ESET NOD32 Antivirus One of Four to Receive AV-comparatives Advanced+ Rating

Business Wire, Dec 29, 2006

Independent Research Verifies Necessity of Advanced Heuristics for Real-Time Protection; ESET Also Wins 41(st) Virus Bulletin Award

SAN DIEGO -- In a recent report released from AV-comparatives.org, ESET NOD32 is one out of only four antivirus solutions to receive an Advanced+ rating based on results of tests evaluating proactive, on-demand detection of virus/malware, false positive and scanning speed. A total of 15 antivirus solutions were involved in the comparative review. In addition, ESET also won its 41st Virus Bulletin award, extending its industry leading eight-year track record as the vendor with the most awards.

Released in November 2006, Anti-Virus Comparative No. 12 helps users discern the reality of claims made by leading antivirus providers as they relate to high proactive detection capabilities - many of which have been optimized to achieve desired results.

Speed is a key differentiator among antivirus solutions. The faster a solution performs, the better protection it offers. Many new forms of malware appear on a daily, even hourly, rate. According to the Anti-Virus Comparative report, "Othis is why it's important that anti-virus products not only provide new updates, as often and as fast as possible, in order to identify those new threats, but also that they are able to detect such threats in advance with advanced heuristics and generic signature techniques. Without this ability the user has to wait for an updated release of the anti-virus product."

Industry reports like Anti-Virus Comparative demonstrate the significance of advanced heuristics in combating malware and reducing the viable strike time in which a computer can become compromised. Solutions that rely solely on signatures leave users unprotected for a critical time period when a specific form of malware has been identified and the signature has not yet been released and downloaded. Advanced heuristics technology is a crucial methodology for identifying potential malware threats and eliminating them in "real-time."

"The results clearly demonstrate that ESET has taken the right approach to protection with its ThreatSense advanced heuristics technology," said Andreas Clementi, project manager at AV-comparatives.org who conducted the test. "Our testing has proven that new and more difficult-to-identify viruses and other malware threats are emerging every day, and many antivirus solutions are not capable of matching the rate of detection. ESET's solution proactively identifies and eliminates these threats."

In addition to its success in the recent Anti-Virus Comparative test, ESET NOD32 continued its eight-year streak in securing a top rank in Virus Bulletin competitive testing against a diverse range of products. These tests were conducted with voracious infectors that drop themselves into open files or trawled file systems for unsuspecting "victims." Tests conducted included ItW, Standard, Macro and Polymorphic. In Virus Bulletin's December Comparative Review John Hawes states, "With splendid and remarkably consistent speed, and irreproachable detection, NOD32 takes another VB 100% award in its stride."

"This latest report once again clearly shows ESET NOD32 is one of the most advanced and leading anti-malware solutions. We are delighted with the results from Anti-Virus Comparative report and proud to continue our long-running history in receiving our 41st Virus Bulletin award," said Rick Moy, vice president of marketing, ESET LLC. "Our focus for 2007 is to continue providing technically superior products with minimal system impact. Real-time protection becomes ever more significant as malware frequency and severity continues its upward path, and ESET's continued vigilance ensures our customers always have the highest level of protection available today."

ESET NOD32 Antivirus version 2.7 utilizes ThreatSense[R] technology, a sophisticated detection system based on advanced heuristics, to proactively identify previously unknown viruses, Trojans, spyware, rootkits and phishing attacks in real-time. ThreatSense is built into NOD32's unified scanning engine to provide comprehensive protection so users do not need to rely on additional point solutions for spyware and adware protection.

To learn more about emerging threats and what businesses and consumers can do to protect themselves, ESET has produced a podcast series available on iTunes or at http://www.eset.com/podcasts/.

About ESET

Founded in 1992, ESET is a global provider of security software for enterprises and consumers. ESET's award-winning, Anti-Threat software system, NOD32, provides real-time protection from known and unknown viruses, spyware and other malware. NOD32 offers the smallest, fastest and most advanced protection available, with more Virus Bulletin 100% Awards than any other antivirus product. ESET was named to Deloitte's Technology Fast 500 five years running, and has an extensive partner network, including corporations like Canon, Dell and Microsoft. ESET has offices in Bratislava, SK; Bristol, U.K.; Buenos Aires, AR; Prague, CZ; San Diego, USA; and is represented worldwide in more than 100 countries. For more information, visit www.eset.com or call (619) 319-3000.