In short: Hornetsecurity 365 Total Protection is a cloud security suite for Microsoft 365 sold in four plans. Plan 1 covers spam, malware filtering and encryption; Plan 2 adds sandboxing, archiving and continuity; Plan 3 adds Microsoft 365 backup; Plan 4 adds awareness training, permission management, DMARC and AI tools. Every plan is licensed per user.
What 365 Total Protection is
365 Total Protection is Hornetsecurity's flagship product: a bundle of its Microsoft 365 services managed from one control panel. Instead of buying email filtering, archiving, backup and compliance tools from separate vendors, you pick the plan that covers what you need and add individual services if one plan is not quite right.
Since Proofpoint's acquisition of Hornetsecurity in December 2025 the product carries the Hornetsecurity by Proofpoint brand, and Proofpoint also markets it as Proofpoint 365 Total Protection. The four plans are the same under either name.
The suite works alongside Microsoft 365 rather than replacing it. Mail still lives in Exchange Online; Hornetsecurity filters it, encrypts it where your policies say so, archives a tamper-proof copy and, from Plan 3, backs up your mailboxes, OneDrive, SharePoint and Teams data to its own data centres.
Plans compared
Each plan includes everything in the plan before it.
| Service | Plan 1 Business | Plan 2 Enterprise | Plan 3 Enterprise Backup | Plan 4 Compliance and Awareness |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Spam and Malware Protection | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Email Encryption | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Email Signature and Disclaimer | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Advanced Threat Protection | No | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Email Continuity Service | No | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Email Archiving | No | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| 365 Total Backup | No | No | Yes | Yes |
| Security Awareness Service | No | No | No | Yes |
| 365 Permission Manager | No | No | No | Yes |
| DMARC Manager | No | No | No | Yes |
| AI Recipient Validation | No | No | No | Yes |
| Teams Protection | No | No | No | Yes |
| AI Email Security Analyst | No | No | No | Yes |
The last three are powered by Hornetsecurity's AI Cyber Assistant. Plan 4's Security Awareness Service provides phishing simulations and training for staff; for a wider look at that subject see security awareness training.
How it is licensed
365 Total Protection is licensed per user, and we bill it monthly.
- Upgrades: moving up a plan adds services to the same account, because each higher plan contains the one below it.
- Separate services: Hornetsecurity also lists several Plan 4 components, such as 365 Permission Manager and AI Recipient Validation, as services in their own right. If you only need one of them, we check whether a separate licence or a plan upgrade is the better fit.
- User changes: starters and leavers change the user count on the next invoice.
Microsoft 365 licences are separate and are not supplied on this site; Forever Group's Microsoft licensing team covers those.
Deployment and requirements
You need a Microsoft 365 tenant and an administrator who can authorise the connection during onboarding. Hornetsecurity offers three ways to connect the email security services:
| Mode | How it works | Trade-off |
|---|---|---|
| MX mode | Change your MX records so mail passes through Hornetsecurity's secure email gateway | Threats are stopped before delivery; needs a DNS change |
| API mode | Connect to Microsoft 365 by API with no MX change | Fast to deploy; protection is after delivery only, and services that need the gateway, such as continuity and encryption, are not available |
| Hybrid mode | Gateway plus API scanning together | Pre- and post-delivery protection; Hornetsecurity's recommended option |
Backup data from Plan 3 upwards is stored in Hornetsecurity's own data centres, independent of Microsoft's infrastructure, in a region you choose.
Which plan suits you
- Plan 1 suits small organisations that want stronger spam and malware filtering, encryption and consistent signatures, and already have backup covered.
- Plan 2 suits organisations where targeted phishing is the main concern or emails must be retained for legal reasons, because it adds sandboxing, link rewriting and a compliant archive.
- Plan 3 adds Microsoft 365 backup so security and backup come from one supplier and one bill.
- Plan 4 suits regulated organisations and those preparing for audits or Cyber Essentials, where staff training, sharing controls and DMARC are all on the list.
We open the account in your organisation's name, connect it to your tenant in the mode you choose and handle plan changes from then on. Ask us for a quote and we will recommend a plan based on your user count and what you already have.
How Forever Systems supplies your software licences
Forever Systems Ltd supplies business software subscriptions to UK organisations from one account, with one monthly invoice and a UK team who know the products.
- The right edition first time: we check what you need before you buy, so you are not paying for features you will never use
- Monthly or annual terms where the vendor offers them, and help timing renewals and commitments
- Licence changes handled for you: add or remove users, upgrade editions and true-up without starting a new contract
- Deployment and support from engineers who run these products every day, not just a reseller account
- Consolidated billing and renewal reminders so nothing lapses unexpectedly
We work with businesses, schools, charities and public sector organisations of all sizes.
Need a licence quote or a second opinion on your renewal?
Tell Forever Systems what you need and we will come back to you by email with options, not a hard sell.
Contact usFrequently asked questions
What is the difference between 365 Total Protection Plan 2 and Plan 3?
Plan 3 includes everything in Plan 2 and adds 365 Total Backup: automated backup of Microsoft 365 mailboxes, OneDrive, SharePoint, Teams chats, Planner, OneNote and Entra ID users and groups, with unlimited storage.
Do I have to change my MX records?
Not necessarily. API mode connects to Microsoft 365 without an MX change, though protection is then after delivery only. MX mode and Hybrid mode route mail through Hornetsecurity's gateway so threats are stopped before they arrive.
Can I upgrade from one plan to another?
Yes. The plans are cumulative, so moving from Plan 2 to Plan 3 or Plan 4 adds services to your existing account. We make the change and the next invoice reflects it.
Is 365 Total Protection the same as Proofpoint 365 Total Protection?
Yes. Since the acquisition, Proofpoint markets the suite as Proofpoint 365 Total Protection as well as under the Hornetsecurity by Proofpoint brand. The four plans are the same.