NOD32 versus other mainstream AV programs

Discussion in 'NOD32 version 2 Forum' started by jim28277, May 6, 2005.

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  1. jim28277

    jim28277 Registered Member

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    I hope this is the right place for this type of post. If not, I appologise for any inconvenience.

    Why haven't I read more about NOD32 from some of the mainstream mags. I've been doing a lot of reading lately about all manner of PC security. I rarley run across articles supporting or recommending NOD32 (unless I do a specific search for NOD32). I remember reading an article in PC Magazine (probably a few years old). It really came out in favor of Norton and some of the other mainstream signature-based AV programs. The article even went so far as to say their research indicated that the heuristics approach to antivirus does not work very well for single PC users (in their view, heuristics proved ineffective unless you could throw large amount of processing power at it).

    When I read this forum and other articles specifically about NOD32, I get a different, and more positive story. I assume this is because the mainstream press feels that NOD32 is too complicated for the general population. Personally, I do not consider myself particulary PC-savvy, but I had absolutely no problems installing and configuring NOD32 (with a little help from BlackSpear's post).

    Any comments or thoughts from the group on this topic. I am sure there is more knowledge about these sort of things on this forum and I guess I'm looking for a little confirmation that I've made the right decision with NOD32.

    thanks Jim
     
    Last edited: May 6, 2005
  2. Firecat

    Firecat Registered Member

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    I'll tell you why NOD is better:

    1)Faster scanning speed
    2)Reliable protection
    3)Little or no slowdown
    4)Heuristics have always, always caught the latest worms. I am a student and I got hit by NetSky.X, and I didnt have NOD32 at that time - you can guess what happened :blink:

    5)Interface-wise, its quite alright, nothing I've found tough to configure at all (in my one week of beta testing). It just does its job - no bloating like other AVs.
     
  3. alglove

    alglove Registered Member

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    There probably is some truth to the "too complicated" part. I can picture my parents fleeing in horror from Blackspear's post, even though it does go through the steps in a fairly straightforward manner. After fleeing, they would probably come back and ask me to do it for them. :p

    On the other hand, it's not *that* much more complicated than the others. I think a lot of it has to do with market penetration. How likely are you to find a box of NOD32 at CompUSA, for instance?

    As for heuristics vs. processing power, much of that depends on how efficient the heuristic scanner is. NOD32's heurisitcs are right up there when it comes to efficiency.

    Failing that, Eset updates their virus definitions quite frequently. There have been days in which they were updated three times, for example. Since NOD32 is set to look for updates every hour by default, that pretty much keeps you covered in the non-heurisitics, as well.
     
  4. Firecat

    Firecat Registered Member

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    I really did not find anything complicated in NOD32 - except that I have to be patient while configuring it....its easy to configure it but there are many options, thats why.
     
    Last edited: May 6, 2005
  5. nonmirecordo

    nonmirecordo Registered Member

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    The editorial exposure of a product is directly proportional to the amount of advertising revenue derived from it.
     
  6. JimIT

    JimIT Registered Member

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    Main reason is because ads like that cost a LOT of money. ESET is (comparatively) a smaller AV company, and understandably puts more resources toward improving the product. As they "build it, they will come", and ESET's growth in the last 4-5 years shows this.

    To quote the Monkees: "That was then, this is now". IMO, there is no AV with heuristics as good as NOD32. It really is what sets it apart from every other AV, and IMO, it is the way of the future--proactive detection (effective heuristics) versus reactive detection (signatures).

    There are many who favor signatures over heuristics, and I agree that they have their place, but if an AV isn't developing some way to protect their customers proactively, they are in very real danger of becoming extinct.

    While no AV can protect you 100% all the time, I believe you've made a fantastic choice in an AV. NOD32 will protect you well.

    ;)
     
  7. Dakhor

    Dakhor Registered Member

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    And users like you are not in the majority - perhaps users like you are in the majority of the users who use Nod32 - thats why there is a problem.

    I call myself an advanced user - setting up routers etc isnt a problem at all from me - i understand things most computer users do not have a clue about. And i cant say that configuring Nod32 the way I want it was easy. It wasnt very difficult but not even close to easy.

    /DaK/
     
  8. alglove

    alglove Registered Member

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    Jim, I think you should give yourself more credit. The fact that you were able find Blackspear's post at all already puts you way beyond most computer users. You should do fine with NOD32. :)
     
  9. jim28277

    jim28277 Registered Member

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    Thanks everyone for the responses. At the end of the day, any av program is measured by how effectively it identifies, blocks and cleans virus from your equipment. So far so good, I am very pleased with NOD32. Previously, I used Norton. Never had any major problems with NAV, but it was a resource hog and I found it continually dragged at my system. If I didn't watch my resources and optimize regularly, my system would slow down noticeably. Thanks again for the prompt replies. This site is a great resource.

    regards Jim
     
  10. Blackspear

    Blackspear Global Moderator

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    Indeed it is Jim, welcome aboard...

    Cheers :D
     
  11. beethoven

    beethoven Registered Member

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    I have been using a few different AV and AT programs and I think Nod32 is pretty straightforward in the set up. The updates work perfectly and without any manual intervention (as opposed to others) and come very frequently.
    Yes, there are some specifics regarding the preferences if you want to tweak the program (something Norton does not even allow - sure it's easier then) but Blackspear's Help is unbeatable. I think his instructions with Screenshots could not be any easier to follow - certainly beats the hell out of normal help files. :D
     
  12. WSFuser

    WSFuser Registered Member

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    for me nod32 is a light and powerful antivirus. i have seen a few ads in one of my computer magazines tho at the time i used norton and the detection statistics in the ad meant nothin. secondly in the april 2005 issue for computer user there was an interview with eset ceo anton zajac, you can read it here
     
  13. Gauthreau

    Gauthreau Guest

    The problem with 'always' is that it isn't 'always' the case. There have been more than a few virii that NOD has missed - the latest msn worm comes to mind - but as was already stated, NO AV catches them all.

    Personally, I take a more critical view of AV reports and will not simply state "advertising money" = good reviews. I'm sure it plays it's part, but it's not the total equation. Each major AV program out there is good at something, and none is good at them all. Kind of like saying "jack of all trades, but master of none". NOD has made some great steps forward as of late, but there are still other AV's out there that specialize in certain aspects. Norton does this in complex poly-morphic viruses, and KAV does this in providing 24-hour support in signature analysis and updates. NOD's heuristics are great, but heuristics wont catch them all and in the case where heuristics misses the virus, signatures are key if they are provided in a timely manor.

    But why don't major magazines provide reviews for NOD? You would get a better answer for why this happens if you were to ask the magazines and analyze their methodology rather than asking a dedicated NOD board.


    Neil
     
  14. Firecat

    Firecat Registered Member

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    OK, I revise my statement to say, heuristics have caught most of the latest worms :)

    NOD does provide quick updates - so I dont think thats much of a problem :)

    The major thing is - interface. The new user is often quite confident of a program with a good interface - it makes a good impression.

    I'm not saying NOD32 has a bad interface - just that there are many options to configure, and they can be quite perplexing for many people.

    Also, people like an "install-and-forget AV"; where they have to do none of the configuration - it protects quite well out of the box.

    While NOD does offer reasonable protection at default settings, we can see that a lot of tweaking is required to have it at max. protection.
     
  15. NAMOR

    NAMOR Registered Member

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    Personally I like the "set-it-and -forget-it" option. :D
     
  16. Marcos

    Marcos Eset Staff Account

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    The default settings have been selected precisly to provide a well-balanced protection and safety. For instance, a setting one may find useful may cause nightmares to another. This is the case of enabling Potentially dangerous applications that may render feel someone safer, but for admins it would be a manace because the tools for remote administration they use would be removed by NOD32.
     
  17. halcyon

    halcyon Registered Member

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    Anglo magazines (UK/USA) don't often write about software that does not advertise in the same publications or/and is not prominently distributed in the respective market regions (Internet only distribution rarely counts for these).

    This may be one reason.

    NOD32 has been tested in one of the most respected computer magazines in the world (c't magazine from Germany). The test was done by a professional anti-virus researcher, not a journalist. NOD32 very well overall. Some big names did not do as well.

    However, be aware that when you read about any software in a forum dedicated to that software, you will more than likely get skewed results.

    Many people will just brag about the software, because they like to feel secure about their own purchase/choise.

    As far as anti-virus software is concerned, there is not absolute best in everything out there. Some are faster, some detect more, some clean better, some have better heuristics, some faster signature updates, some catch more than just virii, some are easier to use, some take less system resources, some are more compatible with a variety of non-standard apps, etc.

    The definition of "best" can only be decided by each and every user him/herself.

    As for confirmation, I don't feel comfortable giving it myself, but let me put it this way: if you feel it's working for you well (speed/no issues), you know how to use it (ease-of-use) and you don't have special needs (like super-extended databases against trojans/backdoors/obscure malware), then more than likely you've made a very good choice (one of several possible).

    I'm a NOD32 user myself and very happy with it. Happier than with any other antivirus product that I've used earlier in my life (quite a few).
     
    Last edited: May 7, 2005
  18. DonKid

    DonKid Registered Member

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    Well, unfortunately, we live in a material world.
    There´s a lot of company and people that can say anything about your product IF you PAY a lot of money.
    Finally, here in Brazil, NOD32 is growing up, and I can find, buy, and have it delivered at my door, without any kind of problem.
    I like the mouth to mouth propaganda, and if it depends of me,Eset can always count on me.

    Best regards,

    DonKid.
     
  19. Holden4th

    Holden4th Registered Member

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    I discovered NOD 32 via a freebie on a PC magazine disc. I installed it, updated and ran the scanner set at deep mode and was astonished at what it picked up that my highly rated free AV progs had missed! I continued to run NOD32 and it was always the first to alert me to any possible problems (I still had the other AVs running). I waited for the trial period to run out and it never did. I don't know why.

    I got a new PC and when I went to install the old NOD32 program my PC rejected it so I had to download the Trial Version. After it ran out I decided to buy NOD32 and have not regretted it.

    I had trialled Kapersky and found it to be excellent though very resource hungry and decided to drop it for that and other reasons. I can't think of an AV that does what NOD32 does. I feel secure knowing that I've got it.
     
  20. Firecat

    Firecat Registered Member

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    I agree completely with you on this statement. And I have tried lots and lots of AVs, really. But NOD32 is the best, IMHO :)

    I purchased NOD32 for many reasons:

    1)Heuristics
    2)Updates and malware detection
    3)Price

    and also because I like Daddy Cool Happy Bytes a lot :D

    NOD32 offers excellent value for money :)
     
    Last edited: May 8, 2005
  21. Happy Bytes

    Happy Bytes Guest

    Come into daddy's arms :D
     
  22. Firecat

    Firecat Registered Member

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    *hugs* :D
     
  23. Happy Bytes

    Happy Bytes Guest

    Ok Ok Ok... :D
    Drop me a PM with your address and a handsigned Zlaty Bazant beer goes on a travel next week :D
     

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  24. Firecat

    Firecat Registered Member

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    But I dont drink beer yet :(

    Say, is that pic from your house or from Eset HQ? :D
     
  25. Happy Bytes

    Happy Bytes Guest

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