Introduction
With an increasing trend towards computer and internet security awareness, mainstream consumers are left scrambling for ways to protect their system. Traditionally, Symantec has released the most popular security software offering – the Norton AntiVirus series. Sound familiar? You’ve probably also heard of McAfee’s and Trend Micro’s Antivirus offerings too.
ESET is a company you’ve likely never heard of. Founded in 1992, ESET (the Egyptian word for goddess) developed NOD32 – a largely “under the radar” antivirus software. NOD32 is a very effective, light-weight software and is a very versatile guard against today’s intrusive internet.
NOD32 boasts excellent credentials worthy of an effective guard. Microsoft uses NOD32 in their release labs. Canon Japan also exclusively uses NOD32. ESET’s software claimed the Virus Bulletin’s coveted 100% award in every test since May 1998 and the ICSA Labs (Internet Computer Security Association) has given their “nod” to NOD32.
Enough with all the jabbering – let’s look inside NOD32.
First Impressions & Installation
Installation
Locating the file on ESET’s website was a bit of a maze. There were two different installation files – the Demo version and the full version. Why two different versions? The trick is that once your 30-day demo expires, NOD32 requires you to uninstall the demo and install the full version.
When installing the full version, you first must purchase the license key through the Purchase tab. After acquiring a license key, I went to “Download” and located the appropriate version of the software. The site prompted me for a username and password – I inserted the fields accordingly as directed in the email ESET sent. Then, I found the installation file – I started downloading and installing. Once the file is downloaded, I ran the self-extractor. I was prompted with three types of installation: Typical, Advanced, and Expert. Advanced and Expert allows you to customize some settings, such as password-protecting features. But to install, I just used “Typical”, read the EULA, typed in the password/username for updates, and rebooted.
In all, the installation process was straightforward. Once I downloaded the right file and activated it, it was smooth sailing. The entire installation and download process, including the reboot, took roughly eight minutes.
Interface/Usability
Unfortunately for the average home user, NOD32 is a very complex program. While internet security and antivirus bundles from Symantec and McAfee integrates all of its features into one easy-to-read interface, NOD32 has five separate program modules running independently of each other. What’s AMON? IMON? DMON? NOD32′s interface and configuration options will probably confuse a typical home-user. However, the interface doesn’t tell the whole story.
NOD32′s control center lists four programs:
- AMON – A “Scan on access” module. Every time you open a program or a file, NOD32 does a quick scan of it.
- DMON – Microsoft Office Document Scanner. Pretty self-explanatory. DMON is the AMON for Office.
- IMON – Internet Monitor. Scans all HTTP and POP (incoming) activity.
- NOD32 – The on-demand scanner.
I felt that NOD32′s customizability was pretty amazing. You can select when AMON executes – on file opening, on file execution, or on file creation. Because NOD32 is a grain of salt on system resources, you can afford to keep all the option checked. Like a firewall, you can specify a “whitelist” – files that AMON will ignore. And, like many of NOD32′s competitors, you can specify what actions are taken when an infiltration is detected.
NOD32 supports any browser (Internet Explorer, Mozilla Firefox, Opera, to name a few) and it supports most email clients (Microsoft Outlook, Mozilla Thunderbird, and more). IMON will scan all incoming signals in order to stop unwanted programs and files from running. Note that however, it does not check outgoing messages.
Email from MS Outlook Express
Effectiveness
NOD32′s on-demand scanner module is the program’s bragging point. There are many ‘types’ of scans that you can do: Virus Signature, Heuristics, Advanced Heuristics, Adware/ Spyware/ Riskware, and Potentially dangerous applications. On AV-Comparative, NOD32 earned the Advanced + certification on both the New “Zoo” samples in proactive and retrospective testing and the on-demand scans, recording a staggering 62% and 98% respectively. In a test conducted by CheckVir, NOD32 earned top honors, detecting and cleaning all 420 virus samples, earning ESET’s product the CheckVir Advanced Certification.
Virus Detected! File name hidden
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