For as long as computers have existed, people have been fascinated by the idea of messing with them! “People,” in this case, refers to those with the malicious (or otherwise!) intent of messing with your computer and your personal data. Whether in the form of a Trojan Horse or phishing, as soon as you connect your computer to the Internet, you’re almost asking for trouble! So, naturally, some other well-intentioned people designed software to protect people against those other “people.” In this article, we’ll look at one of the oldest names protecting people against “people”: ESET.

ESET is one of the best antivirus software companies out there and offers a wide variety of personal and enterprise protection solutions. Now, if you’re not a professional at identifying the differences between antivirus software, navigating the various solutions ESET provides can get rather confusing to find out what exactly you should be looking for. So read along to know more about the different kinds of protection you may want to be looking for and how ESET’s various premium antivirus software options have you covered in whatever category your needs may fit in.

ESET Antivirus Protection for Individuals

NOD32. Does it ring a bell? Of course, it does! You probably remember your school computers having this installed on them back in the day. The topaz robot guy staring into your soul has been an icon of the entire antivirus software industry. You simply can’t think of the robot guy when

ESET antivirus solutions for individuals. Courtesy of ESET.

you hear the word “antivirus.”

ESET, the company behind the robot guy, has since expanded upon its staple name, NOD32. But instead of calling it NOD33 or NOD32 Pro Max, they went with a different naming scheme. ESET antivirus software NOD32 now offers the bare essentials, while two new options, ESET Internet Security and ESET Smart Security Premium, offer a more advanced level of protection, and an ultimate level of protection for individual users, respectively. We will start with introducing what ESET NOD32 offers as its essential protection package and work our way up to Smart Security Premium.

1. Protection

NOD32 still offers the same kind of protection we’ve come to expect from the name. It provides protection against all sorts of online and offline threats to your computer and your data in the form of antivirus and antispyware. It even protects you against phishing of your information by fishy websites masquerading as a reputable company or a governmental organization, only to steal your password or other personal data.

NOD32 also uses machine learning to offer you protection against never-before-seen malware with a very low hit on performance. The protection goes beyond the surface level, however, as the built-in UEFI scanner takes the fight even further to before the Windows even start! There are still other forms of protection to mention, but I think you get the idea by now; the protection is advanced, AI-driven, multi-layered, and is always kept up-to-date.

2. Performance

You would think that all of this would come at a huge performance cost, but you would be dead wrong! Specifically, when it comes to programs you use daily, NOD32 learns to leave more resources and power to them to extend the lifetime of your hardware. It also won’t intrude on your gaming or any other full-screen software to notify you about an update, etc. The cloud-powered scanning offered by NOD32 also speeds up the scans by whitelisting safe files based on the database it has on the reputation that the file already has in the cloud.

3. Ease of Use

All of this happens in an easy-to-use, user-friendly interface. Even though AI protection does its job in dealing with unknown, novel malware, you can never be too careful! So, NOD32 constantly keeps itself updated to be better equipped in dealing with the most advanced new viruses. On top of that, you will receive a monthly report in the software to see what NOD32 did to ensure your computer was kept secure. The information provided on detected threats, blocked webpages, intercepted spam emails, and more is a great way to realize which part of your online behavior has been dangerous and prompt you to change your behavior accordingly.

Courtesy of ESET.

Levelling Up with ESET Internet Security

All of the above-mentioned features are ones that you will have access to in NOD32 for Windows, Mac, and Linux. But here’s where we start to see the differences between ESET antivirus software since some are accompanied by more advanced offerings. If you opt for a solution like ESET Internet Security, a premium antivirus software that is a level above NOD32, you will also get the same features on Android. But let’s get to some of the other, more advanced features that Internet Security offers that make it a top internet protection solution.

1. Secure Web Browsing

ESET Internet Security goes one step beyond dealing with threats to your computer and aims to kill the threat at its source before it even gets a chance to find its way to your computer. This is achieved by protecting your web browsing.

First and foremost, a Firewall is the most basic feature that ESET Internet Security adds to NOD32. It keeps you safe from hackers and makes you invisible on public WiFi networks. It also protects your computer from network attacks based on dangerous traffic patterns and blocks them before they find their way to your computer. It also keeps unwanted emails away from your inbox so that it is nice and tidy. When it comes to monetary transactions, Internet Security keeps your banking and payments (including crypto transactions) safe too.

2. Devices and Network Monitoring

With this layer of protection, ESET Internet Security goes beyond your web browsing and personal computer and protects other devices connected to your computer and network. For example, if a third-party software used your webcam and you did not know about it, you will instantly be warned and can block its access to the webcam indefinitely. Going further than devices connected to your computer, if you have a smart home, IoT (Internet of Things) security is another layer of networking that needs protection from threats. Internet Security protects your connected home devices by shielding your home router, showing you all the users who are connected to it, and testing your smart devices to find potential vulnerabilities.

If you’ve used the “Find My” service on any Apple device, you know how handy it can be. The ESET Internet Security brings this feature to your personal computer and allows you to track your laptop in case it goes missing or is stolen.

The final feature in this category offers parents greater control over their kids’ web browsing. To keep the kids just a bit safer in the chaos they’re about to witness, ESET Internet Security provides parents with the option to block individual websites based on their address, as well as groups of websites based on their category.

Ultimate Data Protection with ESET Smart Security Premium

On top of all the features mentioned before, ESET antivirus software Smart Security Premium offers two extra features: password management and data encryption. These two additions have made the whole package that Smart Security Premium offers one of the best internet security software programs in the market.

The password manager helps you organize your passwords and automatically fills in login fields and forms. It also possesses the ability to generate extra strong and encrypted passwords. Furthermore, with Smart Security Premium, you can encrypt your personal files such as photos or videos that you absolutely don’t want anyone to have access to. In case you are looking for even more protection, you can even encrypt your removable drives such as USB sticks on Windows.

But if You’re Not an Individual…

If you are a business owner, you should probably look into more comprehensive solutions that you can deploy across all devices from the cloud console. ESET has your business security needs covered with three enterprise-level ESET antivirus software, which, like its solutions for individuals, comes in three tiers. Lucky for you, the naming scheme of this lineup is much more straightforward than ESET’s individual solutions!

ESET antivirus Protect Complete. Courtesy of ESET.

ESET Antivirus Protection for Enterprises

1. ESET Protect Entry

The most fundamental ESET antivirus solution for enterprises is Protect Entry, which is designed to keep all of your company’s endpoints (computers, mobiles, and servers) secure through advanced, multilayered technology. The low maintenance nature of ESET Protect offers the best possible performance in its caliber by balancing threat detection and false positives, achieved through a combination of human expertise with machine learning. The cherry-on-top is the hassle-free deployment of the service and its easy-to-use remote management system to monitor threats, users, and quarantined items.

2. ESET Protect Advanced

On top of all the features mentioned above, the more advanced ESET antivirus solution for enterprises, known as Protect Advanced, offers a few extra goodies in the form of an easy-to-use cloud-based console. With its cloud-based sandboxing technology it offers improved protection against ransomware and zero-day threats by analyzing suspicious samples in an isolated environment. Protect Advanced also offers a one-click data encryption service to protect your business data on Windows and macOS. This feature comes in especially handy if you’re looking for legal compliance in terms of business security.

3. ESET Protect Complete

Going one step further, ESET Protect Complete is the best antivirus software option for organizations and offers your business the ultimate layer of protection by providing multilayered endpoint protection to ensure cloud application security. This includes spam-filtering, anti-malware, and anti-phishing measures to protect your company against email-based threats at the server level before it reaches users’ inbox. For companies that use Microsoft 365 cloud and email storage, the good news is that Protect Complete also offers a dedicated console that provides advanced preventive protection for Microsoft 365 platforms.

Let’s Review

Whether you are a person or a business, ESET antivirus software programs have you covered with a vast array of security solutions to offer. It may still be difficult to know for certain which service is the one that best suits your needs. While it’s hard to go wrong with ESET Smart Security Premium for personal use, you may think that you don’t really need a password manager, or the data encryption feature might seem like an overkill for you; in that case, Internet Security might be a better option for you.

Moreover, if you feel like you are well aware of the dangers that many websites may pose to your computer or network, or if you generally don’t connect to a public WiFi, or if you don’t have other IoT devices connected to your network, you may be perfectly happy with ESET NOD32’s offerings.

It is not about always paying the extra cash to get the best antivirus software to receive maximum protection; it is more about needs analysis. It is up to you to realize what your needs are as a home user or as a business owner and match your needs to ESET’s offerings elaborated on in this article to get the best possible value for your money.

If you are interested in learning more about the various ESET antivirus solutions or other products Newcom offers, be sure to check out our products page. Newcom offers a variety of the best internet security software programs, alongside a comprehensive list of premium antivirus options. You can also always get in contact with us if you would like additional help from one of our team members.