NOD32

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

NOD32
NOD32 Control Center
Eset NOD32 Homepage
Developer: Eset
Latest release: 2.70.16 / November 16 2006
OS: Microsoft Windows, Linux, FreeBSD
Use: Anti-virus
License: Proprietary
Website: Eset.com

NOD32 is an antivirus package made by the Slovak company Eset. Versions are available for Microsoft Windows, Linux, FreeBSD and other platforms. Remote administration tools for multiuser installations are also available at extra cost. NOD32 Enterprise Edition consists of NOD32 AntiVirus and NOD32 Remote Administrator. The NOD32 Remote Administrator program allows a network administrator to monitor anti-virus functions, push installations and upgrades to unprotected PCs on the network and update configuration files from a central location.

[edit] Awards

NOD32 is certified by ICSA Labs.[1] It has been tested 44 times by Virus Bulletin and has failed only 3 times, the lowest failure rate in their tests.[2] At CNET.com, it recieved a review of 7.3/10.[3]

[edit] Technical information

NOD32 consists of an on-demand scanner and four different real-time monitors. The on-demand scanner (somewhat confusingly referred to as NOD32) can be invoked by the scheduler or by the user. Each real-time monitor covers a different virus entry point:

  • AMON (Antivirus MONitor) - scans files as they are accessed by the system, preventing a virus from executing on the system.
  • DMON (Document MONitor) - scans Microsoft Office documents and files for macro viruses as they are opened and saved by Office applications.
  • EMON (E-mail MONitor) - scans incoming and outgoing mail using the MAPI interface (e.g. Microsoft Outlook / Microsoft Exchange)
  • IMON (Internet MONitor) - intercepts traffic on common protocols such as POP3 and HTTP to detect and intercept viruses before they are saved to disc.
NOD32 Virus Detection Alert
Enlarge
NOD32 Virus Detection Alert

NOD32 is written largely in assembly code, which contributes to its low use of system resources and high scanning speed, meaning that NOD32 can easily process more than 23MB per second while scanning on a modest P4 based PC[4] and on average, with all real-time modules active, uses less than 20MB of memory in total[5] but the physical RAM used by NOD32 is often just a third of that.[6]

In a networked environment NOD32 clients can update from a central "mirror server" on the network, reducing bandwidth usage since new definitions need only be downloaded once by the mirror server as opposed to once for each client.

NOD32's scan engine uses heuristic detection (which Eset calls "ThreatSense") in addition to signature files to provide better protection against newly released viruses.

[edit] External links