Battle F-Secure Safe vs ESET Internet Security

[JB007]

Hello,
I would like to know which of these two suites offers the best protection ?
And which is the lightest ?

 

[Venustus]

I would say F-Secure but it does not have a firewall...

 

[JB007]

I would say F-Secure but it does not have a firewall...

Windows firewall is not enough ?

 

[Venustus]

Windows firewall is not enough ?

It is enough

 

[SeriousHoax]

1. Performance and System Impact = Both
2. Computer protection (Antivirus engine, Heuristic engine) = Both but ESET may have slight advantage in heuristics
3. Internet protection (Web Guard, Anti-Phishing, Antispam, Browser extension) = ESET
4. Proactive protection (Behavior blocker, HIPS, Sandbox) = F-Secure for it's superior behavior blocking and ESET for HIPS if you want to manually create your own rules
5. Network protection (Firewall, Botnet protection) = ESET
6. Ransomware protection = F-Secure
7. Banking & Payments protection = Both

 

[bribon77]

Two good AVs, and I think they are different, F Secure is more automatic and Eset is more manual to configure. As for protection, I think maybe Eset well configured is more.

 

[Antus67]

IMHO flip a coin see what your needs are and what your comfortable with and choose both are good AV

 

[ForgottenSeer 72227]

Both are great products with excellent protection. I really don't think you can go wrong with either one. I haven't tried F-Secure in a while, but from what I have heard/read since switching to the Avira engine, it seems like they have made some great improvements. They have Deepguard, but Eset has HIPS. Eset is a tweaker's dream. Both are very light weight, so really I think both will serve you well. I would trial both and see which one you like more. Last time I tried F-secure, I couldn't get over that baby blue colour they have on their UI. I wish it was a more darker blue as I find that light blue makes it look like a kid's toy. That's just personal preference, but it drove me crazy lol.

 

[JB007]

Both are great products with excellent protection. I really don't think you can go wrong with either one. I haven't tried F-Secure in a while, but from what I have heard/read since switching to the Avira engine, it seems like they have made some great improvements. They have Deepguard, but Eset has HIPS. Eset is a tweaker's dream. Both are very light weight, so really I think both will serve you well. I would trial both and see which one you like more. Last time I tried F-secure, I couldn't get over that baby blue colour they have on their UI. I wish it was a more darker blue as I find that light blue makes it look like a kid's toy. That's just personal preference, but it drove me crazy lol.

Hello @Raiden
Now F-Secure is using the dark blue you love

 

[Divine_Barakah]

Well, as many members stated, you can not go with any of them. You don't need to tweak Eset (it offers great protection on default settings) and F-Secure does not offer many settings (it works great out the box). Just trial both of them and go with the one you like. Just do not over complicate things and take it easy; you're a home user and you will not encounter sophisticated malware. Stay Safe!

 

[mlnevese]

Just to add to what @The Cog in the Machine said, when you are trialing a security software, do not throw 1000s of malware samples at it. Do your normal day to day tasks and browsing, check for problems communicating with external hardware such as printers and scanners and your local network if you have one.

From the protection point of view most security software are so close in detection rates that your only worry should be system impact, ease of use and price. All security software will cause some problems and they all react differently in different systems. Also, they will all miss something.

Problems have a wonderful tendency to show up 30 seconds after you buy a license so use the full trial period, do not decide in half an hour.

 

[Divine_Barakah]

In terms of price, both are a bit expensive but F-Secure is cheaper if you buy from some other stores. You can get 3 devices 1 year of F-Secure for $25. Eset is more expensive.

 

[silversurfer]

Just do not over complicate things and take it easy; you're a home user and you will not encounter sophisticated malware. Stay Safe!

Your advice cannot be proven, we never know what people doing and how may getting infected, we can say the chance is rarely but it's still possible!

From the protection point of view most security software are so close in detection rates that your only worry should be system impact, ease of use and price.

Only to worry about system impact isn't really harmless to recommend, risky users should even more care about the most possible protection by AVs or those people just need learning safe habits...

 

[Wraith2020]

I agree with @silversurfer. The weakest link is the user. If the user practices safe habits then most of the risk is gone but there are certain cases where a spam mail can look like a genuine one. There are many ways a PC can get infected and some people tend to overlap security solutions thinking that it will protect them better. The first step is a good security suite along with a proper backup solution. The next step is to reduce the attack vectors and harden the OS like disabling autoruns, remote desktop and scripts. I personally use Syshardener for that. The third step is to use a good browser that is updated regularly and use an ad-blocking solution and the final step is keeping windows updated. But if the user doesn't practice safe habits and disables the AV just because it won't let a crack or a trainer for a particular game execute then no security in the world can be of any help.

 

[Divine_Barakah]

Your advice cannot be proven, we never know what people doing and how may getting infected, we can say the chance is rarely but it's still possible!

Well, I know it is still possible to get infected, but believe me that my family members are the most ignorant happy clickers ever created and they "rarely" get infected. I install a good ad-blocker and a good security solution.

 

[ForgottenSeer 72227]

Hello @Raiden
Now F-Secure is using the dark blue you love
View attachment 236296View attachment 236303

That looks much better!

 

[Stopspying]

I've been using F-Secure since late-2019 and am very happy with it. It replaced Emsisoft AntiMalware when my license for that expired, I get F-Secure SAFE through my ISP as part of the deal. It is very light on my devices; PCs and laptops of varying ages and power. I've yet to see anything slip past it. I can't offer a direct comparison to ESET as I haven't used it for a few years. I'd go with the general feeling here, that they are both top AVs and worth having if you want more than free protection offers. F-Secure SAFE does not have a lot to tweak as previously said in this thread, I often like that ability, but I feel good about SAFEs default setup anyway. It works for me.

 

[gery79]

i am using Fsecure safe right now and i am very satisfied with it . I would not say it is light but not heave . Their support is superior in every aspect. I like the way the treat you .They are competent . I have used AVG Bullguard KIS ZoneAlarm and lately i was using Eset and i switched . Well i shall see the future of it but i like it

 

[Dave Russo]

Eset is a tweaker's dream (Raiden )Agreed,,makes it my choice

 

[mlnevese]

If the user is a happy clicker nothing can fully protect him. It doesn't matter how many layers of protection he uses, something out there will bypass them all and infect the machine.