Eset Smart Security vs NOD32 Questions

BACKGROUND: My wife and I currently use NOD32 on two WinXPsp3 laptops (Dell Latitude C800 and C840) and my wife's Win2kSp4 laptop (IBM A31). We have NOD32 licenses for three laptops.

But I have acquired a Dell Latitude E6500 laptop, running Win7sp1, which will gradually replace the two C8n0 laptops over the next year or so. (And I may be able to talk my wife into getting a new Lenovo, but we haven't yet investigated that.)

Our three licenses will expire on 02 November. Before then I will replace them with four licenses. But I'm not sure whether to replace them with NOD32 licenses, or Smart Security licenses.

After browsing around the ESET site, I found that ESET Smart Security 5 features are
A) Antivirus
B) Antispyware
C) Personal Firewall
D) Antispam
E) Parental Controls
F) Internet Security Training

Apparently we can get F) this month (October 2012) without buying anything, and I intend that we will do that.

We don't need D) --- my wife uses Google Gmail, and our ISP has a TMDA (tagged message delivery agent) Antispam filter, and our Mozilla SeaMonkey email also has an Antispam filter. And we don't need E) because our "child" is now a grownup in its own home with its own computer.

QUESTIONS:

1) Am I correct in understanding that only A) and B) are included in NOD32 4.2.71.2 (which is what we are using now), and that NOD32 5.x also includes E) but nothing else listed above? (I am fairly sure that NOD32 4.2.71.2 --- and presumably NOD32 5.x also --- protects against threats that come from a CD or DVD or a diskette, but if in any case we don't read outside CDs, DVDs, or diskettes very often, maybe never.)

2) As noted above, we don't need E), but I'm curious about its possible presence in NOD32 5.x anyway. Can E) be disabled (or not installed or not included in the download) in NOD32 5.x? Does it have any advantages beyond controlling our non-existent teenagers?

3) Since our ISP keeps us behind its firewall, and all of our computers are behind a Linksys router, and WindowsXP sp3 includes a firewall (although only for incoming threats, not outgoing threats to others), I tentatively think that we don't need ESET's firewall. (When I upgraded our Dell C840 from Win2kSp4 to WinXPsp3, I inadvertently uninstalled our wonderful Danware NetOP Level-0 firewall, but Danware has abandoned NetOP, so when re-installing it required re-registering it, that wasn't possible.)

But when I get our Dell Latitude E6500 laptop set up (currently it's not even connected to the internet, and has no software other than Win7sp1), it will already have a built-in Win7 firewall, which apparently will deal not only with incoming threats but also outgoing threats (according to two Win7 books).

So what are the advantages of ESET's firewall over Windows7's firewall?

4) A digression: For backups, we currently use software (Apricorn's Ez Gig II) that can create separate images of each partition (one partition at a time), and save them to an external hard disk drive. But Ez Gig II won't run on Windows7.
According to Win7 books, Windows7 can create a backup image of its entire hard disk drive, and save that to an external hard disk drive --- but apparently (the rest of this sentence may be wrong) it can't create and save separate images of partitions C: (operating system and installed application software) and D: (data).

Is there some ESET capability for doing separate partition image backups that I have overlooked?

Thanks for any comments, suggestions, or help in answering these four questions.

Roger Folsom

 

I don't think I really have any answers for your firewall question, but rather have a suggestion. You might want to dig into some of the information in the ESET version 6 threads here at Wilders to see if perhaps there will be more difference between ESS and NOD in the future version. If you get a new license for early November, most of that license will be spent using version 6. (If you upgrade, that is.) So, you might want to try to discern what the new features will be and make some kind of judgement based on future differences. I don't really know if any specifics are yet available, however.

Personally, I have gone back and forth over the years with just an antivirus and Windows firewall to full-blown internet security suites with separate firewalls. I am a pretty safe browser and have hardly ever availed myself of the advanced features of any extra firewall that I did have loaded. Actually, I am not sure if a firewall has every done anything to help me. I have always been behind an ISP firewall and a router with firewall, so I am assuming that I and probably most others would be fine with the stock Windows firewalls.

I do know that ESS's firewall will block items based on behavior and on information from the ESET threat cloud. I had to do a little bit of work to get my work Cisco VPN and a multi-device password app to get through the firewall. The password app (Strip) is not used by too many people, or at least too many people using ESS, and will undoubtedly take time to build a reputation. I do like that the ESS firewall allows me to set a different protection level for my network when the VPN connects.

Thanks for asking your question. I am anxious to see what some of the experts on here say.

 

Hamlet:

Thanks for suggesting that I browse the ESET version 6 threads. I definitely will do that.

I'll also have to find out what the password app (Strip) is about. I was unaware of its existence.

Re "ESS's firewall will block items based on behavior and on information from the ESET threat cloud": I think I read in one of my Win7 books that the Win7 firewall uses some sort of Microsoft based cloud information. But I don't recall reading anything about the Win7 firewall making decisions on behavior (behavior of the website, I assume).

Thanks again for your response. I too am anxious to see what the experts say.

Roger Folsom

P.S. A somewhat related background post by me is at https://www.wilderssecurity.com/showthread.php?t=333142, post #5

 

1) Yes but Parental Controls only ESS

2) I don't think so. Only ESS.

3) "ISP keeps us behind its firewall, and all of our computers are behind a Linksys router"

Windows built in firewall is enough. Even though you don't use software firewall, most average users are o.k behind router(NAT & SPI firewall).
Anyway I recommend to turn on Windows built in firewall

You are right. Windows 7 built in fireall is Inbound/Outbound firewall. You can make Inbound and Outbound Rules. You don't have a big advantages of ESET's firewall if you are using Windows 7 built in firewall (Not XP)

Some people can talk about IDS but anyway you have a Realtime-file system protection. It will detect and block threats. NOD32 v5 also has a Cloud-Enhanced Whitelisting feature.

Long story make a short. NOD32 v5 provides multi-layered protection (anti-malware, cloud-enhanced whitelisting, web and anti-phishing protection..etc)
If your system is infected there is no point you use ESET's firewall because malware will turn off your entire security software anyway.
It doesn't mean you don't need a software firewall. You need software firewall.

Firewall? inbound protection is more important. You use hardware firewall and you have good software firewall too.(windows 7 built in firewall is sufficient)
You know what? F-secure, Trend Micro, Webroot... all their products rely on Windows 7 built in firewall.

* Comodo firewall(100% free) is way better than ESET's firewall. You have good options.

4) No.

Check retail shop and online store. Sometimes you can get ESET Smart Security 5 lower price than ESET NOD32 Antivirus 5. (special sale period)
You can use ESS license to ESET NOD32 Antivirus but you cannot use ESET NOD32 license to ESS. (if I'm wrong please let me know)
just my 2cents

Personally I don't recommend ESET product these days to my friends and co-workers (of course I'm using NOD32 v5 now because my license is not expired)
When someone really want to use or try ESET product I usually recommend ESET NOD32 Antivirus (Not ESS) Anyway It's up to you

I like to add one more thing. Software update is very important these days. Windows, Adobe Flash player, Adobe PDF reader, Web browser and Java.
(If you don't use Java. Just uninstall it right away). You don't need to worry too much about Firewall. Just make strong password for router admin and use WPA2

 

OP mentioned a laptop - I always run ESS on the laptops I take out of the house/office - it's nice to have that firewall when on someone else's wireless, be that a hotel, coffee-shop or where-ever.

If you have multiple machines - maybe look at the family pack - that allows you to run 5 devices, any mixture of ESSH, EAVH, CyberSecurity and mobile security.

 

Windows 7 built in firewall intelligently offers separate configuration settings for private Home, Work and public location networks. If you go to public locations(ex: coffee shop). Just choose Public.

* If you too much worry about free public WiFi. you can use Free Wi-Fi security tool like inSSIDer

 

Manak:

Thanks for answering my four questions. You definitely clarified a lot of issues.

Before I make a final decision, I'll wait a day or two more to see if anyone from ESET comes up with some ESS advantages that apply to my wife and me, but my tentative decision is that we will stick with NOD32. Whether I stick with 4.2.71.2 or move to the latest 5.x, or jump over that and go to 6.x, will require some time-consuming investigations. Fortunately I can renew my NOD32 licenses and move past 4.2.71.2 at my convenience.

Thanks also for inviting my attention to Comodo and inSSIDer. I' never had heard of either one. I likely will install Comodo on my Dell Latitude C840 because its current WinXPsp3 firewall protects only against incoming threats.

You may be amused by my puzzlement about your mentioning the Strip password app. I had no idea what you were talking about until I did a Google search and learned it was an iPhone app. Our "mobile" devices are simply my C840 laptop (and later, its E6500 replacement). Everything else stays home. Our two ancient T-Mobile cellphones live one in each car, and aren't used for anything except voice enroute. They're turned off 99&44/100% of the time. We do have a home network, but it's all Category5 wiring; nothing is wireless.

In motels, on my C840 I turn on HotspotVPN and run it at its maximum security level.

I'm fairly careful about updating anything involving security (e.g. Windows and the other items you mentioned).

I've got two pretty good Win7 books, and I will use those to get an understanding of Home, Work and Public location networks. But for now thanks for clarifying the meaning of Public.

Thanks again for all the help.

Roger Folsom

 

WebYourBusiness:

Thanks for your ESET purchasing suggestions. But if you read my preceding post to Manak, you will see that my wife's and my computing hardware is pretty limited, e.g. no smart cellphones, and only one laptop that travels.

Roger Folsom