11 Reviews - 84%

Internet security suite and virus protection.

ESET provides internet security applications and virus protection.  It’s two most popular products - NOD32 virus protection and the Smart Security suite - are well known competitors in the industry.  Since they are such well known products, there are a large number of user reviews on the web.

Reviews:

1. PC World Gave NOD32 a score of 84.  They start by saying that NOD32 has the best virus protection, but 2nd-tier malware protection, and an interface that could be confusing to non-technical users.  They also noted that it ties into some popular PC programs like Outlook, though not with any IM programs.  Pricing - $39  for a single license and $27 per year renewals - is about average for its application class. (84%)
2. PCMag - “ESET Smart Security 3.0 is definitely a highly integrated security suite with a solid AV component. If you don’t need parental control and want a small-footprint solution, it may do the job. If ESET wants to climb to the top of the security suite heap, however, I’d like to see significantly better accuracy in detecting non-virus malware and in successfully handling the threats it does detect.” (65%)
3. CNET said that the main good points were the technical support, increased scanning speed, and nice interface.  It does not include firewall protection, however.  The also noted that it received high performance grades in independent tests. (86%)
4. TheTechHerald said that ESET’s Smart Security suite is an above average application, but could use an increase in scanning speed. Though there were some issues with malware detection, it scored well in help, ease of use, and system resources usage. (89%)
5. ReviewCentre users all gave positive reviews. (92%)
6. SoftPedia gave ESET’s Smart Security a generally positive review. (84%)
7. WinPlanet said the positive points were the excellent antivirus engine combined with anti-spyware, span, and firewall functionality.  Also, its efficiency and minimum system overhead were plusses.  It lacks some additional features found in other security suites like parental and backup controls.  Also, it is a little bit more expensive than some other applications. (82%)
8. InformationWeek  gave a positive review of ESET.  They noted, however, that it is missing some of the features of other high-end security suites. (81%)
9. ITP.net  - “ESS’s anti-virus portion is as good as ever. It’s thorough and features the very useful ThreatSense technology, which intelligently identifies threats that aren’t present in the software’s virus database. As before the app scans very quickly; it needed only ten minutes to scan through 49,000 files and only used 29Mbytes of memory while working. Norton 360’s anti-virus (read our review on ITP.net) in-comparison used well over 50Mbytes and made our test system unusable when it was scanning. Better still, for those on dial-up, Eset’s updates are small; mostly under 2Mbytes.” (88%)
10. ChannelInsider - “In short, Eset’s ESS product proves to be a well-rounded and reliable security product for both users and channel players. ESS is easy to use, inexpensive and offers thorough protection that is hard to beat.” (90%)
11. PCAuthority Australia noted that although it did fine in virus tests, it only did average in malware tests. (80%)

Bottom Line: 84%

Every review we found on ESET products was overwhelmingly positive.  Most of the sources though that ESET virus protection was the best or one of the best.  However, it was generally agreed upon that the malware protection was only average.  Despite a few minor downsides, ESET’s NOD32 and Smart Security suite are two of the most well known internet protection products.  We recommend them.

Let us know what you think of ESET.

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virus protection

This entry was posted on Friday, March 6th, 2009 at 10:52 pm and is filed under Computer Software. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.