two layers of protection: “automatic protection against known malware” refers to signature-based updates, so as threats are analysed the program is updated to look specifically for them. “Advanced protection against unknown threats” uses behavioural technology to look for suspicious activity. This is switched off by default as it can throw up false positives – configure both settings from the Protection tab.

The Tools tab contains no less than nine additional tools, offering additional helpful tools (or links to free downloads) to help maintain your privacy and security, including a security holes scanner, advanced “Hijack” scanner letting you see what’s running on your system and a tool called “Passive Defense”, which offers additional protection for your browser.

The Free version has a few limitations: you can only perform manual scans, for example, while the program only updates itself each time it starts along with Windows. Upgrade to the Pro version here to gain these options, plus use the program in a commercial environment.