The last time ESET updated its security suites--the antivirus & anti-malware-only NOD32 & the more feature-heavy alternative Smart Security--it was a different computer security world. It was March 2009: Anonymous barely existed, Stuxnet hadn't gone public, & ransomware was the stuff of science fiction.
Version five of ESET NOD32 is a solid, creative try to generate a suite that adapts to a quickly changing threatscape, with an emphasis on generic detections & the now-commonplace reliance on both cloud & locally stored detections. Where NOD32's bigger brother Smart Security five left us wanting more in the ancillary features department, the area that plenty of do not think about "core" security, NOD32 strikes an ideal pitch between features, cost, & effectiveness.