General product comments

[TzonZ 0]

Hello, 

I was an ESET user a long time ago and recently I bought again a new multi-device license from ESET. I really like the product, its cleanness, simplicity and very low impact on system resources, however I have made a small list of things that I think should be improved: 

1) Statistics: What is the purpose of the pie chart in statistics? Even in the most heavily infected systems, the percentage of infected (from the total of files) would still be a very small fraction, un-viewable on a pie chart. The only pie charts that would serve a purpose would be compering only infected files in categories (eg. 50% worms, 50% trojans), or results (eg. 33% cleaned, 33% deleted, 33% quarantined). 

2) Scans: There is one general "scan" and then the "advanced" but it is not clear what the general computer scan does. Is it in-depth or a smart-scan? It would be better if there were a few more available default options, such as "quick scan" that scans the most commonly infected areas, "normal scan" that performs a full smart scan, and "deep scan" that performs a full in-depth scan. 

3) Scheduler: a) There is an "update after dial-up connection" task. We are entering 2018 in a few days, who is still using a dial-up connection? b) There is no scheduled virus scan by default, although ESET recommends it. Why is so? Does ESET Security perform scheduled scans that are hardcoded in the product but do not appear in the scheduler? 

4) Running processes: It would be nice if the user could add his own rating to some files. 

5) System Cleaner: It detects altered settings but does not provide details on its detections. I have 6 settings changed from default in "system settings" category, but I don't know exactly which and I don't want to revert to default  (or "clean") because it might be something I wanted to stay this way. For example, is "system restore" such a setting? I want it intentionally turned off because it takes upo space, it slows down the system occasionally and it hasn't worked in the past when I actually needed it. 

6) Update-show all modules: Modules that are not active in NOD32 should not appear there, or they should be marked as disabled for the user's accurate information.

7) Firewall: I have read (and partially confirmed with a leak test) that ESET's firewall does not scan outbound traffic. Then what is the extra layer of protection that is provides to the user? Interactive mode, on the other hand, creates too many alerts and requires every time an extra UAC confirmation. A good idea would be (other vendors do that already) if ESET would use Window's own firewall and managed/protected its settings and enabled the outbound protection creating rules based on the reputation of each application. 

Thanks, 

John

[Marcos 5,259]

1, The statistics are based on the data gathered since the last system start. I don't see much sense in having a graph showing the number of trojans, worms, etc. What is important to the user is the total number of malicious and cleaned files that have been detected.

2, There are just 3 options: "Scan your computer", "Custom scan" and "Removable media" scan. "In-depth scan" can be selected as a profile when running a custom scan. It's not important in consumer products and it's mainly used for cleaning active threats reported in ERA in business products.

3, A dial-up connection can also be DSL. There are still dozens of thousands users with very slow dial-up connections nowadays. It doesn't make sense to remove that option just because it's 2018.
As for scheduled scans, personally I don't run any. Even if it was recommended, something that is recommended must not be enforced.

4, Without a deep knowledge of malware it is not possible to tell if a particular file is safe or not. I don't see any sense in making it possible to rate processes just for themselves. If I saw a process with a poor reputation, it wouldn't help me if I marked it safe on my computer. It wouldn't affect anything except telling me that I can ignore it because I marked it as safe in the past.

5, System cleaner is a tool that should be run to reset changes made by certain malware to the system. It should only be run when instructed so by ESET staff. This feature is subject to change and a little bit more details will be reported in future versions.

6, As of v11, we have an all-in-one product where the functionality depends on the license key and the product that the user selects to install. That said, all drivers must be present. However, if I recall correctly, drivers not used by the installed product should not be loaded and running.

7, Windows firewall lacks in features. If we were to use it, we would not be able to block network exploits that exploit vulnerabilities in network protocols. In particular, we wouldn't have been able to protect users against the infamous WannaCry among the first for instance.

[TzonZ 0]

Hello again, 

1. All I am saying is that the specific green pie chart will always remain green, because the number of infected files on any system is going to be extremely smaller than the legit files. At least that's what I understand. I don't know if it is possible on a system to have, lets say, 10% of the total files malware - unless done on purpose. 

3. Did not know that  

5. System Cleaner must be very useful but it doesn't sound like it is meant to "be run when instructed so by ESET staff". I still believe it should be more informative on the settings it has found to be altered. Update: I just found out that it separately informs you about "system restore" with a red (!) mark. 

7. Ok, I understand. Another thing I want to know about the firewall is where can I find rules created in "Automatic mode"? I don't want to switch to "interactive" and have dozens of popups, but I want to be able to review what is allowed and what not and modify on those rules. 

BR, 

John