Safe to use ESET Internet Security 10? & Other Questions

[testing123x 0]

Hello ESET team and users,

 

I've just gotten a new rig and I wanted to install ESET Smart Security on it. I've used Windows extensively over the years but switched over to macOS for the past couple years. Since I'm switching back to Windows (Windows 10 to be exact), I wanted to make sure it was safe to install your product. I'm no stranger to ESET, I've used your product over the years and it has served me well. I haven't used it for long periods of time however, usually switching between multiple security products. This time is different, I want to stick with one vendor and keep one security product. I have a couple questions I was hoping you all could answer for me. I'd appreciate it if guesses, rumors, etc are not posted. I'd like solid factual answers to my questions because I'm seriously considering ESET along with a couple other AV vendors. Whoever I choose, I'm going to stick with for a very long time so I'd like to choose wisely.

 

1. Is it safe to use ESET Smart Security 10 at this point in time? It's been at least a month since release and I've seen many users reporting different bugs and issues on multiple security forums. Common issues I've seen people have include firewall, HIPS, stealth mode, etc. not working as they should.

 

2. Has ESET started to install any browser addons? I highly dislike these addons because they are known to cause problems and further vulnerabilities. They often also contribute to "spying" on the user, as avast!, Avira, and AVG (among other AVs) toolbars and addons have done in the past (and still continue to in some cases)? Also, addons seem to indicate that without a browser supported by that addon, a user isn't safe to browse the internet. One of the endearing qualities of ESET used to be that it required no addons. Any and every browser was supported and nothing malicious was installed on the host computer via browser extensions/addons.

 

3. Why does ESET Smart Security 10 say "Not secured" when first installed correctly. I've seen this issue in many installation videos. When a trial license is activated or even a full license, the product continues to say "not secured" and displays a red warning for at least a couple minutes before switching to green and updating to the latest definitions. Is this a bug? Will this be fixed? It leaves users like me worried if the product really is securing the PC or not..

 

4. Are all components of ESET working as well as they did before? Are there still issues with the firewall, HIPS, etc?

 

5. Why doesn't ESET turn off Windows Firewall automatically after successful installation? I've seen people report (and tested it out on a test computer) that ESET turns off Windows Defender but leaves Windows own firewall active. Does ESET need Windows firewall to compliment its own like avast! does? Is it safe to manually turn off the Windows firewall? Will this issue be fixed?

 

Thank you all for your time and consideration. I really love the stream-lined polished look of the product, your reputation in the industry, and transparency. I remember the breach that occurred on these forums a couple years ago and the ESET team was very considerate when dealing with it. I appreciate all you do and I look forward to your answers. 

 

-A (prospective) ESET user

[Marcos 5,074]

1, Yes, v10 does not suffer from any serious bugs. Not sure what bugs in firewall, HIPS, Anti-Stealth (?) you mean but there are no prevalent issues with them. Basically I know only about an issue with duplicate HIPS rules that was reported by 2 users in our forum. Then there's an issue with support for newer versions of Chrome x64 by Banking and payment protection which will be addressed in the upcoming v10 service release.

 

2, Although the Script scanner in v10 injects into common browsers, I haven't seen any reports of issues caused by the injection.

 

3, I assume you mean the situation when the definition database is too old right after installation.

 

4, As I have already mentioned, I'm not aware of any outstanding or prevalent issues.

 

5, As of v10, ESET's firewall honors allowing rules created previously in Windows Firewall by default. This is to make transition to ESET smoother for those who used Windows Firewall before and have a set of rules already created.

[testing123x 0]

1, Yes, v10 does not suffer from any serious bugs. Not sure what bugs in firewall, HIPS, Anti-Stealth (?) you mean but there are no prevalent issues with them. Basically I know only about an issue with duplicate HIPS rules that was reported by 2 users in our forum. Then there's an issue with support for newer versions of Chrome x64 by Banking and payment protection which will be addressed in the upcoming v10 service release.

 

2, Although the Script scanner in v10 injects into common browsers, I haven't seen any reports of issues caused by the injection.

 

3, I assume you mean the situation when the definition database is too old right after installation.

 

4, As I have already mentioned, I'm not aware of any outstanding or prevalent issues.

 

5, As of v10, ESET's firewall honors allowing rules created previously in Windows Firewall by default. This is to make transition to ESET smoother for those who used Windows Firewall before and have a set of rules already created.

 

1. I've seen on different forums that the HIPS feature wouldn't turn on. I've also read that Stealth mode on the firewall of Internet Security wouldn't work. These posts were dated from November however. Has anything changed since then?

 

2. I don't mean the script scanner injecting into the web browser. I mean actual addons such as the avast! Online Security addon, or the Kaspersky Protection addon. Like these:

 a. https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/avast-online-security/gomekmidlodglbbmalcneegieacbdmki?utm_source=chrome-ntp-icon

 b. https://blog.kaspersky.com/tip-of-the-week-kaspersky-protection/11629/

 

3. No, it's not about the definitions being out-of-date. That is to be expected and not alarming. What I've seen is ESET reporting that it's currently turned off right after a successful installation with the program turning red. After a few minutes it spontaneously turns green again and starts updating.

 

4. That's good to hear!

 

5. I understand that. However, let me rephrase my question: Does ESET need the Windows native firewall turned on and active? Is it safe to manually turn off the Windows Firewall since ESET doesn't do so automatically?

 

Should the Windows Firewall be kept on after ESET Internet Security is installed or should it be turned off?

 

Thanks for your response! 

Edited December 13, 2016 by testing123x

[itman 1,659]

 

5. I understand that. However, let me rephrase my question: Does ESET need the Windows native firewall turned on and active? Is it safe to manually turn off the Windows Firewall since ESET doesn't do so automatically?

 

Should the Windows Firewall be kept on after ESET Internet Security is installed or should it be turned off?

 

Thanks for your response! 

 

When Smart Security is installed, it turns off the Win Firewall by default. If you check in Windows Firewall setting via Control Panel, it should state Eset is managing the Windows Firewall settings.

[TomFace 539]

itman, on 14 Dec 2016 - 08:41 AM, said:itman, on 14 Dec 2016 - 08:41 AM, said:

 

testing123x, on 13 Dec 2016 - 2:28 PM, said:testing123x, on 13 Dec 2016 - 2:28 PM, said:

 

5. I understand that. However, let me rephrase my question: Does ESET need the Windows native firewall turned on and active? Is it safe to manually turn off the Windows Firewall since ESET doesn't do so automatically?

 

Should the Windows Firewall be kept on after ESET Internet Security is installed or should it be turned off?

 

Thanks for your response! 

 

When Smart Security is installed, it turns off the Win Firewall by default. If you check in Windows Firewall setting via Control Panel, it should state Eset is managing the Windows Firewall settings.

 

I have seen it (Win Firewall), on occasion, get stuck on  , should that happen just reboot.

Edited December 15, 2016 by TomFace