The Logic of your user interface (y/n)

[frank_sokolove 3]

You have a very complicated program here, lots of features, menus, pull-down menus. As a user seeing the program for the first time (not really), I want to find what I want with minimum effort. For the best layout for the user (not the programmer), I stumble around a lot in trying to find what I am looking for. If I were the lead programmer, I would get a pack of 3X5 cards and lay out a system of logic, with features set up the way I would expect to see it as a User. I had to fish around quite a bit to find, for example, how to schedule a scan. For another example of what's wrong, take a look at Tools and see the three unlikely items under it -- and "More tools," hidden away so I did not see it the first four times looking for what I wanted. When I finally noticed "More tools," I saw the eleven items under. All items should be under "Tools," and I should see such subcategories as Scheduling and logs, Network issues, Cleaning (system; malware); Send to Eset; Reports, and more. A lot of research has gone into how to lay out a program for the user, see https://www.uie.com/  .  

[Marcos 5,074]

I fully understand that not 100% of users can be satisfied with GUI, however, there are many users who appreciate the variety of settings that ESET offers to edit. However, we are open to any constructive feedback since we make our products for you, our users.

[peteyt 393]

2 hours ago, Marcos said:

I fully understand that not 100% of users can be satisfied with GUI, however, there are many users who appreciate the variety of settings that ESET offers to edit. However, we are open to any constructive feedback since we make our products for you, our users.

Could maybe removing the more tools part help e.g. all tools shown in tool area by default?

[Aryeh Goretsky 378]

Hello,

It is really hard to make a user interface that meets the needs of people with varying levels of knowledge about computers and interest in how their security software works.

ESET's user experience (UX) team does try to surface the most-commonly touched features towards the top-most screens, so that people don't have to go through screen upon screen and dig through sub-menus in order to get to what they want.  But that is also very much an ongoing work in progress because new options are periodically added, the number of people using the software is always increasing, and there's even differences in how various cultures are used to being exposed to information (which gets really, really interesting when you have a product that supports about three dozen languages).

I honestly think the UX folks do a decent job of herding all of the feedback we get into something that makes a usable user interface, but there's no "one-size fits all" solution, and doing something beyond the "basic/advanced" type presentation of information means a lot more complexity in the user interface code, which translates as more resource consumption, additional attack surface to model and so forth.  There'a also the issue of making too dramatic changes to large swathes of the user interface, which can cause some cognitive dissonance for the people who use it the most (cf., Windows 8's much-maligned Start Screen).  Keeping that manageable means making small gradual changes to the UI over time, as kind of continual GUI improvement process.

Anyhow, actionable feedback, suggestions, and constructive criticism about the UI (or any other parts of ESET's software, for that matter) are always welcome.  So... keep 'em coming!

Regards,

Aryeh Goretsky

[novice 20]

7 hours ago, Aryeh Goretsky said:

Anyhow, actionable feedback, suggestions, and constructive criticism about the UI (or any other parts of ESET's software, for that matter) are always welcome.  So... keep 'em coming!

Regards,

Aryeh Goretsky

I agree with the OP.

ESET has the most cumbersome interface from all anti malware solutions I ever used. The re is no logic to follow in order to advance in a menu; you have to click left , right , bottom corner , etc.

The most puzzling is 'Threat sense parameter"  for which you have to go in multiple places to choose the action.

Is very unlikely an user would want threat sens on "strictly cleaning" in one section but "no cleaning" in another one....

[Marcos 5,074]

As for ThreatSense settings, these must be naturally different for each scanner and on-demand scanner profile. If they were to be set globally at one place, you couldn't create different on-demand scan profiles with different cleaning or scan settings and you couldn't configure to run scans with in-depth scan parameters.

[Hpoonis 7]

A resizable window would be ideal...for anything and everything, especially scan results!

[Marcos 5,074]

5 minutes ago, Hpoonis said:

A resizable window would be ideal...for anything and everything, especially scan results!

Which one is not resizable? Please post a screen shot.

[Hpoonis 7]

I'll apologise. I rarely get any hits and between the last time I looked and now it has been adjusted so the window can be resized.

Skip over my ignorance and carry on.

[novice 20]

37 minutes ago, Marcos said:

these must be naturally different for each scanner and on-demand scanner profile.

Typically , there are two kind of users; users who want ESET to make a decision for them (strictly cleaning) and users who want to make their own decision (no cleaning)

Is hard to imagine a situation in which an user will want "strictly cleaning" in one profile but "no cleaning" in another...

In addition , I had situations where a switch to "no cleaning" in all possible places only to have ESET cleaning a detection, because somewhere deep inside was another "Threathsense" set to "strictly cleaning" , which I couldn't find it browsing the menu in a logical way.

[peteyt 393]

14 hours ago, Aryeh Goretsky said:

Hello,

It is really hard to make a user interface that meets the needs of people with varying levels of knowledge about computers and interest in how their security software works.

ESET's user experience (UX) team does try to surface the most-commonly touched features towards the top-most screens, so that people don't have to go through screen upon screen and dig through sub-menus in order to get to what they want.  But that is also very much an ongoing work in progress because new options are periodically added, the number of people using the software is always increasing, and there's even differences in how various cultures are used to being exposed to information (which gets really, really interesting when you have a product that supports about three dozen languages).

I honestly think the UX folks do a decent job of herding all of the feedback we get into something that makes a usable user interface, but there's no "one-size fits all" solution, and doing something beyond the "basic/advanced" type presentation of information means a lot more complexity in the user interface code, which translates as more resource consumption, additional attack surface to model and so forth.  There'a also the issue of making too dramatic changes to large swathes of the user interface, which can cause some cognitive dissonance for the people who use it the most (cf., Windows 8's much-maligned Start Screen).  Keeping that manageable means making small gradual changes to the UI over time, as kind of continual GUI improvement process.

Anyhow, actionable feedback, suggestions, and constructive criticism about the UI (or any other parts of ESET's software, for that matter) are always welcome.  So... keep 'em coming!

Regards,

Aryeh Goretsky

One thing I have been wondering if possible and suggested in the past - on the home screen there is some free space. It would be handy to have the firewall troubleshooter there as its a handy but in my opinion buried feature.

Also the right click menu found when clicking on the icon in the taskbar would be good if could be customised so users could add stuff they use more for quick access e.g. game mode etc.   

[PassingBy 5]

If i can add some suggestion, rather than modifying the UI to simplify it, which may translate into reducing its granularity in customizing the app, there are two main ways to go to keep it as is and make it simpler.
1) Simply add a searchbox from which the user can search the required function and be redirected to it directly (akin to the SETTINGS section in the latest versions of Android to be clear). See picture attached.

2) Add a "Simplified mode" with 3 main settings for the whole ecosystem

MINIMUM PROTECTION

AVERAGE PROTECTION

MAXIMUM PROTECTION

PARANOID MODE AVAILABLE.

That would keep everyone happy. While testing all other AVs i chose ESET because it has that "complex UI" with all those functions and i can set it as i want, despite the annoying part of it. I gave up on BitDefender exactly because i had no control on what i needed. I hope ESET does not go that way.

 

Edited April 8, 2019 by PassingBy

[PassingBy 5]

With pre-set modes

Edited April 8, 2019 by PassingBy

[itman 1,659]

26 minutes ago, PassingBy said:

2) Add a "Simplified mode" with 3 main settings for the whole ecosystem

MINIMUM PROTECTION

AVERAGE PROTECTION

MAXIMUM PROTECTION

PARANOID MODE AVAILABLE.

By default, Eset when installed with default settings provides maximum protection. The only optional setting is to enable PUA/PUP protection.

The other settings you mentioned will never be provided since they require a frame of reference; in this instance, how security paranoid a user is. Eset's policy has always been you are free to modify it to "your heart's content." However by doing so, you assume all responsibility for any adverse malware activity resulting from any change from the recommended default settings. The same assumption applies to any adverse system operational impact.

Bottom line - no one is going "to spoon feed you" how to modify Eset. You're going to have to find that out through reference to Eset online documentation and self-testing.

[AGH1965 12]

On 4/5/2019 at 10:48 AM, claudiu said:

I agree with the OP.

I do too. The tools example is spot-on. The only tools I start from the GUI are Log files, Scheduler and Network connections, but these are unfortunately not on the first page. Yes, I use Banking & payment protection as well, but I never start it from the GUI. Why should I? There is already a desktop icon and a Windows start menu item to start it.

[AGH1965 12]

2 hours ago, PassingBy said:

With pre-set modes



No improvement at all.  The last option is very weird. If there is more than "maximum protection" then "maximum protection" isn't "maximum protection".

Edited April 8, 2019 by AGH1965

[TomFace 539]

There is nothing wrong with the ESET user interface. As itman has stated (along with the ESET Mods in the past), the default settings will suit most of the average users. The ESET help guide (built into the GUI) gives all the instructions the average user could need. In addition, ESET's KBs have as much (if not more) information. If you need to make changes to default settings, try doing your homework by reading the HELP section and/or the KB (yes...you do actually have to read).

Regards,

Tom

Edited April 8, 2019 by TomFace

[itman 1,659]

4 hours ago, AGH1965 said:

No improvement at all.  The last option is very weird. If there is more than "maximum protection" then "maximum protection" isn't "maximum protection".

Believe the "inspiration" here was the old versions of Emsisoft which had such settings. Paranoid mode threw the behavior blocking into basically an interactive mode with alerts generated "up the wazoo." 

BTW - Emsisoft  dumped those, and such capability doesn't exist in the current versions.

Edited April 8, 2019 by itman

[novice 20]

1 hour ago, TomFace said:

There is nothing wrong with the ESET user interface

I still believe that having "Threat sense" settings in 6-7 places is a non-sense.

Show me ONE  user who wants ,in certain situations, "strict cleaning" and, in some other situations, "no cleaning"

[itman 1,659]

2 hours ago, claudiu said:

Show me ONE  user who wants ,in certain situations, "strict cleaning" and, in some other situations, "no cleaning"

Yours truly for one.

I use strict cleaning for everything except Web Access. For Web Access, I use Normal cleaning. Why? Because if strict cleaning is selected, you won't get an Eset alert for PUA's; they will be auto blocked. This will prohibit your ability to selective allow a download you have verified is safe.

Edited April 8, 2019 by itman

[TomFace 539]

3 hours ago, claudiu said:

I still believe that having "Threat sense" settings in 6-7 places is a non-sense.

Show me ONE  user who wants ,in certain situations, "strict cleaning" and, in some other situations, "no cleaning"

Gee, I guess there are at least two users as I also use different cleaning levels for different situations/conditions.

I would also believe there are others who do the same practice, dependent on their situation and level of expertise.

Maybe you might want to review the ESET help guide (built into the GUI) and ESET's KBs https://support.eset.com/ There is much knowledge and information to be had.

Regards,

Tom

Edited April 9, 2019 by TomFace

[PassingBy 5]

15 hours ago, itman said:

By default, Eset when installed with default settings provides maximum protection. The only optional setting is to enable PUA/PUP protection.

The other settings you mentioned will never be provided since they require a frame of reference; in this instance, how security paranoid a user is. Eset's policy has always been you are free to modify it to "your heart's content." However by doing so, you assume all responsibility for any adverse malware activity resulting from any change from the recommended default settings. The same assumption applies to any adverse system operational impact.

Bottom line - no one is going "to spoon feed you" how to modify Eset. You're going to have to find that out through reference to Eset online documentation and self-testing.

 With all due respects.

1) Bottom line - no one is going "to spoon feed you"
2) However by doing so, you assume all responsibility for any adverse malware activity resulting from any change from the recommended default settings. The same assumption applies to any adverse system operational impact.

Buying an antivirus must not be a job for researchers. So, if that fits well to you and your heroic tendencies and cravings for experimenting it's all good and fine but YOU are not all the users and not all users might have the spare time you have to waste in researches. I find myself OK. But there are users who have problems with that UI and no time to waste in endless searches on online documentation etc. Your conception is not only individualistic (it fits you, should fit the others too); it's obsolete and counterproductive; to a huge extent irrational. One buys a software to fulfill a task. The idea you are trying to push is that of a software that needs to be serviced as it is unable to adapt to the user. This is not about "spoon feeding". Rather about making the UI more intuitive. You seem to be worried at the fact that the software may escape the small elite that boasts the capacity to use it rather than be bent on expanding its use. At a first look, doesn't seem very constructive for ESET or for the users, except a few maybe.




 

 

 

[PassingBy 5]

14 hours ago, AGH1965 said:

No improvement at all.  The last option is very weird. If there is more than "maximum protection" then "maximum protection" isn't "maximum protection".

I added the "Paranoid" mode as an extra but, in my mind, the difference between the MAX and the PARANOID level is that one enables most security options WITHOUT those that cause the most hassles (constant notifications, fake positives etc.), while the paranoid one enables everything and makes most interactions manual so that the user can't miss anything.

There are options that if enabled allow you to have a much better control, yet...they pester you with notifications.

This with the clear idea in mind that ESET standard settings are ok for most people. The core idea for me is adding the "SEARCH" bar. I found it timesaving on other software. As the complexity of the UI expands, especially in complex suites like ESET, having to go for multiple clicks and through error/trial to find what you need might eventually become a joykiller. Adding that Searchbar keeps everything as is but makes it much easier to find things. In particular if supported by autosuggestion. I have to reiterate, not all users have the time and patience to dig into those menus and at times solutions are needed in a timely manner. Why have to go to forums and databases to have answers you can get from the UI?

[novice 20]

12 hours ago, itman said:

I use strict cleaning for everything except Web Access   .....This will prohibit your ability to selective allow a download you have verified is safe.

If you want the ability to "selective allow"  , using strict cleaning for everything else will seriously impair this ability . Aren't you interested to see what ESET blocked , maybe is a FP or maybe is a crack you are using it for something but ESET wants to delete .

Giving a program discretionary power to delete things from your computer is a questionable choice.

 

[peteyt 393]

2 hours ago, PassingBy said:

I added the "Paranoid" mode as an extra but, in my mind, the difference between the MAX and the PARANOID level is that one enables most security options WITHOUT those that cause the most hassles (constant notifications, fake positives etc.), while the paranoid one enables everything and makes most interactions manual so that the user can't miss anything.

There are options that if enabled allow you to have a much better control, yet...they pester you with notifications.

This with the clear idea in mind that ESET standard settings are ok for most people. The core idea for me is adding the "SEARCH" bar. I found it timesaving on other software. As the complexity of the UI expands, especially in complex suites like ESET, having to go for multiple clicks and through error/trial to find what you need might eventually become a joykiller. Adding that Searchbar keeps everything as is but makes it much easier to find things. In particular if supported by autosuggestion. I have to reiterate, not all users have the time and patience to dig into those menus and at times solutions are needed in a timely manner. Why have to go to forums and databases to have answers you can get from the UI?

I can get behind the search option but not the different protection bits with the paranoid option causing more issues. People will activate it not knowing what it is just thinking it will give the best protection then will get shocked when they get asked to confirm every action. In the long run it could lead to people being unhappy about the amount of prompts, possibly blaming eset and damaging their image.

As Itman has noted eset is very customisable so you can do what you want, add custom stuff etc. but users do this at their own risk and eset reccomends the default setting for average users