Latest Detection Technology Protects Against New and Advanced ThreatsESET®, the global leader in proactive digital protection with a record 10 years of consecutive VB100 awards for its ESET NOD32® technology, today announced the launch of the 7th generation of its flagship consumer products: - internal-link "ESET NOD32® Antivirus">ESET NOD32® Antivirus and ESET Smart Security®. New technology features, including Exploit Blocker, Advanced Memory Scanner, Vulnerability Shield and ESET Social Media Scanner provide a great balance of protection and usability without compromising system performance.
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“At ESET we create security products that enable safer enjoyment of technology.
Our new products retain the same low system footprint ESET is known for, while offering even greater protection from new and yet undiscovered malware thanks to unique core technology improvements.”
says Ignacio Sbampato, ESET Chief Sales and Marketing Officer.
“These days’ cybercriminals often deploy heavily-encrypted malware designed to evade detection. To further increase the probability of infection and damage, malware is typically being distributed by exploiting vulnerable applications such as web browsers, PDF readers, email clients or MS Office components,”
states Palo Luka, ESET Chief Technology Officer.
To deal with these threats, ESET has conducted extensive research and extended its core detection technology in version 7 products with three new features:
- Exploit Blocker, the brand new feature targets the very process of exploitation of vulnerable applications, thus it is generic and independent of the payload/malware that finally infects the machine. It provides protection against new and undiscovered malware, also known as zero day threats.
- Advanced Memory Scanner steps in as a post-execution method, aiming to detect the outstanding malware sets that other technologies haven’t spotted. The Scanner helps to protect against malware actively trying to evade detection by employing obfuscation techniques.
- Vulnerability Shield, an extension of Personal Firewall in ESET Smart Security, it operates on the network level and protects against misuse of known vulnerabilities in network protocols.
“The new technologies in version 7 of our flagship products are developed and implemented in a unique way so they work in concert and are capable of proactively detecting and blocking vulnerabilities such as the February 2013 PDF exploit CVE-2013-0641, dubbed the exploit of the year because of its high popularity and often inclusion in Exploit Kits, also awarded Pwnie Award for Best Client-Side Bug* at BlackHat 2013. The technology is also meant to help address the issue of targeted attacks, such as the infamous RSA breach in 2011.”
says Juraj Malcho, ESET Chief Research Officer.
During the BETA phase of version 7 products, Advanced Memory Scanner was able to detect and collect a number of samples belonging to malware families that often cause issues such as Win32/TrojanDownloader.Wauchos, a disreputable vehicle for further malware delivery, or high-profile Trojans such as Win32/Fynloski, Win32/Wigon or Win32/Zbot** and last, but not least, the technology has proven to help against ransomware Trojans, too,” adds Malcho.
ESET Research and Development teams have paid close attention not only to detection, but also to malware cleaning. The Cleaner Module has been improved specifically to address rootkits removal and a Specialized Cleaner has been added to help with the most resistant malware.
Considering the research data from Harris Interactive*** and the growth of social media cyber threats including Twitter spam and malware, the new version 7 products have various product enhancements to boost their security and pack an improved - internal-link "ESET Social Media Scanner">ESET Social Media Scanner (version 2). It monitors and keeps the user and their friends’ social network accounts away from threats, allowing the user to choose from on-demand and automatic scans for malware detection. Apart from better scanning of Facebook it also extends protection to the user’s Twitter account. The Security Center displays the current privacy level on Facebook and Twitter, with suggestions for changes to improve privacy settings. All these improvements are part of the my.eset.com. By creating an account at my.eset.com, the user can manage the protection of their social media profiles and protect an unlimited number of accounts, including those of friends and family.
Latest research results by Harris Interactive (commisioned by ESET) shows that there is a growing number of adult Internet users connecting to multiple networks on a daily basis. On avarage, these users have at least 2 social media accounts and two-thirds of them do not feel that websites do a good job of screening for malicious content. The report states, “Receiving suspicious messages has become the norm, with 4 in 5 social media users having ever received one; of them, 91% received one this year, most comonly by e-mail, then text.”
Both, ESET NOD32 Antivirus and ESET Smart Security are officially certified for Windows 8 and Windows 8.1. To download the new version 7 products and to find out more on the new technology and core features, visit - internal-link "ESET NOD32 Antivirus">ESET NOD32 Antivirus and ESET Smart Security product pages.
* Pwnie for Best Client-Side Bug is awarded to the person who discovered or exploited the most technically sophisticated and interesting client-side bug
** Further malware descriptions available through http://www.virusradar.com/
*** Harris Interactive on behalf of ESET conducted online survey within the United States in September 2013 among 2,089 adults ages 18 and older.