ESET Antivirus Review

Testing ESET Ourselves

We installed ESET NOD32 on our computer (well, a virtual machine running Windows 10 and rocking a five GB hard disk) and ran a scan using the recommended settings. Because of our tiny disk size, the scan finished in 34 minutes and, because it was a fresh install, it detected no viruses, malware or anything like that.

Of course, running a virus scan on an uninfected computer was no fun, so we infected it. We used five separate file types containing viruses. Though the temptation was there to open the files and let the nasties within run rampant, we resisted it and instead ran five separate scans with the dicey packages on our system. Below is a table with the results.

Well, four out of five ain’t bad. Really, though, it isn’t: we were surprised as most of the 40 antivirus services we’ve tested generally get three out of five or worse. The viruses we used are pretty new, so any that are detected means the scanner in question has a good, up-to-date database.

Installation and First Impressions

To combat those dangers, we needed to, of course, install the program first. The nice thing about ESET is that it has a 30-day free trial which only requires an email address to activate, so we decided to go with that plan first. This process was simple: we just went to ESET’s website, selected NOD32, the most basic package from the “for home” menu and clicked a download link. It was just that easy. The download of the installer took maybe a minute. Then the installation process, which included the full program, took another five and we were good to go.

The ESET app launches immediately after installation with its distinctive interface and dated robot mascot. While using it, we were never endlessly clicking through menus looking for a specific function or ability. The main scan button was right there in front of us, so we could get started right away. Before we get to that, though, we’ll quickly go over the interface. There are several tabs to the left of the client that controls pretty much everything that ESET can do. Here they are, top to bottom.

• Home: At the top is “home,” which is the main screen from where we could initiate a scan, upgrade to a paid plan or visit the ESET site.
• Computer Scan: This is where we could initiate scans from. We could set scan parameters, basically saying if we wanted to scan our whole disk or just a part of it. We could also select scan types, picking from a Smart Scan, which only scans files that have changed since the last scan, or an In-Depth Scan, which scans everything. There’s also a dropbox where we could put individual files to be scanned, which was pretty handy.
• Update: The button below Computer Scan let us update the client and its database of viruses. When it comes to antivirus software, these updates are really important, as viruses are always evolving.
• Tools: This is where the tools that tweak EST are found. These include the log files and activity reports, a task scheduler, and the SysInspector, which collected detailed information on our system’s security status. There was also a quarantine option that let us safely store files away from others, unable to infect them.
• Setup: Below that is setup, where we could enable and disable specific program features, such as the web access protection (which prevents you from accessing suspicious sites, on by default) or the anti-phishing system, which alerts you when you try to access a site associated with a known phishing scam.
• Support: Below that is a section from where you access support, but before we get to that, let’s first see how ESET looks on mobile.

Mobile Apps

ESET’s mobile strategy shows a clear divide between platforms. The Android app, ESET Mobile Security, delivers comprehensive protection with real-time scanning, anti-theft features, and app auditing. It ran a scan in about the same time as the desktop version, probably because the storage was about the same size.

However, the ESET app on iOS doesn’t actually have any antivirus software. It’s called ESET Secure Authentication and really that’s all it offers, two-factor authentication. We wish that ESET offered antivirus on iOS!

Pricing Information

Recently, ESET streamlined its pricing structure. The basic NOD32 plan now starts at $39.99 for one year on a single device — a significant drop from previous years. ESET works with a sliding system of pricing, meaning the upfront fee changes depending on the plan, duration and number of devices. More years (the maximum is three) and more devices (up to ten) means bigger savings, so it pays to spend some time looking through ESET’s pricing before making your final purchasing decision. Here’s a quick breakdown of what to expect, though.

If you want to protect more than five devices, the Essential Home Security plan supports up to ten devices. It also adds ESET’s browsing, payment, and Wi-Fi protection features. Pricing starts at $49.99 per year for one device and goes up to $94.99 per year for ten devices.

Customer Support

ESET has great customer support. You can reach their support team through email and live chat 24/7. During our tests, they responded to live chat messages within two minutes. You can also call, but their phone line is more for corporate inquiries. Regardless, their responsive email and live chat support is plenty to quickly resolve any problems with their software.

However, ESET’s trump card is its excellent knowledge base, which is almost an encyclopedia of everything ESET. It’s easy to navigate, though you do need to know some basic information about your product, like its exact name and version number, to get the most out of it.

Privacy Policy

ESET has two privacy policies, one for the European Union, which is pretty good, and one for the United States, which isn’t as good. The E.U policy just restates that all customer data is protected by the GDPR, so nothing funny can happen to it. ESET only uses data it collects (your email address, location and phone number) to improve the experience for you and that’s pretty much it. The data is not shared with third parties.

While privacy legislation in the U.S. remains limited, 20 states now have comprehensive data privacy laws.4 For residents of these states, ESET must comply with stricter data handling requirements, including the right to access, delete, and opt-out of data sales. Customers outside of these states face weaker protections, with their data potentially being shared with third parties for marketing purposes.

That said, the data collected by ESET consists of your email address, phone number, IP address, and some device fingerprinting as well, as ESET collects your operating system and browser information. Honestly, we’re not comfortable with all the data that ESET collects on its paying customers like us, but there are very few competitors that aren’t guilty of these data-collection practices. Check out our Bitdefender review for one service that keeps its hands clean of data selling.

Conclusion

Overall, we love ESET antivirus, which is why it’s part of our best antivirus list. It’s a powerhouse of a solution and caught almost all the threats we laid before it. Plus, it was easy to use, to boot. Though for U.S-based customers, the privacy policy may give some pause and the pricing is a little confusing, ESET outshines the competition in almost every other aspect. We definitely recommend that anybody try out the ESET 30-day trial to see if the program is right for them.