ESET NOD32 Antivirus 8 Review – Back with New Features

very good
key review info
application features
  • Antivirus and antispyware
  • (10 more, see all...)

The new edition of ESET NOD32 Antivirus was rolled out two weeks ago, so we are taking a closer look at one of the most popular security applications on the market developed for identifying and removing viruses, Trojans, worms, rootkits, dialers, adware, spyware and other types of malware.

Feature highlights in ESET NOD32 Antivirus 8

Apart from an antivirus and antispyware engine, version 8 offers support for cloud assistance to speed up scans by verifying files based on their reputation given by the ESET client community, an anti-phishing module to protect users from identity threats on fake stores when shopping online, along with a social media scanner to stay safe by managing visible information available to the public.

A device control tool prevents unauthorized users from copying private data to external devices, gamer mode facilitates silent mode for apps running in full screen like video games, while Facebook and Twitter accounts are kept safe by controlling the visibility of private details. Automatic updates for the software and virus definitions are supported. At the same time, the av application aims to remain light on system resources.

License type

The trial edition of NOD32 Antivirus can be tested non-commercial for 30 days without any feature limitations. Once this period expires, users may either uninstall the product or purchase the full package for $39.99 / €29,95 (1-year registration for 1 PC). This price has not changed since the previous edition.

Customizable installer

During the installation procedure, users may enable or disable the detection of potentially unwanted programs (PUPs) as well as configure the update type (always, never, ask) and restart mode (never, offer, automatic) for program components. What's more, it is possible to protect the configuration settings with a password to restrict the access of unauthorized or inexperienced users. An initial scan can be set to run right after installation.

Same old familiar interface

As far as looks is concerned, version 8 is identical to version 7. NOD32 Antivirus keeps the same clean and intuitive interface that its users have already grown fond of, leaving aside any unnecessary distractions and preferring to focus on functionality.

Once installed, the application runs at every system startup and immediately turns on its real-time guard to ensure the computer with continuous security against new threats.

View warnings and take action
View warnings and take action

It creates an icon in the system tray for viewing the current security status, temporarily disabling protection, entering advanced setup mode, accessing log files, and bringing up the main menu. The app also integrates a new entry in the Windows Explorer context menu to swiftly scan selected files, folders and drives.

Diverse scan modes

As we have already established, ESET features a real-time safeguard that provides the PC with round-the-clock protection. However, users also have the ability to manually run malware scans in several methods.

"Smart scan" applies the default settings, verifies all local disks and automatically handles any threats - it's basically the app's full scan mode. "Custom scan," on the other hand, makes room for customization when it comes to the scan targets, parameters and security level. Meanwhile, "Removable media scan" covers all USB, DVD, CD and other mass storage devices currently plugged into the computer.

Examine scans and view logs

Details on found threats, cleaned objects and currently checked files can be monitored during scanning jobs. The last scan can be repeated with the click of a button, scan tasks can be paused and resumed later, and NOD32 Antivirus is capable of running multiple scan jobs at the same time, whether they have identical or different settings.

By default, the tool takes no action once it completes the scans. Instead, users can ask the computer to shut down, restart, sleep or hibernate. Plus, log details can be investigated on task completion to find out the full path of each threat, total threats found, total scan time, and other details. These logs can be filtered by various criteria, such as time period and record type.

Rich set of real-time scan settings

Just like in the installer, it is possible to enable or disable the detection of potentially unwanted apps, but also of potentially unsafe or suspicious software. ESET implements an anti-stealth module designed to identify rootkits capable of hiding themselves within the system, but it can be deactivated.

The real-time safeguard uses the ThreatSense engine to detect and eliminate malware agents. It can be configured in terms of objects to scan (boot sectors, runtime packers), heuristics, advanced heuristics, ESET Live Grid, cleaning severity level, file extensions, maximum object size and scan time for object, archive nesting level, maximum size of file in archive, log details, and Smart optimization.

In addition to all these options, users can exclude certain types of media from the scanner such as local or removable drives, as well as choose the trigger for starting the scan, like file open, creation and execution, along with removable media access and computer shutdown. What's more, the real-time guard can be disabled from automatically running at Windows startup.

Configuration settings for on-demand scans

The Smart, in-depth and context menu scanners come loaded with a set of predefined rules. Their parameters can be edited, such as scan objects (operating memory, boot sectors, email files, archives, self-extracting archives, runtime packers). There is also the possibility to create new profiles with customized options. These properties can be later reset to default.

Background scans can be run with low priority, automatic scans can be enabled to run whenever the PC is in idle state, while files and folders can be excluded from the scanners. Furthermore, ESET NOD32 Antivirus is able to automatically identify removable media devices as soon as they are plugged into the computer.

HIPS, exploit blocker and other advanced features

It is equipped with a self-defense component to protect itself from hijackers, more specifically by blocking any attempt to modify the program files and settings. Another important feature is represented by HIPS, Host-based Intrusion Prevention System that keeps track of system activity to determine suspicious behavior based on predefined rules.

New HIPS rules can be added so that ESET can figure out the applications with access allowed or denied to specific files, tools or registry entries. Alternatively, HIPS can be disabled, along with the advanced memory scanner and exploit blocker. The filtering mode All blocked operations can be logged, while notifications can be enabled when changes occur in the apps which automatically run at system startup.

A gaming mode can be enabled when playing video games or other programs in full screen mode, in order to hide any antivirus dialogs. There is also the option to disable it temporarily (in minutes).

Web and email protection settings

ESET's ThreatSense engine can be separately configured for the email client and web access with the same parameters previously described. It is possible to tag received, read and set email, whether they are infected or not, edit the template tag. This module can be integrated with Microsoft Outlook, Outlook Express/Windows Mail, and Windows Live Mail, while IMAP and POP3 protocol checking can be enabled or disabled, in addition to the anti-phishing security component.

Other security tools and options

Apart from the previously mentioned log files, it is possible to schedule scan jobs, log maintenance and other kinds of jobs, examine threat and spam statistics, view quarantined items to delete or restore them, monitor file system and network activity, find out the total computer status snapshots taken by ESET SysInspector, as well as consult a list with running processes and their reputation powered by ESET Live Grid. Users can submit a file sample to the developer for in-depth analysis, create a rescue CD, and protect social network accounts.

Resort to handy security tools that enhance the app's functionality
Resort to handy security tools that enhance the app's functionality

The software program can be asked to log files with informative, diagnostic, warnings, error or critical minimum verbosity, automatically delete old records, and optimize logs when the number of unused records exceeds a particular percent. Users may switch to a proxy configuration, make the utility rescan quarantined items after every update, enable notifications for missing Windows Updates and set the type (optional, recommended, important, critical). Email notifications can be activated for alerts and notifications, while the ESET NOD32 Antivirus entry can be removed from the Windows Explorer shell extension.

Performance results

ESET NOD32 Antivirus was tested on an Intel Core i5-3470 @CPU 3.20GHz with 12GB RAM, running Windows 8.1 Pro. We wanted to evaluate its malware detection ratio. Default settings were applied.

We submitted 10,467 virus samples to the test. The real-time guard picked up on the viruses as soon as the files were extracted from the archive, and it identified and remove most items. However, we ran a manual scanning afterward to be sure it wouldn't leave anything out.

In the end, ESET managed to find and remove 8,660 virus samples, leaving behind 1,807 files. This resulted in a virus detection success ratio of roughly 82.74%.


The Good

The application worked smoothly on Windows 8.1 Pro during our evaluation, without hanging, crashing or popping up error messages. It contains help documentation and it is wrapped in a familiar, user-friendly interface.

It integrates a real-time guard, antivirus and antispyware, different scan modes, HIPS, enhanced exploit blocker, a self-defense mechanism against hijackers, password protection, web and email protection, along with scheduled tasks, notifications control and log files, among its notable features.

Advanced settings have the possibility to configure a rich range of scanning options to personalize the real-time guard and manual scan mode.

The Bad

We expected a better malware detection ratio from this particular program.

The Truth

With all things considered, the new version of ESET NOD32 Antivirus does not bring noteworthy changes as far as malware detection ratio is concerned. However, it brings powerful new features to the table to help users successfully fight off web-based attacks. Additional features can be explored in ESET Smart Security.

user interface 4
features 4
ease of use 3
pricing / value 4


final rating 4
Editor's review
very good
 
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ESET NOD32 Antivirus 8 (18 Images)

Ensure all-around PC security with ESET NOD32 Antivirus 8Run multiple scan modes at onceExamine scan jobs to find out more detailsCheck out log details for scansConfigure filter settings for logs
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