Battle Emsisoft Anti-malware 2019 VS Eset Internet Security v13 (2020)

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Emsisoft Anti-malware 2019.11:[URL='https://www.emsisoft.com/en/']Emsisoft[/URL]
Eset Internet Security v13 (2020):[URL='https://www.eset.com/us/']Eset[/URL]
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amir 957

Level 6
Thread author
Verified
Well-known
Jan 9, 2017
246
Hi there
I want to choose an AV between Eset or Emsisoft
I had Emsisoft installed on my PC two years ago and was really in love with that (i choosed it after testing all AV's with malware samples)
After that, I was away from my PC for some reason and finally came back,but this time, with Eset(You can call me a cheater:) )
I don't know how is Emsisoft doing now, since they left Av-compratives testing,in addition, i haven't tested it for a long time
And i see, Eset is getting better and better in upcoming versions
So, what's your suggestion?
 

bribon77

Level 35
Verified
Top Poster
Well-known
Jul 6, 2017
2,392
Well, if it is to combine, with other security programs, I stay with Emsisoft. to use it only, Eset Internet Security.
I think the comparison is not fair, Emsisoft. It is an antivirus, and Eset Internet Security, is a suite.
 
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ForgottenSeer 72227

I would choose another solution, but as you asked about the two options, I would choose Eset, better signatures and firewall. Emsisoft is an expensive and low-protection product (no firewall, delayed BD signatures, a bit heavy for browsing and etc.)

I really wouldn't consider Emsisoft a low protection product, in fact it's a very good and competent product. It has one of the best behavior blockers around and putting all of it together it does quite well. Nothing is perfect and if your criteria is to have a product that always gets 99.9-100% on tests, it's a little unrealistic IMHO. The firewall thing is overblown IMHO. Windows already has one, and Emsisoft already has protection via it's behavior blocker to detect malware activity trying to mess around with the Windows firewall. Firewalls were always designed to stop things from getting in, not the other way around.


To the OP, in all honesty both Eset and Emsisoft are very good products. I don't think you can go wrong with either one. Both offer very good protection so I really think that the best way to approach this would be to take advantage of the trial periods for each product and see what you like most.

As to the Av-comparatives thing, I wouldn't honesty worry about that too much, it's not because Emsisoft was doing poorly, I just think Emsisoft (and I could be wrong, so maybe someone can clarify this) got tired of the way Av-Comparatives does things and for the amount of money they have to spend to take part in these tests, they didn't feel like it was worth it anymore. In all honesty a lot of these professional tests are just money making marketing machines anyways, so their results should be taken with a grain of salt anyways.

If you liked Emsisoft I say stick with it, but it will really come down to what works for you most. Both are on my short list of products that I would recommend. (y):)
 
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ForgottenSeer 823865

delayed BD signatures
False, they get the signatures at same time than BD, they only lacks BD cloud network. Please know your facts before stating erroneous things to people...

I don't know how is Emsisoft doing now, since they left Av-compratives testing,in addition, i haven't tested it for a long time
And i see, Eset is getting better and better in upcoming versions
So, what's your suggestion?
Mostly the same in term of efficiency and quality.
note that comparing a suite with an AV isn't fair, of course Eset IS is "better" due to its other components. However, if you asked me about NOD32 vs EAM , then i would pick EAM 100%.
 
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Harlequin

Level 1
Verified
Jul 22, 2016
40
I personally feel Eset is getting a lot better lately. For example Machine learning, and it has botnet detection etc which I am pretty sure Emsisoft doesn't have. Eset has amazing heuristics too, so for me I would go with Eset.
At AV Comparatives , in the Real -World Protection test July-October, Eset got a mere 'standard award'. I can' t see how Eset is getting a lot better lately...
 

MacDefender

Level 16
Verified
Top Poster
Oct 13, 2019
779
ESET vs Emsisoft is an interesting dilemma because they're literally the best at the opposite things.

Emsisoft has one of the best behavior blockers on the market for preventing malicious zero-day software from performing harmful actions on your machine. ESET on the other hand has a difficult to configure HIPS which can be very powerful for configuring custom system-wide rules but in its default configuration provides almost no harmful behavior blocking of zero day threats. It happily allows home-brewed malware to register startup items, phone home and download another executable payload, encrypt everything in My Documents, etc etc etc.

On the signature side, the opposite is more or less the case. ESET's signatures are class leading, and if 3 detections exist on VirusTotal, ESET is almost always one of those 3 :). Meanwhile, BitDefender has been letting their signature-based engine fall behind significantly. It takes them a while to add to their signatures database, and it seems like all of their R&D is on the "Theta" AI engine (which is not yet available to shipping products). It's still not awful but it's measurably behind the pack leaders.

I view the two as differing philosophies: Emsisoft's behavior blocker is pretty much its savior and what keeps it overall performing like a top dog despite the signatures sometimes catching less than half of the samples in a malware pack on the Hub. But I do not recall the last time Emsisoft allowed any malware to encrypt documents, for example. The worst "infections" I've seen appear to be hollowed out processes sitting dormant and not doing anything actively malicious other than maybe the occasional AutoRun. OTOH ESET's more or less the posterchild of the "if your signatures don't suck, you don't need a FP-prone behavior blocker" philosophy. Just a week or two ago, ESET allowed a piece of undetected malware to encrypt user documents. Basically if it slips past the signature engine you are more or less toast.

In the end I think it depends on what you do and what kind of protection you're looking for. If you're the average PC user, I'd recommend ESET. Good signatures catch what you're likely to come across. But if you are a high prized target for custom-written malware, or deal with a lab of students who know how to write malicious programs, or frequently download freshly pirated software before signature DBs could catch up, I would lean towards a strong BB product like Emsisoft.


(In my opinion there are other options like F-Secure, Kaspersky, and even Norton that strike a better balance of walking and chewing gum at the same time.)
 

MacDefender

Level 16
Verified
Top Poster
Oct 13, 2019
779
At AV Comparatives , in the Real -World Protection test July-October, Eset got a mere 'standard award'. I can' t see how Eset is getting a lot better lately...

These ESET tests are still against 12.x. 13.x is a substantial engine change, activating a machine learning engine that seems really good at detecting variants of malware without additional signatures. Heck, since 13.x, almost every detection says "Variant of _____"
 

roger_m

Level 41
Verified
Top Poster
Content Creator
Dec 4, 2014
3,014
Not compare antivirus vs antimalware, is a differents products. Eset is AV, Emsisoft is Antimalware.
They are both antiviruses. The terms antivirus and anti malware mostly mean the same thing these days. The exception is apps like Malwarebytes and Zemana which work best as a second opinion scanner, rather than full antiviruses.
 

Venustus

Level 59
Verified
Honorary Member
Top Poster
Content Creator
Well-known
Dec 30, 2012
4,809
Eset is AV, Emsisoft is Antimalware.
It's a play on words..as @roger_m said they are both fully fledged AV's
Forget viruses - Today’s threats come in new shapes and are called Malware
That's why we think "Anti-Malware" is the more appropriate term, even if it's the same as what's commonly known as "Anti-Virus".

 

mkoundo

Level 8
Verified
Well-known
Jul 21, 2017
358
Recently, I too spent quite a bit of time deciding between EAM and NOD32. From everything I have read here on MT and seen on youtube, they are both ideal for home defense.
The reasons I chose EAM over nod32 are:
1) I am an average Joe Blow user, so for me EAM was very easy to setup. Install and enjoy straight out of the box, whereas I read nod32 needs quite a bit of customisation to improve its effectiveness (see for example roboman's tweaks). Basically my problem was knowing if the product was setup correctly/effective. With eam, I had no doubts.
2) emsisoft is well known for its privacy.
3) The ui of emsisoft is very straight forward and easy to use/ navigate. Within about 5 minutes I knew where all the settings were. I think nod32 has many many settings so would be nice if you like to tweak a lot.
4) Both programs are light. nod32 is well known for being one of the lightest if not THE lightest AV out there. However, I have been using eam for about a week now and it is running superbly on my machine. Feels very light to me...
5) eam has excellent customer support. There was a thread on here recently about eam custom settings for max protection and Fabian of eam (CTO) clarified that it was inadvisable to follow. How many other AV CTOs communicate directly with their users?
6) because bribon is using it also 😛

eam gives 30 days free trial but there is a discount promo on Leo's (emsisoft employee) youtube channel, see description here.
 
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Cortex

Level 26
Verified
Top Poster
Well-known
Aug 4, 2016
1,465
I like both programs almost equally, two of my favorite AV's - However Emsisoft has an awful lot going for it, I really like it's simplicity, it's lack of bloat & for me unneeded features - It plays happily with HMP.A, can be setup in under 5 minutes, it also removes itself very well leaving just a couple of bits behind - If you do have a FP & I've only had a couple (new updates to VPN) quarantine isn't hidden away (unlike some) it's easy to sort. Emsisoft's customer support is legendary along with the privacy they give give you - I really like EAM & that's why it's on this my main PC, & I have various licences.
 
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ForgottenSeer 823865

Not compare antivirus vs antimalware, is a differents products. Eset is AV, Emsisoft is Antimalware.
wow an echo from 20 years ago ! :p

More seriously, this distinction was true decades ago when "Antiviruses" only detected viruses and worms while "anti-malware" detecting the rest (keylogger, etc...). now AV and A-M are same.
so if ESET is an AV; well no way i will recommend to buy it LOL.

P.s: i can't believe i have to teach this in 2019...
 
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