Review ESET Internet Security: Powerful and easy to use!

The world we live in is more connected than ever. Whether you use your computer for remote work, gaming, or simply browsing the web looking for multimedia content, it’s inevitable that, sooner rather than later, you’ll stumble upon malicious websites or even malware. To be prepared for such moments, and ensure your safety, you’ve got to have a good antimalware solution installed on your PCs. While there are more than just a couple of players in this field, one of the best and most respected is ESET. In this review, we’re going to show you what ESET’s Internet Security can do for you and how good it is at protecting your Windows devices. We’re covering everything from the user interface to its NOD32 antimalware software and firewall efficiency. Did we manage to make you curious? Read on to see if ESET Internet Security is the best security product for you in 2022:

ESET Internet Security: Who is it good for?

ESET Internet Security is an excellent security solution for those who:

• Want to secure their computers against malware
• Like software that’s easy to use, with a clean user interface
• Need a good firewall for protection against network attacks
• Like having access to advanced settings to be able to control their software in the tiniest detail
• Are interested in improving the security of their network, not just that of their computers

Pros and cons

These are the things we like the most about ESET Internet Security:

• The antimalware engine is outstanding, able to clean and remove even the most aggressive malware encountered
• The antivirus engine runs fast
• The security suite doesn’t have a significant impact on the speed of your PC
• Its user interface looks good, and it’s easy to use both by beginners and advanced users
• The firewall offers good security against network attacks
• The additional tools are helpful

There’s only one thing that’s missing from ESET Internet Security. The company doesn’t include a VPN service, which would have been helpful when connecting to unsecured public Wi-Fi networks.

Verdict

ESET Internet Security proves to be one of the most powerful security solutions available on the market in 2022. While testing it, we learned that its antimalware engine is efficient, fast, and robust, and that the firewall module can successfully shield you against network attacks. While these are the most important aspects of a security suite such as this one, we also appreciate ESET’s care and attention to the user interface and bundled tools. All in all, it’s a great security product that we recommend to anyone looking to protect their Windows devices in 2022.

The download and installation experience

Getting ESET Internet Security on your PC starts with downloading a small executable file called eset_internet_security_live_installer.exe. It has just 8 MB, but it downloads another 67.7 MB of data from ESET’s servers during the installation. Install ESET Security The installation wizard asks you to select the language you prefer to use and accept the End-User License Agreement. Then, if you only want to test ESET Internet Security for 30 days, click the Skip login button. Log in to your ESET HOME account or Skip login NOTE: If you already have a license attached to your ESET HOME account, you should connect to your account to activate the product instead of skipping the login. Alternatively, if you have a license key but no ESET account, create one right now: click or tap the Create account link, and enter a valid email address and a password. Then, check your email and activate your account by clicking the link in the email sent by ESET. No other personal details are required. If you’ve chosen to Skip login and intend to use the trial version of ESET Internet Security to see how you like it, on the next step, click or tap on Free trial. This will require you to enter an email address and select the country you live in, but nothing else. ESET Internet Security offers a trial version for 30 days The installation wizard allows you to choose whether you want to “Enable ESET LiveGrid feedback system” and to enable or disable the “detection of potentially unwanted applications.” We recommend that you turn on the ESET LiveGrid feature. It allows ESET to collect information about suspicious items and process them as quickly as possible. That can help ESET’s security products react faster to new threats. We also believe it is a good idea to enable the detection of PUPs (potentially unwanted applications). They may not be actual viruses, but they can be just as annoying. Enable ESET LiveGrid and the detection of PUPs Then, you can choose whether you’d like to participate in ESET’s Customer Experience Improvement Program. This means that you allow ESET to collect anonymous information on how you use its products. However, it’s entirely optional, so you can decide whether you want to participate. Participate in Customer Experience Improvement Program The installation takes its course. When that’s done, ESET loads its user interface and asks if you also want to enable some of the additional security tools: Parental Control and Anti-Theft. To use the latter, you also need to create an ESET account. Choosing the additional ESET security tools to enable ESET Internet Security automatically updates its virus signature database (about 146MB on our test laptop), and then runs a full computer scan, ensuring that the system's health is checked as soon as possible. ESET Internet Security updates its malware database immediately after install Although the first complete system scan can take a fairly long time, subsequent scans will be a lot faster. The initial scan takes a while Downloading ESET Internet Security on your computer is easy, and we like that the only information you have to provide to activate the trial version is your email address. We also appreciate that it automatically updates and runs a full system scan as soon as it finishes installing.

Integration with Windows, web browsers, and universal Windows platform apps

ESET Internet Security takes control of and disables both the Windows Firewall and Microsoft Defender Antivirus during its installation. This ensures that you do not encounter performance issues or software conflicts because of similar security products running simultaneously. Windows Security sharing the status of ESET Security The product is also well integrated with Windows and its networking features. We did not encounter issues accessing our local network's shared resources. Installing or running apps from the Microsoft Store was also trouble-free. When we first installed ESET Internet Security, we noticed that the firewall module actively monitors the network profile you set in Windows and automatically adjusts its protection accordingly. This is the right approach. ESET firewall options for the network protection type ESET Internet Security chooses to scan all the internet traffic on your computer, and it does not install web browser extensions. This means that you are protected just as well in any web browser. Web protection settings We checked whether all the processes run by ESET Internet Security are protected against unwanted termination. They are, and nasty malware should have a tough time disabling this security suite. If you are concerned that the security suite might slow down your PC, worry not. When scanning a drive for malware, ESET Internet Security used less than 100 MB of RAM on our test laptop, and the processor usage was about 9 percent (on an AMD Ryzen 7 5800H mobile CPU). Furthermore, the boot time we measured with BootRacer before and after installing the suite was almost the same (a difference of less than one second). ESET Internet Security uses less than 100MB RAM To check whether the internet or local network speeds are affected by ESET Internet Security, we also ran a few tests with Speedtest.net and LAN Speed Test. These tests showed that neither the upload speed nor the download speed went down when using this security product. ESET Internet Security is a security suite that is well integrated with Windows and its networking features. For example, we like that the firewall module can automatically adjust its protection level according to the network profile you set in Windows. We also appreciated the almost nonexistent negative effect on our test PC and network performance.

Ease of use and configuration

ESET Internet Security's user interface mixes traditional and modern design, resulting in a pleasant experience for the user. You get a user interface that is generously spaced, with large sections and buttons. You also have switches controlling everything in and about. The essential tools and options are arranged into a few main areas on the left side of the window, while the details from the current section are shown on the window’s right side. On the dashboard, you see a message about the current security state. If it is green, things are OK, but there are urgent issues that you need to take care of when it turns red. The ESET Internet Security user interface As the user interface features large buttons, tiles, and switches for all the essential tools and settings, it is easy to use ESET Internet Security, even on touchscreen devices. ESET Internet Security setup options You can configure most of ESET’s protection modules and tools by accessing each individually. However, if you want to see all the advanced settings and configuration options, click or tap on the Advanced Setup button from the Setup section’s bottom-right corner. Inside the Advanced setup, you can adjust the way ESET Internet Security works in the tiniest detail. The advanced settings available in ESET Internet Security ESET Internet Security explains its settings and features well in context. Still, if you stumble upon something you don’t understand, clicking or tapping the small “i” button next to it gives you additional tips and details. If you need more comprehensive support, ESET Internet Security includes plenty of Help information and a Customer Care section. The Help and Support options available in ESET Internet Security If something important is happening on your computer or when your input and decisions are required, ESET Internet Security displays concise and clear notifications on your desktop, near the system tray. Notification displayed by ESET Internet Security ESET Internet Security collects information in its log files which you can investigate. It also shows you protection statistics, the processes running on your computer together with details about their reputation, and details about the network connections present on your device. Security reports and logs available in ESET Internet Security The user interface of ESET Internet Security is well designed. It is easy to use and understand by beginners, but it is also full of advanced settings and detailed security information, which experienced users will surely appreciate. We like how traditional and modern design meet and the way simplicity and details intertwine. On the second page of this review, you will learn how good ESET Internet Security is at protecting your Windows 11 PC from network attacks and malware. You will also see what additional features are bundled with this security suite, and you can check our recommendations for a few settings you should adjust.

Firewall protection

The firewall included in ESET Internet Security can automatically detect the network profile you assign in Windows, which is excellent. We like that the process is entirely automated, and ESET actively monitors if the network profile changes in Windows. We used two well-known network vulnerability scanners to evaluate the firewall module's quality: Nmap and Nessus. When we used the public network profile on our test computer, neither Nmap nor Nessus managed to find any open ports or any breaches in the firewall. When we set the network to private, Nmap identified two open ports, while Nessus didn’t find any. In the end, the only accurate information that we managed to get, in both cases, was the MAC address of the network card found on our test laptop, but that is not critical security information. Firewall notification shown by ESET Internet Security The firewall offered by ESET Internet Security is one of the best you can get.

Antivirus and antispyware protection

We checked how good ESET Internet Security is at protecting you while browsing the web. This security suite doesn’t require you to install any web browser extensions for this purpose. Instead, it filters all the web traffic from your computer. That means that you should be protected in any web browser you use. We used Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, Microsoft Edge, and Opera while trying to visit a series of phishing websites and some known to distribute malicious content. ESET Internet Security blocked our access to those dangerous websites each time, in each web browser. Malicious website blocked by ESET Internet Security Next, we wanted to see how ESET Internet Security reacts to removable drives like USB memory sticks and portable solid-state drives: we took a portable SSD filled with malware samples and plugged it into our test laptop. ESET asked us what we wanted to do, and we chose to scan the drive. After a short while, it was clean of any malware, which is an excellent result.

ESET cleaning a threat found in a file from a portable SSD We installed Windows 11 on our test system and executed some high-risk malware, including ransomware. Next, we asked ESET Internet Security to install itself on our PC and clean the infection. It immediately began identifying the viruses that were roaming free on our computer and, after a full computer scan, the PC was usable again. That is an excellent result that can be achieved only by a top-notch antivirus engine.

Threats found by ESET Internet Security Another vital aspect of evaluating an antivirus engine’s performance is its speed when scanning for malware. Therefore, we measured the speed at which ESET Internet Security checked our laptop’s 476GB SSD (containing roughly 75GB of data). It took around two and a half minutes, which, in our opinion, means that this is a fast antivirus engine. Last but not least, we also took a look at what other independent security organizations had to say about ESET:

• AV-Test tested ESET Internet Security 14.2 on Windows 10 Pro in October 2021 (we tested version 15.0 on Windows 11 Pro) and gave it their top verdict of 6.0 points out of 6 on all areas: protection, performance, and usability.
• AV-Comparatives also evaluated ESET Internet Security. In 2021, ESET received the Gold Award for False Positives, the Silver Award for Advanced Threat Protection, and the Bronze Award for Performance.

ESET Internet Security offers an excellent antivirus engine that can protect you against any malware threat, both online and offline. We are pleased with its performance and efficiency, and we are confident that you will be satisfied too.

Extra features

ESET Internet Security includes a few additional tools, some of which may be useful to you: The Network Inspector from ESET Internet Security

• Network Inspector - displays a visual representation of your local network and the devices connected to it. It can also scan the local network for vulnerabilities by simulating attacks. Knowing what changes you have to make to secure your home network is valuable information.
• Parental control - lets you block your children’s access to inappropriate websites. If you don’t have the time to monitor your children’s activity in detail, but you want some essential protection against inappropriate websites, this tool is what you need.
• Anti-theft - uses your ESET account to do things like tracking and locating your (stolen) devices or keeping a watch on thieves using the webcam from your Windows computer or device.
• Banking & Payment protection - it secures your financial transactions online. It works by opening any supported web browsers in a protected mode. The browsers that ESET can secure are Microsoft Edge version 83 and above, Google Chrome version 64 and above, Mozilla Firefox version 24 and above, and the old Internet Explorer version 8 and above. Unfortunately, Opera is not among ESET’s Banking & Payment protection support list.
• Running processes - gives you details about the processes running on your computer, including reputation information powered by ESET LiveGrid.
• ESET SysRescue Live - use it to create recovery media and clean computers so severely infected with malware that they can no longer boot correctly.
• System cleaner - helps you restore your computer after removing malware or other types of threats. It can show you and help you undo changes in security and system settings, system appearance, disabled features, and System Restore settings.

System cleaner - A helpful tool available in ESET Internet Security ESET Internet Security bundles valuable tools that add value to the product. The only thing missing here is a password manager and an encryption tool, as well as a VPN service to protect users while connected to public, unsecured Wi-Fi networks.

Default settings you might want to adjust

Although ESET Internet Security is well configured, there are a few things you might want to consider adjusting: ESET Internet Security: Real-Time & Machine Learning Protection

• Adjust the way ESET’s Real-Time & Machine Learning Protection works. By default, the Reporting and Protection features for malware threats, potentially unwanted, suspicious, and unsafe applications are set to Balanced levels. However, if you want the antivirus to become more alert, you can set the levels to be more Aggressive. On the other hand, if you want the antivirus to be more lenient, you can set these features to Cautious. These settings are found in “Setup -> Advanced setup -> Detection Engine -> Real-Time & Machine Learning Protection.”
• Enable “Idle-state scanning” so that ESET automatically scans your computer when it is not doing anything else. You can find this option in “Setup -> Advanced setup -> Detection Engine -> Malware scans -> Idle-state scan -> Enable Idle-state scanning.”
• Enable or disable some of the notifications or alert sounds issued. For example, maybe you want it to be more verbose, or you prefer it to be more silent. Either way, you can change its behavior in “Setup -> Advanced setup -> User interface.”
• Although ESET recommends scheduling a monthly computer antivirus scan, it is not configured by default to run it. To get better security, you should schedule such an antivirus scan. You can do it in “Tools -> More Tools -> Scheduler.”

Enable Idle-state scanning in ESET Internet Security Although ESET Internet Security is a well-configured security suite in general, there are a few things that you might want to change.

What is your opinion about ESET Internet Security?

Now you know that we like ESET Internet Security and we recommend it for those who want a complete security package for their Windows PCs. However, before leaving and closing this article, we would love to read your opinion about this antivirus product. So, comment below, and let’s discuss.