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    Norton Or ESET - Which One Should You Choose?

    Joseph Baker
    Joseph Baker - 2020-05-09T21:00:00.000Z
    ESET Vs Norton

    Symantec’s Norton is a widely acclaimed brand within the antivirus industry, while ESET is a comparatively new brand.

    However, both of these antiviruses are known to provide high-end security alongside a plethora of additional features.  

    Both brands have been tested in third-party independent labs for Windows devices, and are known to use innovative security measures for multi-layered protection.

    Learn about the differences between these products to make an informed decision about the best one for you.

    Let's Check Out The Features 

    Norton relies on heuristic monitoring alongside crowdsourced insights for detailed scans. ESET, on the other hand, is one of the few brands that rely on a UEFI (Unified Extensible Firmware Interface) scanner to verify abnormalities before the system boots. Here’s a quick comparison of the core features each offers: 

    • The two-way smart firewall is one of the best features of Norton. It can protect your devices from all types of malware and viruses. NOD32, too, offers a firewall, but it isn’t as smart as that of its competitors.
    • You’ll get identity protection and online transaction protection even with the lowest-tier plans of Norton. The password manager, social media monitor, and real-time scans are other reliable features. ESET also provides similar features in addition to the anti-spyware defense mechanism.
    • One of the aspects we enjoyed most about Norton is the wide range of tools the company offers with its core scanning platform. The company includes a variety of privacy tools that include email protection, VPN, safe browsing ability, and more. ESET also offers more or less the same set of features, but it misses out on a VPN.

    Comparing the features and the price tags for each tier, Norton wins this round - thanks to a few additional features and an extremely strong focus on identity theft protection. 

    Defence And Protection 

    ESET offers four scanning options, but there’s no quick scan out there like Norton’s.

    Overall, we found that the latter offers some of the best scanning utilities of any antivirus on the market.

    The company’s antivirus software scored perfect marks on the industry benchmark test by AV-TEST. 

    • The recent AV-Comparatives Malware Protection Test of March 2020 awarded NOD 32 an ADVANCED+ rating as it was able to block 99.99% of threats with just 2 False Positives. In the same test, Norton was able to detect 100% of threats but raised 25 False Positives. As a result of this, it was awarded an ADVANCED rating.
    • Another Real-World Protection Test by AV-Comparatives in March 2020 showed similar results. While Total Security was able to block 100% of threats, it raised 14 False Positives. On the other hand, NOD32 was able to block 99.7% threats without raising any False Positives. 

    User Friendliness And Performance 

    All antiviruses are designed to provide you complete security from viruses, malware, and other threats. But, the differentiating factors that make users choose one over the other are typically performance and user-friendliness.  

    • AV-Comparatives organized the most-recent performance test in October 2019. These tests were done on Intel Core i7 machines with 8GB RAM and 64-Bit systems. Based on the test results, NOD32 overpowered every other brand with the lowest impact score of 1.3 and an ADVANCED+ rating, while Norton ranked 13th out of 16 brands with an impact score of 12.6.
    • Talking about the ease of use, ESET has one of the simplest UIs out there. Besides, it’s the only product that allows users to resize the interface as per their needs. It offers a clean and crisp UI but isn’t as customizable as Norton’s. 

    Last But Not Least - What About Pricing? 

    One of the major factors that users take into consideration when making the purchase of antivirus software is the pricing of the product and the features that come along with that price tag.

    When it comes to pricing, Norton offers cheaper and higher-value options than ESET.

    ESET

    features are available by the tiers you choose but you’ll get a 30-day free trial and refund if requested.

    It offers 3 plans to choose from - Smart Security Premium at $59.99/year for 1 device with all features, Internet Security at $49.99/year for 1 device with limited features, and NOD32 Antivirus at $39.99/year for 1 device with basic features.

    Norton

    has 4 plans to choose from, and you’ll get almost all of the features even with the basic plan.

    The lowest package called Antivirus Plus costs $19.99/year for 1 device, 360 Standard comes with add-ons like VPN, SafeCam, etc. and costs $29.99/year for a single device.

    Next, there’s the 360 Deluxe package for 5 devices at $39.99/year, and 360 With Lifelock at $89.99/year for 5 devices. T

    he premium package offers features like Identity alert, Restoration specialists, Credit monitoring, and lost wallet protection, in addition to all of the other features. 

    Bottom Line 

    Thanks to its outstanding capacities of security and efficiency, and its excellent set of useful functions, Norton is the better choice.

    It’s also an inexpensive option that guarantees coverage for the whole family or range of devices, at far higher levels than ESET.

    You’ll get all of the necessary features even with the lowest-tier package; hence we think that Norton deserves a landslide victory in this comparison.