ESET offer multiple plans within their shopping cart, Cyber-Security $29.99, Cyber-Security Pro $39.99 and Multi Device security pack $44.99. They don’t make it completely clear to the user what the difference is between plans, however, after a little digging we found that Cyber-Security, their most basic package provides antivirus only for a single device, which doesn’t include mobile protection or internet security, two vital features when purchasing antivirus. The middle package priced at $39.99 includes antivirus + internet security, yet still only offers protection for a single device. We came to the conclusion that ESET have these plans priced for single devices to push most customers to their higher priced plan of $44.95, which will protect 2 devices and include all of their advanced security features, however for an additional $5.05, you can add another 3 devices.
As mentioned in our opening line, ESET continue to show potential in antivirus lab testing, scoring in the top 5 continuously. Despite scoring high tests, there are many users that feel they didn’t get as good protection as they have with other providers, which has had some influence on their rankings. We noticed their full scan seemed to perform quicker than most products, with an internal test taking 25 minutes, 35 minutes faster than the average antivirus scan time of 1 hour. However, despite the efficient antivirus scanning, the application over uses your CPU and memory resulting, meaning it limits you from doing much else whilst a scan is taking place. In the higher priced package, they also include internet security and email monitoring. All-in-all ESET have proven to offer comprehensive security and protection against viruses, malware, trojans and phishing.
ESET offer phone, chat, email and ticket support for all customers. Whilst email looks to be available at any time, phone and chat support are only available weekdays for around 12 hours each day. Average response times on tickets can be slow, so we recommend customers giving them a call due in the week if possible, that was you’ll have your enquiry answered within minutes.
Despite having excellent anti-malware and virus protection, you couldn’t call ESET a full security suite. They only offer antivirus features, internet security and anti-spam email protection - unlike many other products that have optimisation tools, cloud storage and identity protection. Our assumption is that ESET are focusing on being one of the strongest players with antivirus protection, however, hopefully we’ll see them introduce some new features in the near future.