Review ESET Internet Security

[amirr]

Hi guys, I found this review at digitalcitizen.life very helpful:
Security for everyone - Review ESET Internet Security - Digital Citizen

 

[SomeRandomCat]

I just installed and played around with it for the first time. I think it has a lot of potential, but the HIPS and Firewall in interactive mode don't utilize their cloud database, and the default prompts force you to constantly do excessive clicking to properly configure rules to 'stick'. Plus, it didn't have pre-defined rules for a lot of Windows executables.

Overall I was really digging it besides the issues I mentioned

They seem to have set the default HIPS/Outbound Firewall mode to pretty much be disabled, instead of putting some effort into properly implementing them.

 

[Venustus]

I just installed and played around with it for the first time. I think it has a lot of potential, but the HIPS and Firewall in interactive mode don't utilize their cloud database, and the default prompts force you to constantly do excessive clicking to properly configure rules to 'stick'. Plus, it didn't have pre-defined rules for a lot of Windows executables.

Overall I was really digging it besides the issues I mentioned

They seem to have set the default HIPS/Outbound Firewall mode to pretty much be disabled, instead of putting some effort into properly implementing them.

It has a very clunky interface and HIPS in interactive mode is a nightmare

 

[SomeRandomCat]

I got the impression that they were attempting to pull off what Kaspersky did, in that the mainly accessible interface is simple for the novice user to tinker around with, and the more experienced settings are more deep into the GUI, and once I got used to it I really didn't have any real issues with it.

The HIPS was almost as if none of their development team actually tried using it on a fresh install of Windows in interactive mode. They are one of the bigger more reputable companies, so it was a huge disappointment to see how out of touch it was with the rest of the suite.

Overall I'm a huge fan of the way Comodo designed their GUI (although I wouldn't say it's perfect). I really wish they would smooth a few things out and beef up their rule-creation options in the prompts. I keep going back to Kaspersky until Comodo pulls their head out of their a****.

 

[SeriousHoax]

The HIPS was almost as if none of their development team actually tried using it on a fresh install of Windows in interactive mode. They are one of the bigger more reputable companies, so it was a huge disappointment to see how out of touch it was with the rest of the suite.

ESET don't focus on HIPS at all. I mean, they don't update, change, implement new features anymore to it. They have not for a long time. It's just there and that's it. HIPS is not on their focus so don't expect them to change something. They care for protection and lightness.
The difference from Comodo is that Comodo is not a typical AV. Their main focus is the default deny approach so their HIPS and other related features are more advanced. Nowadays barely any mainstream AV provide any tweakable HIPS.

 

[SomeRandomCat]

Gotcha. Comodo disables HIPS by default and relies on auto-containment. Kaspersky doesn't have a sandbox, so they rely on their white-list and default-deny.

ESET unfortunately expects its users to either avoid the HIPS, or depend heavily on learning mode. It's understandable a lot of companies stopped focusing on their HIPS, but without a really strong sandbox like Comodo has they are really leaving huge gaps in their overall security. I don't get why they would put all that effort into it and not even use some sort of cloud white-list for the popular programs. If you think about it, it's probably a lot easier than all the effort they already put into blacklisting stuff.

 

[SeriousHoax]

Gotcha. Comodo disables HIPS by default and relies on auto-containment. Kaspersky doesn't have a sandbox, so they rely on their white-list and default-deny.

ESET unfortunately expects its users to either avoid the HIPS, or depend heavily on learning mode. It's understandable a lot of companies stopped focusing on their HIPS, but without a really strong sandbox like Comodo has they are really leaving huge gaps in their overall security. I don't get why they would put all that effort into it and not even use some sort of cloud white-list for the popular programs. If you think about it, it's probably a lot easier than all the effort they already put into blacklisting stuff.

Something like Kaspersky's Application Control with cloud integration has been requested many times and they always say they'll implement this in the future but it hasn't happened yet.

 

[The Ordynary]

Something like Kaspersky's Application Control with cloud integration has been requested many times and they always say they'll implement this in the future but it hasn't happened yet.

If ESET can implement a kaspersky level behavior module and keep resource consumption low, it will be the best antivirus in the world.

 

[SomeRandomCat]

They just need cloud integration white-listing and a better prompt and it would be nice.