My Review Of ESET NOD32 Antivirus 5
Continuing with my ongoing series of 2012 antivirus reviews I am, today, looking at ESET NOD32 Antivirus 5.
KEY BENEFITS:
- Clean, simple interface
- Scores well in independent tests
- Low system resource usage
ESET NOD32 Antivirus 5 is another antivirus program that is very quick to install. After downloading the initial file that is only a few megs in size you will run it and the program proper will be downloaded. This is only 48.9 MB in size and took just about a minute on my connection.
Firing up the program for the first time will present you with the interface as seen in the image below. You will note straight away that ESET NOD32 Antivirus 5 has a very clean and uncluttered interface. I for one appreciate this approach and I know many of you do too.
Surprisingly, the first thing I noticed is that the program was notifying me that my Windows installation was not up to date. After examining that claim further I found that a Windows automatic update had failed a few weeks ago. That means that none of the other antivirus or internet security programs I’ve looked at recently have picked up on that fact. A good start for ESET then.
ESET NOD32 Antivirus 5, despite the minimalist look of the dashboard, contains all the features you would normally expect to find in an antivirus program. These are arranged under main category headings that can be found on the left hand side of the program’s screen.
The Home option is just the main screen seen which gives you a small amount of pertinent information at a glance. The next category is Computer scan which allows you to choose on demand smart or custom scans or the ability to set up a scheduled scan. You can also build your exception list here via the Computer scan setup link.
The next option is the Update link which, as the name suggests, allows you to update the virus signature database. This is also the area in which you can activate the product if or when necessary.
Through Setup you have access to
- Real-time system protection
- HIPS
- Gamer mode
- Web access protection
- Email client protection
By default, gamer mode is disabled and the other four options are enabled. From this screen you can turn each of these options on or off.
You can also Enter advanced setup from here too though it is the same screen you can access through the Computer scan page.
The Tools link opens up far more further options than any of the other options above. These are:
- Log Files
- Protection statistics
- Watch activity
- Running processes
- Scheduler
- Quarantine
- ESET SysInspector
- Submit file for analysis
- ESET SysRescue
Lastly, we come to Help and Support.
ESET NOD32 Antivirus 5 has the following system requirements -
- i386 (Intel 80386), amd64 (x86-64) processor
- Windows XP / 2000 / Vista / Home Server / 7
- 400 MB or more of free hard drive space
- 100 MB or more of memory
If you have a look around some of the independent test labs you will see that ESET NOD32 Antivirus 5 fares rather well in terms of detecting and blocking malware. The program performed okay with the tests at AV-Test.org and very well indeed with AV-Comparitives.org.
It also fared well in what I consider to be an important test of my own, namely resource usage. You expect an antivirus program to leave a footprint and maybe even slow your computer a little when running a full scan but you don’t want a program that will render your PC unusable whilst it is in operation. Thankfully, ESET NOD32 Antivirus 5 is very light, using both a small amount of memory and a relatively low amount of CPU time whilst running a scan. Working on other things whilst this program is installed is no problem at all.
- Clean, simple interface
- Scores well in independent tests
- Low system resource usage
- Rescue CD requires prior installation of Microsoft’s Automated Installation Kit (AIK)
There is very little to dislike about ESET NOD32 Antivirus 5. The only negative point I came across whilst using it was to do with the Rescue CD. Why it needs to rely upon the Microsoft AIK being installed I really don’t know – I’m sure there must be a better, seamless solution that that, especially as other security vendors don’t make you jump through such hoops.
But, beyond that, I don’t have a bad word to say. ESET NOD32 Antivirus 5 is an effective program that is easy to use and very light on resource usage. For someone who uses their computer like I do it would be an excellent security solution to have for the next 12 months.
New – ESET NOD32 Antivirus 5 – Save 25%
You May Also Be Interested In :
Article by Lee Munson
Lee's non-technical background allows him to write about internet security in a clear way that is understandable to both IT professionals and people just like you who need simple answers to your security questions.
Lee has written 2872 awesome articles for us at Security FAQs
{ 16 comments… read them below or add one }
nod32 best antivirus5 computer is very fast……….
Is there anything else you like about it?
It’s less disk and cpu demanding than Kaspersky wich is also a good AV. Between these two they catch some malware the other doesn’t. I know this bc I used both switching in between them.
Nod32 rarely catches anything which could be a good thing. But I apparantly do such a good job avoiding malware and virusses on the net. This kinda worries me something still might have slipped through which Nod32 didn’t pick up.
The http-web access scanner does a good job protecting me from malicious sites and IP’s
It does not read correctly winrar split files.
And I read Nod32 doesn’t do a good job at catching key-stroke recorders. The kind that is paid for and used by your boss to spy on you.
“Nod32 rarely catches anything which could be a good thing. But I apparantly do such a good job avoiding malware and virusses on the net. This kinda worries me something still might have slipped through which Nod32 didn’t pick up.” < Humans are the biggest threat to their own internet security – if you are a sensible web surfer then never getting virus alerts should be the norm rather than the exception
il sistema nod32 antivirus 5 è il migliore sulla piazza voi amanti di kaspersky una pietra.
and in combo with commodo firewall you cant go wrong period , for malware use malwarebytes, take care
well if you use firefox or plaemoon itll freeze youre system for some reason all you gotta do is mark firefox or the palemoon exe in youre exception list for protocol handling and itll stop youre system from freezing …something they updated in eset that doesnt like firefox protocols or something hmmm…. you can even google it , peace
p.s: eset 32 still da best av hands down and ive tested all norton , kaspersky , avast, all -.-’
Are the Firefox issues related to an older version of the program? I ask as I didn’t experience any freezing when I used it.
I just recently found that out about Eset was causing issues with Firefox but when I excluded it from protocol filtering everything is fine now but I was wondering if I have it excluded now am I more vulnerable to viruses while surfing the web?
Wanted to ask also when I excluded it from protocol filtering why can’t I choose firefox.exe in Active mode option now?
best paid antivirus
Its certainly good – why do you like it?
@ anonimous I think you probably made a mistake somewhere , I don’t see how an AV could freeze your computer by itself.Did you make a clean install?No other AV in the same time?or Firewall?
Agreed – I didn’t experience any freezing issues myself.
The recent NOD32 antiviruses have been great (the 4th).
As the 5th came out, it made such a dissappointment to me
It blocked everything I did and froze my PC
Worst AV ever, in my oppinion.
Thanks for this nice review.
I use it since it was released and I couldn’t agree more , this a very good AV.
I use it with Look’n Stop firewall and they play very nicely together!
{ 1 trackback }