Microsoft Security Essentials vs. NOD32

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jmroberts70

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Oct 15, 2002
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I've posted this in my Livejournal but I think I'd get more circulation and replies if I also post my findings here...

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So, I've been a long-time user of ESET Nod32 for all my personal machines, corporate systems, servers, and client PC's. I've heard many positive reviews for the newly-released antivirus and antimalware platform from Microsoft called Microsoft Security Essentials. My results were a little surprising and a bit disappointing...

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I started with a clean installation of XP SP3 on an Intel Core2 Duo system with 512 MB of RAM (shared with the on-board video system). All essential updates installed. Here's a capture of the system in this state.

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This next capture is after installing MSE, running a full system scan, rebooting, and waiting for all CPU activity to calm down for about 30 min. Note that the additional footprint for MSE is over 120MB. Considering the sparse amount of free memory in this system, this is a considerable hit to performance.

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Here I closed the MSE processes and watched the change in system performance both before and after. This confirms that the 120 MB memory hit was a direct result of running MSE in the background.

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This is after uninstaling MSE and rebooting. Strangely, I seemed to have managed to free up another 20 MB in memory somehow but I have no idea how...

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Lastly, this is after installing NOD32 and performing the same full scan and letting all CPU activity calm down. It barely registers as a memory hit at all. I'm 40 MB above the system after uninstalling MSE -but I'm still about 20 MB from the original system configuration when I started this test.

CONCLUSION: First of all, I know that this is a VERY limited test. I have seen these results on 3 additional systems but I'm well aware of the fact that this can be a purely anecdotal test result. With that said, being a free Antivirus / Antimalware platform, if you have plenty of RAM and probably running either Vista or Windows7, I see no reason why not dedicate some of the system resources to MSE. But, if you're still running older XP systems with limited amounts of RAM, I'd stick with the reasonably-priced, low-overhead of NOD32.

I'd love to hear any thoughts you have at this point...
 
I've had the opposite experience. And I'm an Eset gold partner, so I install an awful lot of NOD on many many different configurations. And I sit down at clients computers that I've installed it on..and to be honest...since I've been rolling out V4...I get a lot of compliants about how much slower their systems are if I upgraded them from V3 or especially 2.7. Gone are the days of wicked light version 2.7.

You didn't specify which version of NOD you used in your tests.

After installing NOD and MSE on many machines, and having a good feel for machines that I'm sitting down at, I put the "weight" of MSE about the same as NOD version 3 or even a little lighter. Version 4 is heavier. Matter of fact on my home gaming rig, it runs better with MSE than version 4 of NOD. Core 2 Duo with 3.5 gigs of RAM and a 10krpm Raptor drive.

A recent experience on an even older system that in your test..my wifes old laptop...a Pentium 4 H/T (pre-dual core days)....with only 512 megs, running XPp. I had NOD 2.7 on there for the longest time...version 3 even bogged it down a bit, version 4 made it unbearable. MSE went on..system is still quite usable, and naturally much better protected than with NOD 2.7.

MSE consumes approx 60 - 80 megs..depending on the system, if you add up its processes. Varies upon systems based on many other variables, naturally including how much system RAM you have.

NOD32 V4 is around 44 megs if I recall....I'm still sipping my first cuppa coffee.

But more and more these days..it's not so much about how much RAM an AV consumes, it's about CPU utilization. In the old days of having systems with 128 or 256 megs of RAM, you wanted to be more careful. But on todays systems of 512 megs...a gig...two gigs...well, I have my RAM there to be used, unused RAM is wasted RAM. Esp with Vista and Win7 and superfetch..you want your RAM to be used, that means less paging of the hard drive. And other behaviour...such as with NOD v4, you have that startup scan which renders your PC a bit useless for another 20 seconds after login.
 
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Interesting experiment. I just installed MSE on a system a friend has me working on. An old P4 Gateway with 1.25 Gig Ram. Seems to only hit 399MB of total PF using your same criteria. While just booting and idling the system runs at 370MB of total PF.

Perhaps this has more to do with clean computer vs. 'real-world' systems? Just a thought.
 
You're confirming my personal experience with it...
For whatever reason, anytime I played either Audio (WMP) or Video (YouTube), the system froze up tight. We're talking 3 minute lockups here. I troubleshooted that thing a ton, and eventually said screw it, took MSE off and put NOD32v4 back on..... Haven't had a problem sense.
We're talking a respectable system here, too... C2D, 3GB RAM, NVIDIA graphcs card...

That said, I've installed and recommended it to other folks and it works great.

Eset>*
 
Well, it looks like there's no hard and fast rule here on weather MSE is a home-run or not. Don't get me wrong, I've installed MSE on at least a dozen late-model machines without a hitch but I'm just not going to put it on an older XP box anymore.

BTW, YeOldeStonecat, I was using NOD32 v4 in my tests. Sad to hear that ESET is bloating up their wonderful platform. I hope it's not corporate morons driving the engineering side... I think we've all seen that happen here and it ain't pretty!!
 
YeOldeStonecat said:
But more and more these days..it's not so much about how much RAM an AV consumes, it's about CPU utilization.
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Actually, for me, it's all about harddrive utilization. MSE is awesome, but between the two MSE grinds the harddrive more often than Nod32. Especially noticable while browsing web and downloading files.

Just my perspective on things. I use MSE at home and on friends' PCs, but at work it's Nod32.
 
Doesn't matter what AV you use, they all have the capability to suck up 100% of your resources. It just comes down to which one more efficiently scans passively what you're doing during regular use on your systems.
 
ive seen that same problem, posted on the reviews about it, and no one listened =)

some machines, new ones run fine, older ones seem to be a slug
 
From a few of the trusted experts I've listened to on this subject, the main thing that they have noticed between MSE and other AV solutions is that MSE does a much deeper inspection of each file rather than simply rely on heuristics for spotting malware. This can result in MUCH slower scan times but a far less risk of false-positives. I know that will result in me wanting to not be around when it does its regularly scheduled full system scan but as far as day-to-day runnings, I think it looks like an issue of the amount of RAM you have available...
 
Meh, I'm still waiting a few more months, let AV-Comparities keep running their tests before I build too much of an opinion. Eset is still the all-around king, I'd expect it to win AV of the Year again.
 
jmroberts70 said:
From a few of the trusted experts I've listened to on this subject, the main thing that they have noticed between MSE and other AV solutions is that MSE does a much deeper inspection of each file rather than simply rely on heuristics for spotting malware. This can result in MUCH slower scan times but a far less risk of false-positives. I know that will result in me wanting to not be around when it does its regularly scheduled full system scan but as far as day-to-day runnings, I think it looks like an issue of the amount of RAM you have available...
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I've heard the same, and feel the same about the day to day operation.
Speaking of false positives, funny thing happened last night: I downloaded and installed WinRAR x64, latest version from the rarlabs website. MSE popped up a box later, referring to the install file, that said something to the effect of: "we've never seen this file. we're sure it's ok, but send it to us so we can look at it and whitelist it the next time", with buttons to either send it or not. AV that admits it could be wrong, but doesn't want to bother you. Nice.
 
TechieSooner said:
Eset is still the all-around king, I'd expect it to win AV of the Year again.
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"Again" implies it won last year. What trusted rating site did you think it won at last year?
AV-comparatives.org is the only one I trust...and the winner of 2008 wasn't Eset.
 
Avira and NOD32 got good marks from AV Comparatives last year, if I remember correctly.
 
I just can't stand how clunky ESET's site is every time I have to renew, and I hate messing with looking up a user / pass TWICE every time I have to install it. Drives me insane. I'm seriously considering jsut trying MSE this time around.
 
entropism said:
I'll say G-D in 2011, when they get Avast 5's engine and hueristics. But for next year, I'm going with Avira 10 and Avast 5.
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G-Data just won PCWorlds internet security suite roundup. For a relatively unknown name..they're making huge progress. I don't recall ever seeing an advertisement by them in PCWorld....I see Eset, Symantec naturally, BitDefender....but Eset didn't get in the roundup, and Symantec didnt' win.
 
YeOlde make sure you tell me when you swap, right now I stick with ESET just because its easy to deploy for business, and is pretty lightweight.

But I am always looking to improve.
 
marley1 said:
YeOlde make sure you tell me when you swap, right now I stick with ESET just because its easy to deploy for business, and is pretty lightweight.

But I am always looking to improve.
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I don't think I"ll swap...comes at too much cost for clients to "switch"..esp once you include labor and disruption. Eset will climb back towards the top soon I'm sure. AV programs are always this way..every year there's a new "favorite darling".
 
Track record is huge... Symantec's sucks, which is why people will stay away from them for some time to come.

Eset's is very good. If they keep building heavier and heavier clients (IMO we'll see something very efficient in V5) then that might warrant a change.
 
TechieSooner said:
Track record is huge... Symantec's sucks, .which is why people will stay away from them for some time to come.
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Actually, if you've spent any time at AV-Comparatives over the years, as an average they're consistently towards the top handful.

They've consistently had a strong foothold in the business/corporate world with their managed product, and they have a good foothold on the OEM market as well as retail channels for the home market.

As much as some people have moaned and groaned about the bloated products 'tween 2004 and 2008...people won't stay away from it.
 
YeOldeStonecat said:
Actually, if you've spent any time at AV-Comparatives over the years, as an average they're consistently towards the top handful.

They've consistently had a strong foothold in the business/corporate world with their managed product, and they have a good foothold on the OEM market as well as retail channels for the home market.

As much as some people have moaned and groaned about the bloated products 'tween 2004 and 2008...people won't stay away from it.
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Yep. TechieSooner just has inaccurate information once again.
 
tricky0502 said:
false positive??

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Nope. Just not classified yet (read the text of the dialog). And you've likely changed the settings from default to have more control over what is reported otherwise. Users with MSE in the default setting don't get this.
 
it is totally default settings.

that isnt the first time ive seen this. i have seen this before on other computers with the default settings (just not with steam).
 
Well my 1 year license of Nod32 ran out today. I really liked the program, but a $50 renewal with so many other free options out there is hard to justify now. Giving MSE a shot.
 
NOD32 as good as it is has f+++ed themselves. They jacked the price up to 60.00 Canadian for 1 year, and they have stopped selling to independent retailers. I used to be able to buy 10 or 20 lots of license to resell but no more. Online or Staples type outlets only now.

MSSE as an antivirus is just as good. It does use more resources but does not run poorly even on lower spec systems.

I feel like my company got screwed after 5 years of reselling to just be told....sorry, online or retail only.

Cheers!
 
Newegg for the home user lic, 20 a copy, think we got our last 100 at 15 a pop.
 
I dont get the guy above me, your suppose to become a reseller of NOD if you sell it, thats easy, if you dont meet their standards at ESET they send you to a partner that you get it. I couldn't meet the quota from ESET directly so I deal with another company for great pricing too.

Home user stuff you can only make good money if you get from say Newegg. ESET or Reseller still higher then buying bulk from Newegg.

I like ESET, I haven't noticed it slow dowm machines, I have noticed MSE slow down some machines old or new just seems some get affected more than others.

Issues I have with Nod is that V4 still screws up on servers, so kind of annoying using older version but not a big deal. I wish the Malware was better but I think every antivirus has issues, ive seen machines with MSE, Norton, Mcafee, Trend all come in with spyware.
 
TechieSooner said:
Sorry, but using MSE for business use is against the EULA.
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Not entirely true.

# INSTALLATION AND USE RIGHTS.

* Use. You may install and use any number of copies of the software on your devices in your household for use by people who reside there or for use in your home-based small business.

Cheers!
 
marley1 said:
I dont get the guy above me, your suppose to become a reseller of NOD if you sell it, thats easy, if you dont meet their standards at ESET they send you to a partner that you get it. I couldn't meet the quota from ESET directly so I deal with another company for great pricing too.

Home user stuff you can only make good money if you get from say Newegg. ESET or Reseller still higher then buying bulk from Newegg.

I like ESET, I haven't noticed it slow dowm machines, I have noticed MSE slow down some machines old or new just seems some get affected more than others.

Issues I have with Nod is that V4 still screws up on servers, so kind of annoying using older version but not a big deal. I wish the Malware was better but I think every antivirus has issues, ive seen machines with MSE, Norton, Mcafee, Trend all come in with spyware.
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Newegg Canada does not sell NOD32. My reseller told me they are no longer allowed to resell NOD32 after distributing thousands of copies within Central Interior British Columbia, Canada.

Cheers!

Cheers!
 
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