ESET NOD32 Smart Security vs just antivirus? (also old vs new version)

[rappa]

Ok, so I am running NOD32 4.2.71.2 but not the smart security one, just the anti-virus one. I was looking at what the smart security does and all I see is that it protects from spyware and has a firewall, but everything else is the same? Does the firewall slow down the internet and downloading? Do you guys recommend that I should be using the smart security over just the anti-virus? For many years I have been just using the normal version of nod32 anti-virus.

On a side note, I have an older computer that was still running nod32 version 2.7 and 2 days ago it got infected by a malware called spyware protection 2010 which kept saying that the computer was infected with w32 blaster worm (which obviously it wasn't really infected with blaster). But I found it weird that the computer got infected with the malware even though the nod32 virus database was up to date on that computer too. Are the old versions just not that good at detecting new problems even with the updated signatures? The computer with the version 4 of nod32 wasn't infected, but I don't know if this computer even encountered the malware, so I'm not really sure if version 4 even does anything.

Lastly I read a little bit about 0-day viruses, how does one protect themselves from those viruses?

Thank-you.

[majithia23]

the biggest and the most efficient protection against a malware is your own common sense .

put more lucidly , meaning your browsing habits .

the users general awareness regarding surfing , emailing , downloading , sharing or for anything done on the internet is the first line of defense .

if one is well aware of what he's doing ( click here , click there , open this email attachment , download this free software , mp3 ........ ) , then it usually is difficult to get infected that easily .

Malware suites serve the second line of defense .

if and when you open a malicious email attachment , download a rogue application , download a spyware disguised as an mp3 , installing free toolbars and browser add ons , surfing on infected web sites etc .... , then the anti malware suite is meant to protect you .

there are plenty of free and paid suites available that serve this purpose .

some are good in some respects and some are good in some other aspects .

you need to try and see what suits your needs and serves your purpose .

regarding Eset ,

its known for its heuristics analysis in preventing malware infection and it has been doing its job pretty well till now .

i have been using Eset v4 for quite some time now and it has served my purpose , pretty decently .

never used Eset v2 , but it is said to be pretty good .

but ,

on the other hand anti malware suites running by simply signature or database analysis are not good enough now a days .

especially because of the ever evolving nature of the malware's .

the coders who write these malwares are pretty good in designing a malware that easily evades signature analysis . ( like the morphing viruses which change their signatures every time they infect and also while staying on the infected pc , making it quite difficult to detect them ... )

some anti malware suites have progressed and now come with advanced detection algorithms .

like the Norton , which has Sonar detection .

Sonar in Norton makes it one of the best available to day . high detection rates and excellent protection .

PrevX , a cloud detector with one of the very good protection ratings .

Threat fire , which is based upon Zero Day Alerts , protecting you even before the virus starts to spread . and it has received some good reviews and is compatible with most of the other security set up on a pc .

Immunet Cloud , again a cloud scanner . based upon the number of computers connected to a cloud and their individual system status and supplements your existing setup .

Panda Cloud , which is again completely based upon cloud analysis for detection and removal of malware .

Hitman PRO , excellent scanner .

and many other ......

( just remember .... no security software is ever 100% perfect ... )

it is always recommended by security experts to always go for a layered approach while protecting your pc .

installing just a Anti virus software is not enough .

a good anti virus supplemented with a a good firewall with a good HIPS functionality . an anti spyware application. Sandbox / Bufferzone for secure browsing . Malware bytes for regular scaning . network analysis . a good browser with some good security add ons . filtering bad i.p. addresses with Peerblock or a good DNS service , mainatining the Hosts file . regular cleaning up of junk files . keeping the installed softwares and the OS up to date with all the security patches and regular updates . and regular system back ups ....

these all go into making the essentials of a good layered approach .

(also worth mentioning is that your security set up is / will be as good as the least secure application or setting,, and you can never be too careful ..... )

so by these , we mean installing different products to complete the Security Suite setup ,

that might be available as one complete package also , like Eset Smart Security or Norton 360 or Kaspersky Pure .

these are good , and you can go for this one package only ,

but i prefer having standalone components installed to complete the set up .

its sounds better when implementing the layered approach ( and also have read on many security forums , that one should go for individual applications ) ,

so you need to your see for your self , what you want and what would serve the purpose .

my advice would be to go for a good layered set up .

try different options and see what suits you .

[motograter]

RogueAV are impossible for any security software to keep up with. So far malwarebytes seems to catch the most. sandbox maybe your best prevention if you have kids that like to surf the net or ya like to visit those :hitit: sites that don't care if they have rogue ads. I find smart security runs as light as antivirus standalone on my system but might be noticeable on a older system.

[7even]

If you frequently connect to the internet, then security suite is a must. Some firewall programs indeed slow down the internet so you must choose it wisely. In my personal experience when used Avira Premium Security Suite, my connection crawled like a snail so I don't recommend this suite. I think Eset Smart Security good enough because it doesn't slow down the internet and light on your system also.