| Type | Private Limited Company |
|---|---|
| Industry | Security software |
| Founded | Slovakia (1992) |
| Headquarters | Bratislava, Slovakia |
| Key people | Andrew Lee, Pavol Luka, Juraj Malcho, Richard Marko, Milan Masaryk, Ignacio Sbampato (alphabetical) |
| Website | ESET.com |
ESET is an IT security company head-quartered in Bratislava, Slovakia that was founded in 1992 by the merger of two private companies.[1] The company was awarded as the most successful Slovak company in 2008, 2009 and 2010.[2][3] ESET is privately held and has branch offices in San Diego, California; Buenos Aires, Argentina; Prague, Czech Republic, Kraków, Poland and Singapore[4] as well as distributors in over 180 countries.
In December 2010, the company announced the appointment of Richard Marko as Global CEO, Milan Masaryk as CFO, Pavol Luka as CTO, Juraj Malcho as Chief Research Officer, Ignacio Sbampato as director of global sales and marketing, and Andrew Lee as the CEO of its North American branch. ESET's founders remain on as the company's board.[5]
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ESET's first product was NOD, an antivirus software for computers running MS-DOS. In 1998, ESET introduced NOD32 1.0 for Microsoft Windows, with version 2.0 following in 2003. The last supported build of the 2.x codebase is 2.70.39, released in November 2006 to add support for Microsoft Windows Vista. In January 2010, ESET announced they would cease selling or providing downloads of NOD32 2.x in February 2010 and no longer provide signature updates or support after February 2012.[6]
In November 2007, ESET released v3.0 of ESET NOD32 Antivirus and ESET Smart Security v3.0, the latter being a new product combining ESET NOD32 Antivirus with antispam and firewall functions. In March 2009, ESET released v4.0 of ESET NOD32 Antivirus and ESET Smart Security. In March 2010, ESET released v4.2 of ESET NOD32 Antivirus and ESET Smart Security.[7][8]
In September 2010, ESET released ESET NOD32 Antivirus for Mac OS X Business Edition[9] and in November 2010, a home version called ESET Cybersecurity for Mac OS X.[10]
ESET NOD32 Antivirus and ESET Smart Security 4.2 both support Windows 2000, XP, Server 2003, Server 2003 R2, Vista, Server 2008, Server 2008 R2 and Windows 7; additionally, ESET NOD32 Antivirus 4.2 supports Microsoft Windows NT 4.0 with Service Pack 6a.[11] Support for 64-bit (x86-64, not IA-64) versions of these operating systems is provided, although the program runs both 32-bit and 64-bit processes.[12] Users of older versions of Microsoft Windows, such as Windows 95, 98, Me and NT 4.0, will need to install the older 2.70.39 release. In addition to Microsoft Windows the company also supports the following operating systems: BSD, Linux, Mac OS X, Novell NetWare and Sun Solaris.
In May 2011, ESET began publicly beta testing ESET NOD32 Antivirus and ESET Smart Security version 5 which has now been released as a free upgrade to all current ESET NOD32 & Smart Business 4.x license holders as well a free trial for first time clients. Improvements in ESET NOD32 and Smart Security 5 includes an Enhanced Media Control that automaticlly scans all USB, external and CD/DVD drives for any threats and blocks removable media based on type and manufacturer of the media. Users can customize the behavior of the software by specifying rules for current running processes, programs, registry and tweek the security posture of the software. Gamer Mode being introduced into the software conserves system resources and activities for gaming and other full screen programs by haulting all pop-up windows that require user intervention. The new ESET Live Grid is a new cloud powered real-time protection scanner that protects against online based internet threats and online social-media exploits. Parents now have control over the computer with ESET Parental Control feature that blocks potentially offensive and dangerous web content by specifying rules and selecting various pre-defined categories.[13]
ESET also has ESET Mobile Security for Windows Mobile users, Symbian OS and Android. In addition to malware protection it provides antispam filtering for SMS messages, a firewall and anti-theft features, like SIM locking and remote wipe.[14]
ESET's use of assembly language in its products contributes to their low system requirements and disk space utilization.[15][16]
ESET calls its scanning engine ThreatSense, and makes extensive use of generic signatures and heuristics.[17] This should not be confused with ThreatSense.Net, which is ESET's system for submitting suspicious files and malware to their virus researchers.[18]
ESET's products are regularly tested by organizations such as AV-Comparatives, AV-Test and Virus Bulletin. ESET is the first company to receive sixty-five (65) VB100 awards from Virus Bulletin and has not missed a single threat in Virus Bulletin's tests in the past six years.[19] ESET's products are regularly certified by ICSA Labs and West Coast Labs.