Features, Pros & Cons – Forbes Advisor – Technologist

Apart from how well ESET Antivirus protects your devices from cybersecurity attacks and threats, this antivirus software allows you to customize its security features. It also packs helpful cybersecurity features, such as webcam protection and device control. The most common features that set ESET apart from its competition are:

LiveGuard Advanced

ESET works so hard to keep you safe, that its cloud-based scanner flags suspicious samples known as “zero-day” threats and sandboxes them to the cloud for analysis. That means ESET Antivirus can keep you from both renowned and novel threats.

Banking and Privacy Security

With ESET, you can conduct sensitive transactions, such as online shopping, and safely access your banking apps and crypto wallets—free from keyloggers. That’s because whenever the antivirus software detects you’re on a financial site, it automatically activates a secure browser mode with encrypted communication features.

Botnet and Webcam Protection

ESET Antivirus helps block malicious traffic faster by constantly monitoring your applications. It will detect if an app attempts to use your webcam and alert you so you can stop such access. The software also protects against botnet malware, so your computer isn’t used for network attacks.

Device Control

ESET allows you to manage device connections and activities with specific rules for specific devices. For example, as a network administrator, you can prevent access to insecure content from your devices. You can also prevent authorized device connection to specific ports or restrict access privileges. ESET users can also prevent data duplication, such as transferring private business data onto external devices.

This ESET Antivirus feature is also suitable for preventing an outsider from hacking your data with a foreign device, such as Bluetooth.

Parental Control

You can also set website categories on your devices, blocking or allowing specific websites and applications from specified users, such as children and teenagers. You’ll also gain access to the visited pages.

These ESET Antivirus features go a notch higher to protect your remote and active online activities. However, remember that you’ll need to purchase most of them as add-ons or buy more expensive plans to access them.

Pros

ESET has excellent antivirus functionality and provides plenty of customizable cybersecurity features. ESET Antivirus performed well in our independent testing, obtaining solid scores from AV-TEST and getting the top position amongst AV-Comparatives. It was one of the two antivirus providers with zero false positives.

ESET doesn’t stop at assuring you that no virus will penetrate your data or privacy; it provides you with ample time to test its features and strength.

Cons

Compared to other antivirus software, you’ll find that ESET Antivirus is quite expensive. Moreover, its lower plans lack features, such as a firewall and password manager, that are included in other providers’ basic plans. You won’t find VPN functionality even on ESET’s highest plan.

ESET’s pricing plans are also quite complex. You’ll first need to know which one caters to your devices. Then, you have to deal with calculating the cost of additional devices and subsequent subscriptions. While testing ESET, we also observed that the software has a noticeable impact on device performance, especially during scanning. It also requires lengthy updates. Moreover, its user interface and customizations are easier for more technical users.