Eset Smart Security

Smart Security impressed us straight away with its incredibly small footprint: it occupied the least RAM of any package this month, and had the smallest impact on CPU usage and boot time.

We enjoyed setting it up, too: the interface is one of the clearest this month, with even ‘advanced mode' presenting all your options in a logical and easy-to-understand way.

Double-click on the System Tray icon and the interface leaps up instantly. Many rival packages could learn a lot from Eset.

The firewall continued this theme, bringing up a clear requester asking us to choose between ‘strict protection' and ‘allow sharing', along with explanations of our choices in plain English. It worked well, too: when we probed it with our security scanner we found just one high-risk vulnerability and three open TCP ports.

We also liked the way Smart Security integrated with Windows Mail. It installed a new Spam toolbar, which perfectly matched the look and feel of existing controls, and created a new folder for infected items. When rogue messages were detected, Smart Security removed the attachment and put the details in the subject line, so we could see at a glance what it had done.

It may sound like Eset has created the perfect suite, but sadly there's a caveat. Smart Security didn't disgrace itself in our malware tests, but its performance was merely average: it scored 87% in our file-based test and managed a hit-rate of just 14% against web threats.

For this reason, it's hard to give Smart Security an unreserved endorsement, though for a low-risk environment it's a very likeable option.

• 
  Avira Premium Security Suite, why it's an undiscovered gem
• 
  Norton Internet Security 2009
• 
  McAfee Total Protection 2009, capable but not world-beating
• 
  Trend Micro PC-cillin Internet Security Pro 2009
• 
  AVG Internet Security 8.0
• 
  Webroot Internet Security Essentials
• 
  Panda Intenet Security 2009
• 
  PC Tools Internet Security 2009
• 
  BitDefender Total Security 2009
• 
  ZoneAlarm Internet Security Suite 2009, the good and bad
• 
  Kaspersky Internet Security 2009
• 
  F-Secure Internet Security 2009, credible but a big RAM footprint
• 
  Windows Live OneCare