ESET NOD32 Antivirus 4.2 Review Discussion

By Charles P. Jefferies

ESET NOD32 4 was one of our favorite antivirus suites last year -- doesversion 4.2retain its first-class spot this year? Read our review to find out.

Read the full content of this Article: ESET NOD32 Antivirus 4.2 Review

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Great anti-virus software!
The only problem for paid virus software developers are the free anti-virs like AVG, Avast and even Microsoft Security Essentials. The free ones are on par with the paid software, so there is really no need for paying for anti-virus software.

Microsoft Security Essentials for example is great and combined with the built-in firewall from Windows 7 and a firewall on the router (which most internet users have), it blocks everything that can do harm to your pc. Other free anti-virus software does also a great job.

A year ago I always used NOD32 and it was really great, but now free anti-virus is as good as paid ones, there is no need for payed anti-virus software anymore .

 

Free antivirus software has improved greatly and is a viable solution for home users. That said, there are still some things that separate paid antivirus software. Paid AV usually updates more often and is typically more proactive. Paid AV also has better support and usually has a couple of extra features like antispam and antispyware. That is just in general, though.

I personally use ESET NOD32 Smart Security on all my computers.

 

$60+ dollars is still a lot of money.
Is it that much better than MSE and the much cheaper of let's say NORTON?( I just threw out a popular brand)
Great review.

 

If it keeps those silly Scareware viruses off a computer I'll start recommending it, think you could run a test on that?

 

I administer about 400 Eset protected computers and have been using it personally for years. A few things you're going to want to do after installing Nod32.

Turn off scanning of network drives in environments where the rest of the network is protected with its own agents. Scanning network drives isn't necessary in most scenarios.

F5 > Real-time file system protection > uncheck Network drives

Second, turn off Scan all files for real-time protection.

F5 > Real-time file system protection > Setup... > Extensions > uncheck Scan all files

This leaves the default extensions enabled that are the typical malware vectors.

 

I have been using NOD32 AV for a years now, from the time they introduced the new interface.

Reasons I like this:
-Proactive defense as the review mentioned, plugging in a USB disk, or other media results in a quick scan often showing viruses before Auto-run opens sites
-Even though I now use the basic AV program, it still blocks harmful sites, which is something most basic programs don't offer.
-Light takes on 50MB, and even when running scans, doesn't raise CPU usage too much, I run this on an old desktop with 256MB Ram, on which an number of other programs totally choked the system before I thought to install NOD on another of my systems ( the chokers were all the usual free programs )

Great review Chaz, good to see newer versions are still doing well

 

I'm using MSE too.

 

I use Linux (Fedora and CentOS) so I don't need to run any AV software!!!

If I had to run the other OS I would use the free versions like Avira, AVG etc. Back in the day when i was running windblows I remember what a hog Norton was. I have read how Norton has been greatly improved and runs fast and uses less resources. It's amazing what happens when the old guys now have to compete with free!!!!

 

NOD32 is significantly less expensive if you can find a friend or two and club together for a multiple seat licence.

John

 

Simply put, ESET is the best paid AV out there imho. Been using it for over 2 yrs now and:

1. It's light doesn't choke a machine like Norton or Kaspersky,
2. Unobtrusive, lets you game without any annoyances.
3. Advanced threat detection, which may catch new viruses even before they are identified.
4. Its real time scanning is one of the best I've seen in terms of effectiveness versus cpu usage ratio.

btw, Great review!

 

Or if you find a copy on discount, which I have seen at quite a few brick and mortar stores recently

 

Or you could just install the fix which makes the 30 day trial never run out.

 

As a nod32 owner I have been following av comparatives test results during the last couple of years. They make some pretty exhaustive tests over there
I would say that 2 antivirus software have been pretty steady in terms of performance during those 2 years NOD32 and G DATA. The first one in the top 10 rank and the second one in the top 3. Kapersky was among the best 2 years ago and avira the last year
NOD32 is pretty weak in script malware according to these tests. That's why even though I haven't had any trouble with NOD32 so far I would go for G DATA instead if I were you if you"re looking for the best

 

I use Avast after fade-off with Kaspersky (which chokes my PC). Avast is doing well for past 1+ yr. Never tried MSE, Is it better than Avast ?

 

I love my copy