ESET Antivirus Review – Is it Safe & Worth for Money?

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ESET was founded way back in 1987 in Slovakia and has since grown in popularity, now with offices all around the globe. It offers antivirus solutions for a wide range of devices and is recognized as a fairly big name in the industry. In this article, we shall review ESET’s most crucial aspects, analyze its strengths and weaknesses and try to determine if ESET antivirus is worth investing in.

ESET Antivirus Review

We wrote detailed review about ESET Antivirus below by listing all its features, pricing & Benefits. Do read & find whether ESET is good option for you or not.

 

ESET Antivirus – Benefits & Features

In this section, we will look at ESET’s features and user interface, while exploring its virus scanning options, malware detection technology etc.

1. Interface

Long time ESET users will feel right at home with its latest version. A green bar at the top of the home screen shows if everything is safe and sound. This bar turns yellow if it needs your attention or red if a threat is detected. The left column lists major tasks like Computer Scan, Update, Tools, Setup and Help and Support.

By going to Advanced Settings, you can control webcam protection, check out logs and toggle your participation in ESET’s Customer Experience Improvement Program. If you click on ESET’s Windows taskbar icon then it displays alerts, manages malware protection and can block incoming network traffic.

2. Malware Protection

ESET combines scanning of preexisting threats and detects suspicious behaviour (by inspecting the malware code or allowing it to run within quarantine). Usually, ESET just finds the latest threats and upgrades automatically, based on information provided about dangers and vulnerabilities.

It can even detect zero-day threats, never seen before, by examining the malware’s DNA instead of simply reporting the threat. ESET may not be the best choice for Malware protection (as it still lags behind leaders like Kaspersky, Norton and Bitdefender) but it can still offer fairly solid protection that is continually evolving and improving its accuracy.

3. Scanning Options

Clicking on the “Computer Scan” menu to the left of ESET’s main interface lets you choose between various scans, including scheduled ones. You can also, alternatively, simply click “Scan Your Computer” which will initiate scanning immediately with default settings. You can also scan removable drives, individual files and folders thanks to ESET’s highly configurable scanning system.

The standard scanning options are labelled Smart Scan, Context menu scan and In-depth scan, in addition to which you can use the advanced features for scanning. There’s another possibility offered by ESET which is scanning without cleaning, whereby found threats are not removed or quarantined but simply listed in the log. Scans are also pausable for certain periods of time, and you can thus postpone scans without damaging your system in any manner.

4. Reliability and Security

ESET has some impressive results and scores to boast of from third-party tests to ensure its reliability. In AV-Test’s examination, ESET was reported to have discovered 100% of widespread malware. And when it came to zero-day attacks, it maintained a solid 98% (which is nearly on par with the leaders in the industry). ESET also got perfect scores in the Self-Protection Test.

AV-Comparatives rated ESET 98.5% for their September test. And then in the following 6-months test, the protection rate jumped to 99.1%. ESET thus finished at the 12th spot, which is quite above average even if not the very best. SE Labs is another big third-party tester, and in their anti-malware test, Eset was ranked at #3 (only Norton and Kaspersky ranked higher).

5. Ransomware Shield

ESET’s ransomware shield is a very useful, must-have feature. This is a behaviour-based detection technique to look for suspicious patterns in applications and processes that are trying to change or modify your files. ESET’s ransomware shield recognizes ransomware and file coders patterns and responds immediately.

Any further malicious activities are clocked and they are stopped from damaging your file system. Despite continually running in the background, this feature won’t overload your CPU or cause any interruptions in regular tasks and still protect you from ransomware 24/7.

ESET Antivirus Pricing

Price plays a key part in deciding whether to invest in a particular antivirus or not, especially when it isn’t one of the industry leaders. ESET’s pricing may not be the most attractive, but there sure are a ton of options to choose from, to fit your specific budget needs.

Windows users can buy the ESET NOD32 Antivirus for $39.99 for a single device. Licenses are available for 2, 3 and 5 devices as well, costing $49.99, $59.99 and $79.99 respectively each year. You can also choose ESET Internet Security for the same brackets: it costs $49.99, $59.99, $69.99 and $89.99 for 1, 2, 3 and 5 devices respectively.

If you want cross-platform support then it is best to go for ESET Smart Security Premium for $59.99 for a single device, or $99.99 for 3 devices or $149.99 for a total of 10 devices.

Pros of ESET Antivirus

  • Simple and easy-to-use interface
  • Highly rated reviews in independent tests
  • State-of-the-art malware detection
  • No drain on computer speed
  • Good variety of plans
  • File encryption, a hardened browser, webcam protection
  • A 30-day trial is a nice touch
  • Lots of additional features with the high-end tiers
  • A free tool for a fast social media scanning
  • Options for Mac, Linux, and Android available
  • Expert-level device control

Cons of ESET Antivirus

  • Despite the good value for money, multiple device packages could be a bit cheaper
  • Requires manual update every now and then
  • Basic Nod tier lacks features like Parental Control and Personal Firewall
  • To protect several devices running on different operating systems, you’ll need to go with the expensive Smart Security Premium plan
  • Customer Support lacks some key options

Conclusion – Should You Buy ESET Antivirus?

ESET Antivirus can offer basic protection for PCs against common threats like spyware, without taking up a lot of hard disk space. It is lightweight, so you can keep gaming, surfing the web, shopping online and working without any hiccups. The software is easy to use and intuitive, with a wide range of configurable scanning options.

The detection rates are not exactly top of the line but should suffice most average PC users. ESET’s range of features isn’t the most impressive either, but core antivirus functions are dependable. So unless you can opt for the very best antivirus programs like Norton or Bitdefender, settling for ESET as a lightweight alternative solution should be fine.

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