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ESET is an IT security company headquartered in Bratislava, Slovakia that was founded in 1992 by the merger of two private companies.

The beginnings of ESET
The beginnings of ESET date back to 1987 when two young programming enthusiasts, Peter Paško and Miroslav Trnka, discovered one of the world’s first computer viruses. They dubbed it “Vienna” and wrote a program for its detection.

Many other virus discoveries quickly followed, which sparked the idea to devise a universal software solution to counter these then relatively unknown computer threats.

In 1992, together with their mutual friend Rudolf Hrubý, they formally established ESET as a privately owned limited liability company.

 

What started as the brainchild of a few friends has evolved into an antivirus program considered to be one of the fastest and most effective in the world. Engineered for speed and stability, it fulfills the founders’ vision to put advanced technology at the fingertips of the average PC user.

Throughout the company’s expansion, we stayed true to the principles underpinning the company‘s philosophy — responsibility, reliability and honesty. These, coupled with innovation, continue to be the driving force behind the company‘s success and growth.

Present Times
Currently, ESET is privately-held with more than 500 employees worldwide. Headquatered in Bratislava, Slovakia, ESET has branch offices in San Diego, U.S.A.; Wexford, Ireland; London, United Kingdom; Buenos Aires, Argentina; Prague, Czech Republic; Singapore and Kraków, Poland.

 

"In our beginning, we looked at our job as a service to PC users. We believed that computers would grow in importance - if people would continue to rely on them for storing their life´s work, confidential data or making online transactions."Miroslav Trnka, co-founder, ESET

2010
  • First company to receive 60 VB100 awards
  • Named one of America's Fastest-Growing Private Companies by Inc. magazine for the 4th consecutive year
  • Ranked #1 antivirus by Maximum PC magazine
  • Acquired anti-spam company Comdom

2009
  • Securing Our eCity initiative founded to promote cyber security
  • Received CNET Editors' Choice award
  • ESET placed on Gartner Magic Quadrant
  • Ranked #1 by Consumer Reports
  • Named one of America's Fastest-Growing Private Companies by INC. Magazine for the 3rd consecutive year
  • Named 6th-fastest growing privately-held company in San Diego

2008
  • Merger with ESET, LLC USA
  • Establishment of ESET Research and Development Center in Poland
  • Acquisition of Šetrnet, a Czech-based company
  • Achieved 50th overall Virus Bulletin Award

2006
  • ESET receives its second “IT Company of the Year” award in Slovakia

2002
  • The first independent participation of ESET at the CeBit trade fair, Hanover Germany
  • ESET receives "IT Company of the Year" recognition awarded by the Slovak Information and Communication Technologies Association
  • ESET listed for the first time in "Fast 50 CE" and "Fast 500 EMEA" ranking by Deloitte

2001
  • Establishment of ESET Software Company in Prague, Czech Republic

1999
  • Establishment of ESET, LLC in San Diego, USA

1998
  • NOD32 receives the first Virus Bulletin Test award

1995
  • Streamlined version of the antivirus program NOD-iCE launched

1993
  • Start of contribution to "Virus Radar" column in a leading Slovak IT periodical PC-Revue

1992
  • Establishment of ESET Spol. s.r.o. in the former Czechoslovakia. The associates are: Rudolf Hrubý, Peter Paško a Miroslav Trnka.
  • The foundation of Slovak Antivirus Center (SAC) and SAC BBS

1990
  • Retail launched through A.T.A. Syndicate
  • The first retail version delivered to the Austrian market under the product name STOPVIR

1987
  • The first version of antivirus NOD is created; the authors are Peter Paško and Miroslav Trnka
  • NOD is a twist on an acronym of a Czechoslovak television series title, meaning "Hospital at the Edge of the Disc"