Best Reviewed
Internet Security Software
- Best Internet security suite Norton Internet Security 2012 *Est. $70
- Budget Internet security software Bitdefender Internet Security 2012 *Est. $40
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- Very good virus scanning
- Light system resource use
- Malware removal could be better
- No parental controls
- Weak anti-spyware and anti-spam functions
ESET Smart Security 4 is built around ESET's NOD32 Antivirus 4 (*Est. $40), considered by many experts to be an excellent, though lesser-known, antivirus program. ESET Smart Security protects against viruses, spyware and spam, and it includes a firewall. The suite is tightly integrated and, like NOD32, it's designed to be easy on system resources. While reviewers confirm that Smart Security succeeds at maintaining a small footprint, that performance comes at a price -- many features common to security suites, such as anti-phishing and parental controls, are missing in ESET's offering. Reviewers are also divided about the effectiveness and user-friendliness of Smart Security's firewall. However, most agree that antivirus functions are the suite's strong suit. Norton Internet Security 2011 (Discontinued) is picked as the best Internet security software overall, and it attracts considerably more attention from reviewers.
The reviewers who look at ESET Smart Security in depth are ambivalent about its merits. PCMag.com has the most thorough review, and TopTenReviews.com also evaluates the program's features one by one. Download.com's and Which? magazine's treatments are far less comprehensive.
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Norton Internet Security 2011 - 1 User/3 PC [Old Version]
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| ReLaunch Eset Smart Security V.4.0 [Old Version] | |
(19 reviews) |
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Our Sources
Neil J. Rubenking at PCMag.com gives ESET Smart Security 4 a good rating for performance, but points out a number of drawbacks and flaws. Virus detection is good, but Rubenking reports problems getting rid of malware with the program. He's also unimpressed with the firewall options and spam filtering, and he finds that the price is rather high considering the limited feature set.
Review: ESET Smart Security 4.0, Neil J. Rubenking, March 23, 2009
2. Download.com
Download.com's Seth Rosenblatt gives an Editors' Choice award to ESET Smart Security 4. Since the antivirus protection is the same as NOD32 Antivirus, Rosenblatt only talks about the firewall and anti-spam filter here. Both are praised. Uninstallation, on the other hand, is "tricky," leaving behind various unwanted files.
Review: ESET Smart Security 4.2.64.12, Seth Rosenblatt, March 6, 2009
This review of ESET Smart Security 4 maintains that the suite's antivirus protection is good, but the program on the whole is average. The lack of advanced features such as parental controls is what drags the rating down. The editors of TopTenReviews.com also find Smart Security's anti-spyware protection and customer support to be below par.
Review: ESET Smart Security 4, Editors of TopTenReviews.com
4. Which? magazineDetails/Subscribe
Which? magazine's Internet security software roundup is based on solid testing, but reviews are perfunctory and not well-detailed. Editors say ESET Smart Security 4 is easy to use, and they like the effectiveness of the firewall and the top-rated antivirus component. But it does an inadequate job of malware removal.
Review: Security Software Review, Editors of Which? magazine
Internet Security Software Runners Up:
6 picks by top review sites.
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2 picks by top review sites.
2 picks by top review sites.
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