Smart Security or Just NOD32 with new win7 install

I was always happy with nod32 and XP. upgraded to smart security with vista about 18 months ago and have had sluggish browsing, etc. Not sure if smart security was to blame though. However, I do see more complaints about ESS than I did with NOD32.

Have just done a clean install of win7 and accidentally installed NOD32 instead of ESS and am wondering if I should proabably just leave it in conjunction with windows firewall.

Any views?

Thanks

R.

 

As you are aware, with ESS you are buying a suite which includes NOD32 + firewall + antispam so it all depends on whether you need the additional features that the suite offers. If you don't then NOD32 + Windows firewall should do just fine. A router combined with just about any software firewall offers more than enough protection against unsolicited inbound network traffic.

In terms of protective capability against malware infection, there should be little or no difference between NOD32 and ESS. The ESS firewall does not have HIPS so, if the NOD32 component within ESS failed to prevent infection, there is no guarantee that the ESS firewall would contain the malware and prevent it from creating outbound connections. In its default mode, the ESS firewall automatically allows outbound connections anyway, so it needs to be changed to interactive mode to enable outbound control if you want a two-way firewall.

The main reasons that I can see for using ESS over NOD32 are: -
1. You need an antispam solution and are using a compatible email client OR
2. You like the way the ESS firewall works and find it easier to use than the Windows 7 firewall.

Both NOD32 and ESS have been designed to run light with a low footprint so there shouldn't be a noticeable performance hit with either product. There have been mixed reports about the ESS firewall though so it will also depend on how well the ESS firewall works on your system.

 

thanks for the helpful reply. browsing certainly seems much snappier and there is far less 'latency' in fetching and loading pages. that might be to do with a clean install of course but I'll see if it slows up again before giving ESS the benefit of the doubt and reinstalling.

Jon

 

When you uninstall Nod32 do NOT use the windows uninstaller, it wont remove all of NOD32.

There are instructions somewhere on how to do it in W7, its very easy and simple.
I have them and I can post them or if you PM me I can give them in a PM.

 

You're welcome.

 

so far i have no intention of moving from nod back to ess. haven't enjoyed such 'snappy' browsing in months

 

I don't see how the firewall module would impact your browsing experience. It's rather the "web access protection" in the AV that may slow down a bit your browsing if you set it to its full power (like protocol filtering, address management... etc), but that's a very insignificant price to pay in order to have a more secure browsing experience.

Back on topic, I must admit that I'm to 100% satisfied with the performance of ESS on Win7, so go for it.