review of ESET Internet Security

The majority of security providers offer three tiers of protection: entry-level security suite, basic antivirus, and feature-rich security mega-package. The key is to strike a balance between the features at each level so that the consumer experiences noticeable improvements with each upgrade. The middle position in this model is held by ESET Internet Security, and upgrading from the antivirus gives you quite a bit. ESET Internet Security offers you webcam security, online banking protection, a home network analyzer, as well as security for your macOS and Android devices, in addition to the typical firewall, spam filter, and parental control capabilities. It includes several elements, some of which are of the highest caliber and others which fall short of that bar.

What is the price of ESET Internet Security?
The annual cost of a single-license subscription to this suite is $49.99. The subscription fee increases by $10 annually for each additional license, up to a maximum of 10. For instance, a three-license membership is $69.99, which is $10 less than Trend Micro Internet Security, Bitdefender, and Kaspersky’s respective three-license prices.

Five ESET licenses would cost $89.99 a year, whereas five Norton licenses would cost $104.99 a year. However, keep in mind that with Norton, you receive five licenses for a robust protection suite, five licenses for no-limits VPN, and 50GB of online backup storage. The number of devices you may secure with McAfee is unrestricted. Your entire household’s Windows, macOS, Android, and iOS devices are covered by a $149.99 yearly subscription. Although there isn’t a direct comparison to McAfee’s no-limits play, ESET generally costs a little less than most of its rivals.

ESET Internet Security: How to Get Started
You manage your security through an online console, in this case called ESET Home, as is common with many contemporary security suites. After choosing your license and downloading the program, you may begin installing. On Android and macOS devices, security can also be installed, or a link to install it can be sent through email. It should be noted that a Mac suite license entitles you to the Pro edition. Below, I’ll go over the distinction.

This suite’s large main window appears identical to the standalone antivirus at first glance. The blue-eyed cyborg mascot of ESET peers mysteriously from a corner. The screen is dominated by a sizable status indicator; if it is green, everything is well. The lowest portion of the screen has three blue button panels running across it. These buttons in the standalone antivirus start an antivirus scan, check for updates, and connect to your online ESET account. The three buttons in the suite start a Payment Protection session, scan the network for security flaws, and show a security report.

Main Window for ESET Internet Security
ESET does not by default enable parental control or anti-theft software because not everyone needs or wants these features. If you would like, you can decide to add them to your setup at a later time or include them in the original installation.

Features of Shared Antivirus
This package enhances the robust antivirus defense offered by ESET NOD32 Antivirus. I hope you’ll read my antivirus review, which covers these features in great depth. Here, I provide a summary of those discoveries.

Three of the four independent labs whose test reports I follow conduct tests on ESET, and the results are generally great. It successfully completes both of the demanding MRG-Effitas tests, when more than half of the tested goods failed at least one.

Products are scored on Protection, Performance, and Usability in AV-Test Institute reports, with a maximum of six points per category. ESET scored 18 out of 18 available points, matching the performance of 80% of the tested products.

The AV-Comparatives testers certify goods as Advanced+, Advanced, or Standard based on how well they perform, as opposed to using a numeric scale. ESET receives one Standard, one Advanced, and one Advanced+ for each of the three tests I monitor. Advanced+ was awarded to Avast, AVG, BitDefender, and McAfee in all three.

I employ an algorithm that converts all test results to a 10-point scale and generates an overall lab score for comparison’s sake. While ESET’s 9.4 overall score is respectable, several programs perform much better. AVG now has a perfect score of 10 while Bitdefender has a score of 9.9 after being examined by three laboratories. Kaspersky scores an excellent 9.9 after passing all four tests.

ESET does not offer the quick scan that many of its rivals do, but its full scan was completed in less than 30 minutes, which is considerably faster than the current average of 66 minutes. Along with its peculiar UEFI firmware scan, the custom scan option provides a scan of the system Registry and the WMI databases, looking for malware disguising itself as data and connections to infected files in each of these places.

ESET detected 89% of the samples in my personal hands-on malware protection test, but the fact that several of the samples installed executable files despite ESET’s detection caused its total score to drop to 7.9 out of a possible 10. The goods tested using the same batch of samples all received lower scores than that one. Malwarebytes receives a flawless score of 10, followed closely by McAfee and Sophos at 9.9 points in tests using the same samples.

I tested ESET’s capacity to stop the most recent widespread malware using a feed of malware-hosting URLs recently found by researchers at MRG-Effitas. It achieves a very high security score of 96% mostly by completely preventing access to the risky URLs. Top performers in this test were McAfee, Norton, and Sophos, who each received a score of 100 percent.

The same element that monitors for risky websites also works to block phishing sites, which are phony pages that pretend to be safe servers in order to steal your login information. ESET almost missed making the top 10 with a score of 92% of the verified scams identified. In each of their testing, F-Secure, McAfee, and Norton all achieve a perfect score.

Additional Common Features
Offerings for modern security go beyond just safeguarding one device. The need for a central hub to oversee all of your installations has never been greater. ESET Home (formerly My ESET) enters the picture here. You may view all of your licenses and protected devices by logging into ESET Home. You can open a license, add protection to the current device, or send an email link to install on another device right from this dashboard.

ESET Home ESET Internet Security
You may easily determine if any of your devices have security problems by switching to the devices view. You can learn more about any issues, but there is little you can do about them unless you go to the computer that is having them. There isn’t any remote configuration control like what is offered by Webroot, Sophos, and a few other security programs. Additionally, the top-tier suite’s password manager and parental control features, which are mentioned below, are managed through the web dashboard.

Host Intrusion Prevention System (HIPS) from ESET is designed to stop attacks that take advantage of holes in your operating system or application. ESET actively stopped 34% of the genuine exploits I fired at it using the penetration testing program CORE Impact, which is down from 52% in my prior test. The test system was completely patched, hence no exploits were able to compromise security.

According to ESET, the most recent edition has improved ransomware defenses. Testing, however, did not support it. I disabled the real-time antivirus component and released a number of real-world malware samples to observe how ransomware prevention worked. Four of the ten samples successfully encrypted my data, and ESET received no complaints. Four more were discovered by routine in-memory malware detection. The other two were identified by ESET as ransomware, although one was able to encrypt 4,000 files before ESET was able to remove it. Fortunately, when I gave ESET’s non-ransomware-specific antivirus components permission to operate, they all deleted all of these samples.

ESET’s Device Control is arguably more appropriate for a professional environment than a household one. It gives you control over a wide range of device types, including Bluetooth devices, card readers, image devices, and more conventional external drives. You may, for instance, outlaw all USB drives while allowing exceptions for particular individuals or drives. Device Control is a tool that some tech-savvy parents might use to prevent their children from mounting potentially harmful USB drives, but the ordinary user is probably not going to utilize it.

Tools for ESET Internet Security
An outstanding list of security-related tools is provided by both the antivirus and the suite, some of which are meant for personal use and others which are better suited for use by tech support personnel. Finding those shared tools in the suite took me a while. You must first click Tools in the menu to access them, then click More Tools in the bottom right corner of the ensuing screen. The most significant is SysInpector, which takes snapshots of your PC’s status and may display changes between snapshots. Run SysInspector and save a baseline snapshot so you can later use it (or a tech support agent) to diagnose issues.

As mentioned, you can use one of your NOD32 licenses to use ESET Cyber Security to safeguard a Mac (for Mac). Of course, a suite license can also be used for this.

Take a look at how we evaluate security software.

Firewall Is Still Anxious
Windows Firewall does a good job of blocking outside threats and putting ports in stealth mode to make them undetectable. A third-party firewall that falls short of the integrated firewall is ineffective. Fortunately, in testing, ESET’s firewall successfully completed those duties, protecting against web-based threats and notifying users that it had done so.

By managing network permissions for local apps, third-party firewalls are able to prevent unauthorized usage of your internet connection. ESET does not by default provide this feature. In its Automatic mode, all outgoing network traffic is simply permitted, but unauthorized incoming connections are blocked.

You must switch the firewall to Interactive mode in order to enable program control. It now prompts you for permission to access the internet or a network when it notices an unknown software attempting to do so. Any program that your installation of ESET hasn’t yet processed falls under the category of unknown. There is no database of reputable software.

Pop-ups from ESET Internet Security Firewall
You have the option of making your decision once only, until the program expires, or by creating a rule that ESET will follow. One-off is the default, so until you create a rule, you’ll continuously see this window. The URL and port the app attempted to connect to are among the information displayed when you click for further information. You can adjust the rule that ESET should save by selecting advanced options. These specifics and sophisticated options will be confusing to the majority of consumers.

Things worsen. ESET requires you to enter your password after each firewall popup answer if you’ve specified a password to safeguard your system settings, which you must do if you use parental control. Then, as if that weren’t annoying enough, a User Account Control box appears. A large database of well-known programs is used by some firewalls, such as the one included in Check Point ZoneAlarm Extreme Security, so you virtually ever run into an unknown. Not ESET; that three-fold procession of popups was brought on by Chrome, Firefox, and Internet Explorer separately. Various Windows components also accomplished this. For each compatible component, the Host Process for Windows Services (svchost.exe) launched a popup.

This firewall is the most aggravating firewall ever because of those extra steps added on top of an extremely antiquated firewall popup question mechanism. Internal security choices are made by Norton 360 Deluxe, which automatically grants access to well-known good programs, removes well-known harmful ones, and keeps a close check on unknowns. The trust level approach used by Kaspersky has a comparable impact. Additionally, as previously mentioned, ZoneAlarm keeps a big database of known excellent files, so you should definitely pay attention if it flags a program as unknown.

I always attempt to disable security using methods that a malware writer would have access to since security is worth very little if malware can disable it. ESET rejected all of my efforts. When I tried to end its three processes and two Windows services, it razzed me with a “Access Denied” notice because it doesn’t reveal anything in the Registry that would allow turning off protection.

I’ve been complaining about this unpleasant firewall for years, and I don’t see any change in the near future. True, it defends against external threats, but so does Windows Firewall. Program control is a benefit you get from a third-party firewall, and ESET doesn’t do that out of the box. If you decide to allow that option, you will receive an awful deluge of perplexing popups.

The Intrusion Detection System should be mentioned before I move on to other features (IDS). IDS is frequently included in standalone firewall software. To defend against network-wide threats, this component examines network traffic. I ran the exploit protection test again because ESET’s free antivirus only supports IDS, not HIPS. The results remained the same, and the IDS took absolutely no action.

Parental Control by Trick
These days, parental control system features come in all shapes and sizes. A key function is filtering out inappropriate content, which is frequently combined with scheduling or screen-time restrictions. Some tools allow parents to view or manage their child’s contacts while monitoring social media and conversation. Others use smartphones to track the child’s position or even create geofences that alert parents when the child violates a boundary. Products that enforce game age restrictions, lock Safe Search to the ON setting, mandate periodic breaks from screen use, and more are available. ESET’s parental control merely filters out unwanted web content out of all of these potential capabilities.

Parental Categories for ESET Internet Security
Since many users don’t require it, ESET doesn’t automatically activate parental control. You must create a password to safeguard your settings before turning it on. As previously mentioned, a password is now required for every change to a setting, even a response to a firewall prompt. Every Windows user account must also be classified as either belonging to a parent or a child, and the birthday for child accounts must be entered. ESET pre-configures which of its 30 material categories to ban based on the user’s birthdate. Previously, you could only see three at a time in the little scrolling window, making it impossible for parents to fine-tune the category choices. Seven categories can now be seen at once in the current edition, which is an improvement.

I’m used to systems where you have to mark categories that should be blocked with a large X. ESET turns around and blocks everything besides the categories you have checked as OK.

I was astonished to discover that ESET popped up a screen offering to set up parental control when I switched to a child account for testing. Of course, without the password, the child couldn’t make any changes, but it still seemed odd.

The browser-independent content filter, on the plus side, prevented me from accessing any unsuitable websites I attempted, including HTTPS sites and even those that only offered women’s underwear. There was no impact from a three-word network command that can be used to disable poorly constructed parental control systems. A secure anonymizing proxy won’t help your too-smart teen get past the filter because ESET handles HTTPS sites.

Parental Content Filter for ESET Internet Security
When I looked at the logs in the parent account, I discovered that ESET had recorded every blocked website along with a date/time stamp, the user account that was involved, and the content category that had triggered the filter. Numerous security programs, such as Kaspersky, BullGuard Internet Security, Norton, and others, extend their logging to cover all visited websites in addition to only prohibited ones.

The end of parental control is here. None of the glitzy features I mentioned at the outset are available to you. There are numerous options if you want a suite with fully working parental control. You receive the fully functional Norton Family when you use Norton. The potent Kaspersky Safe Kids is also included in Kaspersky’s premium package. The feature-rich parental control solutions offered in these suites pale in comparison to ESET’s basic content filter.

Spam and Email Defense
It’s likely that junk mail and spam get filtered out of your incoming email stream before you even see it. These days, that is the norm. ESET is capable of handling the job if you’re one of the rare people who still requires a local spam filter and it also scans your email for malware. Many security programs only allow POP3 mail to be filtered; ESET additionally manages IMAP accounts.

For complete control, ESET interacts with Windows Mail, Windows Live Mail, Outlook, Outlook Express (may it rest in peace), and Windows Mail. That list makes it seem like this component might be out of date. Outlook Express was discontinued with the release of Windows Vista, and Microsoft stopped supporting Windows Live Mail five years ago. If you switched to an email program like The Bat, Mozilla Thunderbird, or Eudora! You must create message rules in order to direct spam and infected communications to the proper folder.

Configuring the spam filter in ESET Internet Security
You have complete control over the spam filter’s setup, including the ability to fine-tune the ports utilized for various protocols and change the ThreatSense detection system’s parameters. But if you’re wise, you won’t use this feature as the system’s default settings provide the best security. The whitelist/blacklist system is the only thing you might wish to change. ESET automatically adds addresses from your contacts, persons you message, and senders of messages you specifically mark as not spam to its whitelist. If you want to restrict all mail from specific addresses or domains, you can add to the blacklist or to this list to ensure that you never miss any legitimate correspondence.

Again, most users won’t want this component, but ESET can handle your local spam filter needs if you do.

network examiner
Your Windows, macOS, Android, or iOS devices can be protected by an antivirus or security suite, but what about your connected doorbell, security camera, or smart toaster? Although there is no way to put protection on these, ESET at least enables you to discover everything that is linked to your home network and highlights any devices that have security issues.

Your gadgets are shown in a network map-like format by the Network Inspector (formerly known as Connected Home Monitor). Your computer and router are in the center of a circle with icons representing other devices around them. When you first start, everything will be in the innermost ring, which displays the most recently identified devices. The outer rings are where devices that haven’t connected in a while move to. In the inner ring, only six or seven gadgets are visible at once. You can spin the view by clicking on the arrows to see more.

Each device that offers a name is named on the display. Additionally, it makes an effort to categorize the gadget as one of a dozen sorts, including TV, NAS, and gaming console. When you look into a device’s specifics, you can find out its IP address, MAC address, and manufacturer if such information is available. Network experts are free to give an unidentified device a pleasant name and choose a device type if they can recognize the device from these data.

Inspector for ESET Internet Security Networks
The ring display is adorable, however I much prefer the list view option for your gadgets. When I started my testing, ESET discovered 14 devices on my network, including both wired and wireless connections, and more came online. Also take note of the notification that appears whenever a new device connects.

A device is marked with a circled-i information icon if the network inspector detects network services that are used by it or if the firewall has banned any traffic to or from it. You can view the services used in the device’s detail report. ESET reported that the services being used for all the devices on my network that were detected were appropriate and unlikely to pose a security risk. You run into a planned roadblock if you choose to see halted traffic. Have you had any issues with the equipment, inquires ESET? If so, proceed to observe the obstructed traffic; otherwise, ignore it. Network specialists can immediately modify firewall settings from the list of prohibited traffic. Are you an expert in networks? No? After that, let it be.

A button to launch the device’s network interface is included in the detail report when needed. For instance, it offered rapid access to the router’s setup page and the embedded web server of the network-aware printer.

Anyone can download and utilize the free Bitdefender Home Scanner or Avira Home Guard, and Avast comes with a comparable scanner. With its crystal-clear information and quick access to practical settings, ESET’s Network Inspector scanner, however, stands out from the competition.

Strange Anti-Theft System
For those oh-so-portable Android phones, theft or loss may pose an even greater security risk than malware infection. Not so much with Windows desktop computers, which are often connected to power, network, and peripherals by a tangle of cables. However, modern laptops are so powerful that they may almost entirely replace desktop computers, and a laptop is simple to lose or have stolen. However, most security suites only include anti-theft for mobile devices. One of the few programs that can find, lock, or delete a stolen Windows laptop is Bitdefender Total Security. ESET can find the device, lock it down, and take screenshots and webcam images of the thief, but it won’t remotely delete a stolen device.

ESET analyzes your system to see whether any system optimization is necessary when you initially enable anti-theft. You enter into the ESET Home web site to make the required optimizations and to turn on the anti-theft system. It’s not a good idea to set up the laptop to log in automatically and without a password. The password requirement is reinstated remotely by ESET. Additionally, it creates a phantom account, as it calls it. Nothing but that phantom account is visible when it locks your system. No other accounts or their files are accessible to the burglar.

Here’s a peculiarity. Every Windows user account must be identified as belonging to a parent or a kid if parental control is enabled. Until you complete that assignment, the main window flashes a warning yellow. That’s OK, but I thought it was strange that ESET demanded I set up parental control for the fictitious account.

When a device is reported missing, the effect doesn’t happen right away because ESET checks in every 10 minutes. It reboots and signs in to the phantom account when it detects that you’ve marked the device as missing. It starts taking screenshots and gathering the device’s location. This continues for a period of two weeks. You can message the finder if you believe the device is only lost.

Anti-Theft ESET Internet Security
I designated a physical PC and my virtual machine test system as missing. Both rebooted into the phantom account in less than a minute. When I attempted to switch to another Windows account, none of the others appeared. Additionally, Windows refused to let me open any folders associated with those accounts without an Administrator password (which the thief would not have).

After rebooting on both machines, Windows went through the customary setup procedures for a new user account. Although ESET doesn’t mention it, I advise you to log into the phantom account at least once to complete those processes.

As mentioned, you can leave a message for a lost PC in the event that someone finds it. On the test system’s physical and virtual versions, the message appeared instantly. It did appear with dark desktop background and white writing that was difficult to see.

ESET took a screenshot that I could view in the web interface every ten minutes. The test systems would have taken images of anyone was in front of the device if they had webcams.

ESET analyzes Wi-Fi signals to pinpoint the position of the device. It was unable to locate my test systems because they are wired. A desktop computer, however, is less likely to stray. I should point out that Wi-Fi triangulation isn’t even close to being as precise as the GPS-based location method used by mobile device antitheft solutions.

I classified both devices as recovered to end the test. Quickly unlocking their devices, they both restarted to the login screen.

Clearly, a laptop is the best device for anti-theft protection. A portable gadget has a higher chance of disappearing than a desktop PC weighed down by cords and connections. Make sure to complete the optimization instructions if you install ESET on a laptop. Once you’ve done so, log into the phantom user account once to bypass Windows’ welcome screen. Now you are ready in case your laptop disappears.

Payment Protection & Banking
The majority of ESET’s capabilities are accessible through the left-rail menu in the main window, however three services, including Banking & Payment Protection, have a sizable, noticeable button panel. This panel can be clicked to start your default browser in a secure mode. The browser will have a flashing green border when it is active, and an ESET tab down the edge will expand into an explanation. Chrome, Edge, Firefox, and Internet Explorer are all supported by this feature. A toughened version of Internet Explorer is provided to users whose default browser is another one. As Microsoft pushes IE further and further into the background, that might become difficult.

ESET Payment Protection for Internet Security
When you visit a well-known financial website, the comparable Safe Money function in Kaspersky and SafePay in Bitdefender Internet Security both immediately activate and offer to switch from an unprotected browser to one that is. Although I was unable to locate a banking website that resulted in such an offer from ESET, you may manually add any website to a list of websites that always utilize the secure browser. While Bitdefender shows its safe browser on a different desktop, Kaspersky also marks it with a green border. G Data’s banking protection is unnoticeable unless there is a problem, such a man-in-the-middle attack.

Some security suites forbid users from using their safe browsing features when they aren’t actually doing important online transactions. It’s completely the reverse with ESET. You can instruct ESET to always utilize the secure banking mode in the four supported browsers by toggling the Secure all browsers switch.

Webcam Security
When getting ready for bed, do you ever leave your laptop on? How would you feel if someone watched or maybe recorded you as you were getting into your pajamas? Strange, huh? However, there is malware that enables remote control of your webcam without turning on the visible activity light to indicate its presence. ESET joins the struggle against spyware by extending Device Control to prevent unauthorized software from accessing the webcam.

This feature, which is by default enabled, displays a notification whenever any app tries to access your webcam. Tell it to allow your video application if you’re merely starting up a video chat. However, if the request comes as a surprise, block the application and start a virus scan. Both Bitdefender and Kaspersky Internet Security provide a very similar capability.

Unaffected Performance
Security suites had a well-deserved reputation for using a lot of memory and other system resources in the past, which was a major issue. Security suffers when consumers disable protection because it slows down performance. Security firms are aware that performance lag must be avoided. After installing ESET on my test PCs, I didn’t experience any slowdown, but I completed a few hands-on tests to get a better idea.

My boot-time test restarts the computer while also launching a script that periodically analyzes the CPU use. I consider the system to be ready for use when it has gone 10 seconds without using more than 5% of the CPU. The startup time can be calculated by subtracting the start time of the boot process (as provided by Windows). I average many runs without a security suite, then install one, average many runs once more. I also repeatedly zip and unzip the same file collection using a script that transports and copies a sizable collection of files between devices. I am able to determine how much the suite slows down operations by comparing the before and after averages.

The boot time actually dropped when I installed ESET, just like in earlier experiments. I continue to report this as a zero, which indicates no rise. The file move/copy test and the file zip/unzip test were unaffected by ESET, while ESET’s installation resulted in a 1% slower zip/unzip test. Due to rounding, the average effect of the three tests on ESET was 0. In their most recent tests, Webroot SecureAnywhere Internet Security Plus and K7 also showed no slowdown.

MacOS enhancements
ESET Cyber Security on a Mac can be activated using an ESET NOD32 Antivirus license, as was already explained. In a similar vein, you can activate ESET Cyber Security Pro using one of your suite licenses. Parental control and a firewall are additions in the Pro edition, although neither is very spectacular.

Because it doesn’t even try to regulate programs, ESET’s macOS antivirus has a firewall and doesn’t constantly pelt users with popups asking them to allow access. You can put the Mac in stealth mode or, if you’d prefer, completely block network access using the firewall that comes with macOS. It permits incoming connections by default for built-in and verified apps. Many users shouldn’t touch the numerous opaque network rules and zones that ESET makes available. It is unclear whether utilizing ESET has any advantages over the built-in firewall.

Cyber Security Pro by ESET Internet Security
Parental control is very similar to what Windows offers, with the exception that there are only 27 blocking categories rather than 30 for some reason. The primary distinction is that it completely ignores HTTPS website filters. It is completely ignored by secure proxy sites and secure porn sites. Additionally, the parental system completely loses its capacity to restrict and monitor access as soon as your savvy kid signs into a secure anonymizing proxy.

Upgrades to the Pro edition included with this suite offer very few advantages above the free ESET Cyber Security for Mac users.

safeguarding Android devices
Free antivirus protection for Android devices is available from ESET. You must utilize one of your licenses to obtain the strong Premium edition. I sent an email with an installation link to the Pixel 4a I use for testing through the ESET Home page. I used one of my licenses to activate the installation, giving me access to all the Premium features.

Good lab results
Two of the four testing laboratories I keep track of now test Android goods, and three of them do so. When tested on Windows, ESET receives both flawless and less-than-perfect ratings. It accepts the highest marks possible for the two Android examinations. To be fair, many rivals also did.

Similar to how it assesses goods for Windows, AV-Test Institute rates Android devices based on their protection, performance, and usability. ESET receives a flawless 18 points in this lab’s most recent Android-focused study. All of the other products I use, with the exception of Sophos, which came close with 17.5, also do this.

In its most recent report, AV-Comparatives did not rate ESET, however MRG-Effitas did. The early malware detection score and the install time malware score are given independently by this lab. ESET achieves 100% protection in both tests, much like Avira, Bitdefender, and Norton.

For Android lab tests, I don’t yet have a system for overall rating. However, ESET is a victor thanks to perfect results from two labs.

Beginning with Android
The program, as usual, asked for a number of permissions in order to complete its task. After the installation was finished, a brief scan was started. It recommended setting six security features: Anti-Theft, Payment Protection, App Lock, Anti-Phishing, Scheduled scan, and Call Filter to bolster security. Naturally, further permissions were required in order to turn on these components. For instance, use data was required for App Lock, and location and camera information were required for Anti-Theft in addition to Device Administrator permission.

App Lock enables you to hide sensitive apps behind the security of a second PIN, much as a feature that is equivalent in Bitdefender Total Security, Kaspersky, McAfee, and other antivirus programs. Now, not even a curious friend can see your emails or texts if they pick up your unlocked phone. With choices like the ability to swiftly exit and re-enter an app without requiring a PIN or to turn off App Lock when connected to a reliable Wi-Fi network, Bitdefender goes above and beyond with this functionality.

Android anti-theft software
Full activation of anti-theft capabilities might necessitate one or more optimization steps, just like the Windows-based anti-theft system. Sending coded SMS messages or utilizing the ESET Home web portal can cause locate, lock, and erase, as well as emit a loud siren. The effects of commands don’t happen right away. Instead, it makes a check-in every 10 minutes.

ESET’s anti-theft software may lock the device when the SIM card is removed in addition to the standard remote find, lock, and wipe capabilities. Several rivals, including Webroot, provide SIM lock. I am unable to test this feature because the Android smartphone I use for testing is not set up for cellular data.

Chrome and other browsers you might use both include anti-phishing features that you can enable. I put it to the test using the AMTSO Features Check website, and it did, in fact, display the right warning. In addition to Webroot, Bitdefender, and Kaspersky are other Android security tools that work to prevent phishing scams.

Montage of ESET Internet Security for Android
That notice window closes when all of the recommendations have been addressed. The program currently resembles its Windows counterpart in a particular way. The same white screen, blue buttons, and status banner are all present, along with ESET’s robotic mascot. Icons for antivirus, anti-theft, anti-phishing, app lock, payment protection, network inspector, call filter, security audit, and security report can be found across the bottom of the screen.

Important Security Features
In the Windows version, Payment Protection starts an uninterruptible instance of your default browser. Who logs onto Amazon.com from an Android browser anyway? On Android, you’re just as likely to use an app as a browser. You only need to identify the apps you wish to have Safe Launcher protection for in order to configure Payment Protection.

While Network Inspector on an Android phone can have a rather confined display, it functions exactly like its Windows counterpart. To view linked devices, either in a series of rings or as a plain list, tap to scan the network.

The Call Filter component must have access to calls, contacts, and notification rights in order to be enabled. This feature allows you to block calls from unwanted callers, as you might imagine. A convenient button allows you to block the most recent caller. You can decide to ban calls from a specific group, such as unknown or hidden numbers, or from all other numbers. I was unable to actively test this feature because calling is not provisioned on my Android testbed.

ESET’s Security Audit lists programs that may have hazardous permissions, much like the privacy audit features in McAfee and Webroot. It indicates apps that access your contacts or track your location, for instance. Think about these for a bit. You may view a list and delete the notification for newly discovered apps by tapping the symbol for each category of permission. Only if there are new apps involved will you see notification numbers while reviewing the audit afterwards.

The Android protection in Norton 360 Deluxe advances the idea of app reviews by providing information on apps in the App Store prior to your actual download. Instead of focusing on permissions, Trend Micro evaluates your programs based on the resources they consume.

The settings on your Android smartphone are also checked by Security Audit, looking for those that might not be correctly configured. It alerts you, for instance, if the device has been rooted or if USB debugging is enabled.

More Features for ESET Internet Security on Android
The Android app recently added Call Filter, Network Inspector, and Payment Protection. All three are nice upgrades that make the Android security tool offered by ESET more potent. It has all the typical antivirus and anti-theft features, plus app lock, security audit, and other features. Furthermore, since using one of your $10 Smart Security licenses is more economical than purchasing additional standalone mobile installations, which cost $14.99 each even when purchased in bulk.

Good, But Inequitably Effective
The robust antivirus security offered by ESET is combined with all the standard suite features and more in ESET Internet Security. It has some interesting parts, such webcam security, network security scanning, and laptop anti-theft. However, some of the essential elements utterly fall flat. The firewall’s program control popups, for instance, are the most obnoxious we’ve ever seen when they’re enabled, and parental control is only available for content filtering. Furthermore, these elements haven’t changed much over the past few years. We do appreciate advancement.

Bitdefender Internet Security and Kaspersky Internet Security win the Editors’ Choice award for a basic entry-level security package. Both suites’ components consistently show excellent safeguards. Bitdefender Total Security matches ESET’s anti-theft in the world of mega-suites and adds an unmatched quantity of practical supplementary features.