pc masters: ESET Nod32 2.7

Ease of Use:

We found the Control Center layout and modules a little bit confusing. The terminology is very technical; however, a techie would love the customization abilities and scanning power of Nod32.

Effectiveness:

The most important function of antivirus software is to detect and block viruses, and Nod32 does an excellent job. This software received the VB100% award in June 2007, was certified by ICSA in 2007 and passed the level 1 & 2 Checkmark from West Coast Labs.

Updates:

NOD32 claims that they detected and blocked big-gun viruses like CIH, Melissa, LoveLetter long before the competition. The team in the ESET virus lab is extremely fast and good at analyzing viruses and releasing blocks and fixes. Nod32 updates virus definitions “As Needed.”

Feature Set:

Nod32 is designed for more advanced users with plenty of customization features. Nevertheless we wouldn't discourage the average home user from using this product-it just may take some time to learn everything.

Nod32 has two different ways to run the program. You can run a simple Nod32 scan or you can spend more time using the control center. Within the control center you can have access to tons of customiztion feature and differnet types of scans-DMON, IMON, EMON and more. Here is an overview of the different scans:

AMON - the resident (running in operating memory at all times) or "on-access" antivirus monitor. This program is the most crucial antivirus defense tool.
NOD32 (also referred to as the "on-demand" scanner) - this is the scanner executed manually by the user, or automatically by the scheduler.
IMON - this scanner provides the first line of defense by monitoring Internet traffic (SMTP, ftp, http and other Winsock protocols).
EMON - the Nod32 Mail Scanner provides protection from email-borne viruses.
DMON - scans Microsoft office documents and files directly downloaded from Internet Explorerer.

Ease of Installation:

The installation process allows you to do a typical installation, some customization or an advanced install that gives you control over all the default functions. We didn't have any problems with the installation process.

Help/Support:

The program offers helpful documentation in the form of manuals and FAQs. The email support is excellent and they responded to our email within 30 minutes. Additionally, the manufacturer offers 24/7 phone support.

Summary:

Nod32 is a first-rate antivirus program that offers several levels of superior protection. However, the product is somewhat hard to understand because of the technical jargon and wouldn't be our first choice for the average home user.

Features:

Centralized management of the resident antivirus modules and filters.
Intuitive directory tree style system for easy access to:
- Automatic, internet/LAN Update module
- Centralized system of log files for all installed modules
- AMON - resident on-access monitor
- NOD32 - on-demand scanner
- IMON - Internet monitor - scans e-mails incoming via the POP3 protocol as well as HTTP traffic
- EMON - complementary e-mail scanner module - scans e-mails incoming via MAPI interface (details below)
- Flexible task scheduler and planning module
- Quarantine directory
- Key system information

Automatic Update module

Supports frequent incremental updates and upgrades of the executable components.
Most updates are performed 'on-the-fly' (no reboot is required).
Small incremental update of the virus database minimizes network congestion and download times.
Allows flexible scheduling of updates and selection of various update profiles.
Checks for updates of the system at user-defined intervals or even upon the occurrence of a predefined event.
Provides intelligent update options for computers on dial-up access.
Supports proxy-servers (Basic and NTLM authentication).
Provides authentication of the origin of downloaded update files using a digital signature technique.
Supports updating from a local site without accessing the Internet, such as from a server within a LAN.
The upgrade system can be configured to reflect a multi-level hierarchy and/or other needs of a large company or organization.
Creates updates to a floppy or CD for PCs that are not connected to the network.
Configuration settings can be distributed to local workstations from an administrator's computer.
Provides the option to use a configuration file to set system parameters across the network during initial installation and/or subsequent updates.
Supports 'silent mode' on end-user workstations: notification messages may be forwarded to an administrator only.
Allows the settings to be password protected.

Centralized Log file system provides information on: