ESET NOD32 antivirus offers
keep in mind
This is our all-in-one roundup looking at every ESET consumer security solution for XNUMX. On this page, after our brief introduction, you will find
(a) A full evaluation of entry-level ESET NOD32 antivirus, including our reviews of the helper functions built into the rest of the line:
(b) ESET Internet Security and
(c) the high-end ESET Smart Security Premium bundle
You can access reviews of these individual products by clicking on the links in the bar at the top of this page, but keep in mind that this article is meant to be read to the end, as the functionality of ESET NOD32 antivirus is also is present. in higher-level security suites, obviously.
Bratislava-based ESET was founded by a group of friends some thirty years ago to market its NOD antivirus software. Today, it has an extensive product portfolio that encompasses each and every one of the major platforms and is used by one hundred and ten million customers of the service worldwide.
ESET's family user line starts with ESET NOD32 Antivirus, a clean product that focuses on the basics of antivirus, anti-phishing and anti-ransomware. But there is still a huge advantage in that it is compatible with Windows, Mac and Linux devices (many mainstream antivirus products are now Windows only).
Costs start at €XNUMX for a single device, with a one-year license. Not bad, but lacks introductory discount; Bitdefender Antivirus Plus and Trend Micro Antivirus + Security cost €XNUMX for the first year, before reaching €XNUMX upon renewal.
You can extend the license to cover 5 devices over a period of up to 3 years, but that does not make ESET considerably more competitive. A NOD32 antivirus license for 3 years and 5 devices costs one hundred and sixty US dollars during the first period, for example, two hundred and forty US dollars when renewing it; Bitdefender does not have an initial discount, but it is more affordable in advance for only € one hundred and fifty.
ESET Internet Security adds a spam filter, parental controls and a secure browser to safeguard online banking transactions. The bulge helps prevent unauthorized applications from accessing your webcam, while an anti-theft feature (Windows only) could help you find your lost laptop.
There are multiple layers of network security, including a firewall, monitoring for dangerous traffic patterns, and a connected family monitor that scans family devices for vulnerabilities. ESET Internet Security also adds Android support to its Windows and Mac coverage.
- ESET NOD32 Antivirus subscription options:
- ESET NOD32 Antivirus for € thirty-nine and ninety-nine per year
Costs start at a reasonable €5 for a single device, one year license, and go up to the more expensive €3 (€3 when renewed) to cover 5 devices over XNUMX years. It is akin to other reputable dealers. Bitdefender Internet Security covers a single device for just €XNUMX for the first year, for example, plus it costs €XNUMX when it renews; a XNUMX-year Kaspersky Internet Security license for XNUMX devices costs €XNUMX initially, €XNUMX upon renewal.
ESET Smart Security Premium extends the suite a bit further with a password manager and encryption for your files and folders. It also gives you a new LiveGuard feature that Webroot says can "proactively discover and stop new types of threats." (Looks good, though we were hoping the bottom bulges would.)
The plan starts at just €3, a bit more expensive for a one-year subscription, and a 5-year license for XNUMX devices costs €XNUMX for the first term, €XNUMX when renewed.
Once again, there are much better deals. As an example, the 3-year license for ten Bitdefender Total Security devices is €XNUMX for the first term, €XNUMX for renewal.
ESET Antivirus NOD32
Installing ESET NOD32 Antivirus is easy: pass on your email address, choose some key settings (do you want the application to warn you of potentially unwanted programs, are you happy to share data about how you use the program with ESET?), and run .
When installation is complete, ESET NOD32 Antivirus automatically starts a full system scan. It may not always be recommended, but it's not very resource intensive and we were able to continue using our exam system as usual. (You can also abort the scan, if it's a really bad time.)
If you have enabled the "scan for potentially unwanted programs" feature, you may receive more warnings than you expect. We have been warned multiple times about uTorrent and other legitimate apps, for example.
ESET's executable and data files take up around XNUMX MB of hard drive space, which is somewhat high for a simple antivirus package, but we only noticed one essential background process.
Running PCMark Professional already before and after the installation showed that NOD32 had no significant impact on the performance of our system. That's the good news: most antiviruses slow you down by one or two percentage points, and Sophos Home Premium lowered our score by more than five percent.
The AV-Comparatives benchmark for October XNUMX covers more areas than our benchmarks, but remains generally positive, putting ESET XNUMXth out of XNUMX for minimal impact on system performance.
Personal protection
Sometimes malware tries to disable antivirus software before starting a large-scale infection attempt, so security software needs to know how to protect itself.
We tested this by simulating multiple attacks on a Windows antivirus: deleting files, stopping processes, closing Internet connections, disabling filter drivers, adjusting settings, etc. - and review if our protection has been compromised.
These tests discovered certain essential drawbacks. One attack successfully disabled a key part of ESET's real-time file monitoring, and a second certainly disabled every single layer of ESET's protection.
This must be a concern for us, especially since most antivirus applications warn and block all our hacking attempts. But there are other factors to estimate.
There is no evidence that anyone has ever exploited these weaknesses, for example. An attacker would not be able to compromise his system unless he was forced to run code with administrator rights. Even then, ESET suggests that the code could be noticed and blocked (not our experience, but we can't rule it out).
Also, when we reported our findings to ESET, the company was quick to react, admitting the issues, fixing one almost immediately, and putting plans in place to fix the other. This is a much better result than we have seen with certain contenders.
In general, this should be considered a negative point for the product: an antivirus must be able to guard against malware. But we don't see it as a disaster either. This danger has always and in all circumstances been controversial, and ESET's quick response not only means that NOD32 is more resistant to malware than it was before the revision, but also gives us confidence that the company will solve it quickly. , any other inconvenience in the future.
Interface
ESET NOD32's interface works very much like many other antivirus applications: a simple dashboard shows your current security status, you can start a full system scan with one click, and a sidebar lets you navigate through other features and tools of the program.
It's clear and simple, and even the most eco-confident beginners should quickly feel at home. But make no mistake, there is more to the app than you think.
The dashboard window can be resized, for example, and many dashboards will rearrange their layout to take full advantage of the free interface. It's a smart touch that reduces scrolling and makes it easy to view complex reports.
As we explore the interface further, we find some surprisingly powerful features. The Log Files panel might look like a normal series of recent antivirus events, but then we right-clicked and a menu appeared with a series of powerful spreadsheet-style tools: filtering by multiple settings, options to copy and delete, search tools, export to multiple formats.
There are some inconsistencies in the interface. The registry window allows you to right-click on items and press Ctrl + A and Ctrl + C to copy everything; the Processes window does not have a context menu and pressing Ctrl + A selects only the first item in the list.
However, ESET's interface is still more interesting than most of the competition. If you're the technical type, be sure to left click on each and every link and right click on each and every item to get an idea of what it can do.
Antivirus
ESET's scan types are more limited than most of the competition: there are only full system scans, removable media, and tailored scans (the latter contrasting your choice of files, folders, or drives).
There is no Quick Scan, at least as standard. You can create scan profiles to run more limited checks, but this is far from intuitive, and unless you explore the ESET menus, you may never even realize the option exists.
The app scanned our test of fifty GB of executables in 33:23 minutes, for the first run, 10:21 for the second. Most antiviruses take fifteen to fifty minutes for the initial scan, which is a reasonable average time.
If you want to speed up the scan or fine-tune your protection, it's worth browsing the Settings area. A host of specialist-level options cover everything from the basic objects you want to scan (boot scope, network drives, files, you name it) to fine details like which mail protocols to check or ignore, and the file level zip files that ESET needs to scan (zips within zips).
This flexibility continues virtually everywhere you look. Right-click on a file in Explorer and ESET NOD32, like all the others, offers you the option to scan it for risks. But you can also check the reputation of the file to get more information; scan the file without cleaning it, just to get an immediate resolution; or manually quarantine a file even if it has not been marked as malware, a really useful way to safely archive a file in question.
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