| OVERVIEW: • Very simple interface! • Quick & straightforward installation (1 minute and 29 seconds). • The Standard and Advanced modes are great for novice users so as not to confuse them with complex options. • Top-Notch Performance and Effectiveness. • Overall Rating: Very Good!  |  |
1) Installation:
ESET NOD32 Antivirus v4 installed in 1 minute and 29 seconds, and the computer was immediately ready for use - requiring no restarts after installation. It was a very quick and straight-forward installation process, but if you have another antivirus program on your computer you have to manually search & run the correct uninstaller. NOD32 Antivirus will hopefully remedy this next year.
2) Features & Ease of Use:  NOD32's user-interface is very clean and simple looking, yet very effective. The program comes defaulted to Standard Mode which is fine for most users. In Standard Mode the options are limited but the antivirus program runs fine - it's probably a good idea to hide the majority of the options, since for most users the extra options can be confusing. Simple is definitely good in this case. For advanced users NOD32 has an Advanced Mode that gives the user much more control over the software with the many more options made available (see screenshot #6 to see the Options Menu). NOD32's options are well thought out and give you more control over the program than any other antivirus program we've tested this year (except maybe Kaspersky). Eset's ThreatSense technology gives you protection against new viruses before they can be analyzed - this gives you Zero-Day protection against viruses and other malware. 3) PERFORMANCE 3a) Virus Scanner:  ESET NOD32 AntiVirus has both a Smart Scan as well as a Custom Scan option. On our test computer with 70GB of used space on its hard-drive it took NOD32 54 minutes to perform its Smart Scan, which scans all local hard-drives and disks. The Smart Scan was comparable in speed to Norton Antivirus (which took 49 minutes), and Kaspersky Antivirus (which took 47 minutes). NOD32's virus scanner also found 3 virus infections that several other antivirus programs (including Kaspersky & Norton) missed on our test computer which we thought was virus-free. So, Eset's virus database definitely impressed us. Updates: Version 4 of ESET NOD32 updates 2 times per day, which is less than several other antivirus programs. For comparison, Norton updates about every 6-7 minutes, while Kaspersky updates almost every hour. Testing by AV-Test.org found that NOD32's response time to new threats is approximately 4-6 hours, slightly better than the industry average of 6-8 hours. 3b) System Resource Usage: NOD32 Antivirus 4 performed very well in our Antivirus testing this year - finishing 2nd overall. View the results of the Antivirus tests we performed below...
3c) Effectiveness: 
4) Help & Support: ESET's Help Files within the program are very useful and well laid out, although why in Standard Mode we aren't sure why the "Help" link in the upper-right-hand corner of the program disappears. This "Help" link also links directly to the corresponding help file depending what task you're doing (ie. if you're doing a "Computer Scan" and click the "Help" link, then the help files on "Computer Scan" appear). ESET does also offer a very good Knowledgebase and user-forums. Their phone support is not all that impressive, since it has limited hours, deals with only a few topics (installing, downloading, purchasing, etc), and doesn't offer a toll-free phone number. CONCLUSION: NOD32 Version 4.0 is an extremely easy to use program. Its user-interface is the easiest to use that we've seen this year - with everything clearly laid out. NOD32's Performance and Effectiveness are both also top-notch. There are no draw-backs with NOD32 Antivirus - it's got everything a user of any level could possibly ask for. For computer novices, NOD32 is definitely the easiest Antivirus program to use we've reviewed this year, and accordingly receives our "Most User-Friendly" award!
| |||||||||||
• 
NOD32 Software Description:
ESET NOD32 provides:Protection from the Unknown — Award-winning ThreatSense technology uses multiple layers of threat detection to deliver the most effective protection possible against new attacks. And ThreatSense is smart; it raises far fewer annoying "false alarms" than any other products that use heuristics.
Finds Malware Other AV Companies Missed — Typically when a new copy of ESET NOD32 replaces another antivirus product on a home computer the average user finds viruses or malware resident on the machine that were undetected by their previous antivirus product.
Built for Speed — ESET NOD32 Antivirus is lightning fast, so fast you won't even notice it's there. Even disk-intensive operations like performing a "full disk scan" to run smoothly in the background while you work or play.
Easy on Your System — ESET NOD32 Antivirus is "lean and mean," typically using just 45 MB of memory, a fraction of what other products consume. Because it's fast and "light," upgrading your existing antivirus protection to ESET NOD32 Antivirus can literally be like buying a new computer. And the new automatic energy-sipping battery mode lets you work or play longer.
Easy on You — ESET NOD32 Antivirus is easier to use than ever before. From its compact and intuitive user interface to its minimal use of alerts, you'll be up and running in a snap.You will receive the best possible proactive detection against malware, without enduring excessive system slowdowns and alerts, reboots or annoying false alarms.
What's New in Version 4?
Smarter Scanner — Threats don't always enter your network in ways you expect. ESET NOD32 Antivirus inspects SSL-encrypted communication channels like HTTPS and POP3S and intelligently scans compressed files to find hidden threats other products miss. Proactive protection begins at the earliest point in system startup to ensure your computer is always secure.
Clean and Safe Email — Email scanning for Microsoft Outlook, Outlook Express, Mozilla Thunderbird, Windows Live Mail, Windows Mail, and other POP3/IMAP mail clients, ensuring your email is free of viruses and other threats.
Removable Media Security — Threats can enter your PC from removable media such as USB thumb drives. For self-running media, ESET NOD32 Antivirus scans autorun.inf and associated files when the medium is inserted, in addition to scanning any file on any removable device when it is accessed, or during a full-scan of the media. Power users can adjust ESET NOD32 Antivirus to perform additional levels of scanning on removable media.
System Tools — ESET SysInspector and ESET SysRescue simplify diagnosing and cleaning of infected systems by allowing deep scans of system processes to find hidden threats, and creating bootable rescue CD/DVD or USB drives to help you repair an infected computer.
Self Defense — ESET NOD32 Antivirus has built-in technology to prevent malicious software from corrupting or disabling it, so you can rest assured your system is always protected.
Many Usability Improvements — ESET NOD32 Antivirus has numerous speed, security and usability upgrades, including:
- Energy-sipping battery mode extends laptop battery life without compromising security
- Advanced Protection Status screen informs you of threat detections
- Information pop-ups are hidden when running full screen applications like games, video players or presentations
- Password protection prevents ESET NOD32 Antivirus from being uninstalled by strangers
- New interface and keyboard shortcuts simplify use for visually impaired users
NOD32 System Requirements:
- Operating Systems: Microsoft Windows 2000, Microsoft Windows XP (32 and 64-bit editions), Microsoft Windows Vista (32 and 64-bit editions), and the new Windows 7.
- Processors supported: 32-bit (x86) and 64-bit (x64) Intel, AMD or 100% compatible
- Memory: 45 MB
- Disk Space (download): 28MB
- Disk Space (installation): 35MB
