ESET Claims Its Speed Is an AV Advantage

ESET wants to compete for consumer and small and midsize business security customers and expects speed to be its advantage when compared to the heavyweights McAfee and Symantec.

ESET, based in Slovakia, introduced of the ESET Smart Security suite and a new version of its NOD32 Antivirus software that claims to outpace comparable McAfee and Symantec products.

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ESET Smart Security requires only 40MB of disk space, and the company claims it scans systems up to 30 times faster than rival products. By incorporating ESETs Remote Administrator, both ESET Smart Security and the new version of ESET NOD32 Antivirus—version 3.0—can be deployed and managed remotely from a central location, company officials added.

ESET Smart Security includes antivirus, anti-spyware, anti-spam and firewall features built on the companys heuristic ThreatSense detection system and the latest version of the ESET NOD32 scanning engine, which inspects traffic hitting the products bi-directional firewall. Both products are aimed at the consumer and SMB markets, which make up a combined 90 percent of ESETs customer base, said Randy Abrams, director of technical education for ESET in an interview with eWEEK.

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Both products are backed by ThreatSense.Net, a global early warning system that automatically submits samples of and information about new malware to ESET researchers for analysis in order to help close the window of vulnerability opened by new threats, company officials said.

"Threats no longer appear in the form of pure viruses or spam or phishing," said Phil Hochmuth, an analyst at the Yankee Group, in a statement. "They now come as blended threats which require an integration and intelligence among individual security features. Smart computer users are looking for the best level of integrated protection with the minimal amount of inconvenience. This drives users to look for malware solutions that provide great protection, are easy to install, dont slow down their computers and work completely behind the scenes."

NOD32 Antivirus Version 3.0 will also be sold as a stand-alone product and features a newly designed user interface. Both products will be available next month, with consumer editions hitting the streets officially Nov. 5 and business editions Nov. 26.

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