2013 Antivirus Software Reviews

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ESET NOD32 Antivirus 6 Overall Score: 88%

ESET has been a strong performer in the marketplace for several years, however they have been unable to keep pace on virus removal capabilities.

Also, it does not offer what today is considered top-notch technical and customer support.

Its look is clean, simple and professional.

It doesn't offer a lot of extra features, but that's not why we buy it.

Their self-help technical support is also good.

Certified by:

• VB Bulletin
• AV Comparatives
• Anti-Malware Test Lab
• PC Security Labs
• AV-Test

ESET has come a long way in real-time virus protection, though it's certainly not fool-proof.

During system scanning, it was able to detect and remove big, well-known viruses but had trouble fully removing left-over virus registry items or potentially dangerous temp files. In fact, some viruses it had said were removed were actually able to regenerate from what it had left behind.

The HIPS (host intrusion protections system) is a nice feature that notifies you of potentially unauthorized changes to your system. However, its warnings get to be quickly annoying and it doesn't seem to be that effective for the average user.
Resource usage was average for the most part with a few spikes here and there.

When the system is idle, ESET used only 1% of CPU and about 64% of memory.

During a full-system, manual scan, ESET used about 52% of CPU and around 64% of memory.
The ESET NOD32 user interface is everything you would want in a software program. It's very attractive and professional looking. Left-hand navigation is familiar and easy to use.

However, inner links within each section are too small and not very description.

Their "Tools" section is useful, showing your computer's activity along with other handy information.

Advanced settings are available, but not easy to find.

Technical support is free, but limited. Online support is available through a limited knowledgebase, email, forums, and video tutorials.

There is not way to contact ESET by phone or chat — only an online email form is offered. Seem that immediate problem solving is not going to happen.
Updates are set to download automatically, but there is no way to know how often ESET checks for updates or options to set when you want virus definitions to be updated, though you can choose to have ESET ask before downloading or rebooting after installation.
Email antivirus protection is included in this antivirus software (not always the case with other antivirus software). ESET NOD32 easily integrates with Outlook Windows Live Mail, or Thunderbird. A simply checkbox turns this extra feature on
or off.

ESET will scan emails as they come in for suspicious or dangerous virus threats.

Game mode offers protection while you are playing and also minimizes resource usage to reduce performance impacts.

Social Media Scanner protects your Facebook wall, news feed and private messages from malicious content.

ESET NOD32 Antivirus 6 is a capable program, but not one of the best.

It's a good looking interface and offers a good level of zero-day protection.

However, its scanning and removal capabilities are flawed and simply do not offer secure protection.

Resource usage is adequate and technical support is average, however there is no way to immediately contact ESET to solve a problem.

There are too many other, better options out there.