ESET is a Slovak company which developed the ‘NOD32’ antivirus package in the 1990s when computer viruses first started making things difficult. Being a very effective program with virus update definition number 4000 in April 2009, the software’s popularity rapidly spread from Eastern Europe to the rest of the world. Although not as prevalent as Norton and McAfee programs, it still ranks among the top 10. A bit of trivia – NOD is the Slovak acronym for ‘hospital at the edge of the disc’
- Installation– The time taken to install the software compares favourably with that taken by competitors. Moreover, networked NOD32 clients can update their systems using a central ‘mirror server’ on the network.
- Features and Ease of Use– There are two editions of the ESET NOD32 Antivirus system; ‘Home’ and ‘Business’. The latter has the ‘ESET Remote Administrator’, which permits server management and deployment, mirroring threat database updates and allows installation of Microsoft’s Windows Server systems. There is also an ESET Mobile Antivirus for Windows Mobile – used in most smartphones. This program protects the system from spyware, Trojans, worms, adware and other harmful software as also antispam to filter sms.
- Performance– Use of system resources is low mainly because the NOD32 program is written primarily in ‘assembly code’. This feature also helps in scanning files at a much faster speed than most competitors. The network update feature has been mentioned earlier. At 96%, it has the highest success rate of all the antivirus products tested by Virus Bulletin. The latest AV Comparative Tests results show NOD32 detected 93% on Set A and 96.6% on Set B, even with the most aggressive threat settings. CNet.com editors gave NOD32 a score of 4.5 out of 5, while PC Pro Magazine gave it their ‘Recommended’ award after being awarded 5 stars of a maximum 6. The NOD32 program is ICSA Labs certified. ESET’s other software ‘Smart Security 4.0’ (which is a more comprehensive package containing ESET’s own ‘SysInspector’ and “SysRescuer’ along with bidirectional firewalls, antispam, malware, etc) has also shown excellent results in comparative testing.
- Help and Support– As with other competitors, support is provided through email, chat and phone contact.
- Other Issues – The absence of any malware, antispam and firewall function on the NOD32 Antivirus platform is a drawback. Customer service could be better. Availability in many so called ‘major’ PC markets is extremely low, as is the branding and exposure. The ESET Uninstaller for ESET NOD32 has not been tested much to check for glitches.
In conclusion, the ESET NOD32 Antivirus program has been received well and with proper marketing can pose a big challenge to the more established brands. The software is good and ESET’s research and development wing seems to be working well. The company has been around for over 15 years and has kept up to date with its products. With a number of ‘recommended’ tags and awards from professional organisations and media publications, as well as excellent comparative performance results, ESET’s NOD32 Antivirus platform gets my thumbs up!