ESET Smart Security v3.0

This product consists of several modules. There is the ERA Server, ERA Console, ERA Mirror server and client computers running ESET AV, Server Edition or Smart Security. ERAS also uses the MDAC (Microsoft Data Access Components) database component.

We loaded a single ERA Server, although you can have multiple servers for large environments. The server runs as a service on a Microsoft platform and acts as the go-between for the ERA Console and the clients. This provides the ability for redundancy through a replication process, and distribution of load for application deployments and updates across the network. We loaded the ERA Console, and even though we had to load several modules, we were managing clients within 20 minutes.

The tool blocks a wide variety of malware, network attacks and spam. The anti-virus, anti-spyware, anti-spam and firewall client was easy to set up and use. There is support for email (POP3) and web traffic (HTTP) filtering. The client uses traditional signatures, heuristics and advanced analysis techniques to guard against new, unknown threats.

The console was intuitive and easy to use. The centralised reporting and alerting functions were good. We did not, however, see any ability for email notification on critical events. The console can integrate with Active Directory and discover the endpoints.

The client application installed easily from the remote console. The endpoint application was easy to use, and, in advanced mode, provided a wide degree of flexibility for configuring firewall and virus/spyware protection.

The documentation was delivered via PDF and did a good job in walking us through the deployment of the various components. Support is included in the license and consists of email, phone and a web-based knowledge base/FAQ.

Overall, the product did a nice job in our lab. It provides a good range of malware protection at the endpoint, and the administration console did a nice job reporting, alerting, distributing and managing the endpoint software.