Latest News
November 18, 2008
ESET Smart Security 4.0 Public Beta 1 is now available. This release incorporates many new features and improvements, including:
- support for Microsoft Windows Live Mail and Mozilla Thunderbird mail user agents
- scanning of SSL-encrypted HTTPS and POP3S traffic
- integrated SysRescue module for creating bootable discs and USB flash drives
- integrated SysInspector module for analyzing runnings processes on computer
- device driver-based cleaning module to remove malware which runs at boot time
- Watch Activity pane graphs File and Network Activity with second, minute or hour precision
- text mode interface for compatibility with screen-readers and other assistive technologies
ESET Smart Security 4.0 contains many other new features and changes. For a complete list of changes since ESET Smart Security 3.0, see the
Changelog tab, above.
WHAT IS ESET SMART SECURITY?
ESET Smart Security is ESET's solution to protect against a variety of threats. It combine's the next generation of ESET's NOD32 antimalware engine with a personal firewall, antispam filter, system inspection and bootable disc creation modules.
CONSIDERATIONS AND REQUIREMENTS
The beta test version is a precursor of the final product without full functionality and documentation. It is intended for experienced users and should not be installed on computers which perform critical tasks because it may cause errors or crashes.
ESET Smart Security Home Edition runs on 32-bit (x86) and 64-bit (x64) versions of Microsoft Windows 2000, Windows XP, Windows Vista and Windows Home Server. Antispam works with Microsoft Outlook, Microsoft Windows Mail and Mozilla Thunderbiird. For more detailed information, please see the Requirements tab, above.
General Questions
Q1: What is ESET Smart Security?
A1: ESET Smart Security is ESET's integrated security offering. It combines the next generation of ESET's anti-virus engine with personal firewall, antispam, system inspection and bootable media creator modules.
Q2: How do I obtain a copy of ESET Smart Security?
A2: Download links and sign-in information are available at http://beta.eset.com/.
Q3: Why do I have to fill out a form to download the beta?
A3: You do not have to fill out the form to download the beta, however, if you do we will be able to contact you via email during the beta test cycle to announce new releases or provide other urgent information.
Q4: How many beta test releases will there be?
A4: ESET does not have a public schedule for when new beta test builds will be released. New beta test builds will be released in response to feedback from bug reports and feature requests as well as to add additional functionality to the software.
Q5: How long will the beta test program run for?
A5: The beta test cycle for ESET Smart Security will run until the program reaches the necessary levels of quality, performance and reliability.
Q6: What happens at the end of the beta test program?
A6: At the end of the beta test program, a message will be sent to testers who provided a contact email address letting them know the exact date the beta test version ceases to work. If you did not provide contact information, you will only receive notifications through ESET Smart Security as to when the beta test version's license has expired.
Q7: How do I provide feedback on ESET Smart Security?
A7: There are three ways to contact ESET in order to report a bug, request a feature or ask a question regarding ESET Smart Security:
Please keep in mind that ESET may not respond to your report unless additional information is required in order to replicate the problem.
Public Beta 1 Questions
Q1: Can ESET Smart Security v4.0 Public Beta 1 be installed over ESET Smart Security v3?
A1: ESET Smart Security v4 can be installed over v3, however, we do not recommend performing an upgrade installation. By performing a clean install of ESET Smart Security v4 you will have the opportunity to examine the many changes made in the product over the previous version.
Q2: Is a list of known issues available?
A2: A list of known issues can be found in the Changelog for ESET Smart Security.
Q3: I am unable to update the virus signatures or receive a "General Compiler Error" message when attempting to download updates. What's wrong?
A3: In order to download updates, you will need to use username and password built into the beta version. If you use your own username and password, you will not be able to update. To resolve, uninstall and reinstall the software, using the username and password supplied in the installation package.
Q4: After enabling scanning of SSL-encrypted HTTP traffic, Opera Web Browser can no longer access web sites beginning with https://. What's wrong?
A4: This is a known issue and is under investigation.
Q5: The version of ESET SysInspector built into ESET Smart Security v4.0 public beta 1 detects a rootkit on my computer, but the standalone release, v1.1.2.0, does not. Is my computer infected?
A5: The version of ESET SysInspector built into ESET Smart Security v4.0 public beta 1 may incorrectly report a rootkit. This is a known issue and is under investigation.
Q6: I upgraded from ESET Smart Security v3.0 to v4.0 public beta 1 and received a warning that an application modification had been detected. Is my computer infected?
A6: No, your computer is not infected. This behavior is expected if application modification detection is enabled in ESET Smart Security v3.0 and you upgrade to v4.0 public beta 1.
Q7: The Activity Monitor has disappeared from ESET Smart Security's user interface. What's wrong?
A7: This is a known issue and will be fixed in a future build.
REV. 20081202AG
Changelog for ESET Smart Security v4.0
November 18, 2008The following are new or revised features in ESET Smart Security v4.0 Public Beta 1:
User Interface
- Icon in system notification tray area now spins to notify user when performing various operations, such as virus scanning, download virus signature database updates and performing scheduled tasks.
- Many options in the user interface are now available through keyboard shortcuts (pressing Ctrl or Ctrl + Shift and another character). See Keyboard Shortcuts, below, for more information.
- The status of the license can be viewed by selecting Help→Verify License Validity from the main menu bar. NOTE: A connection to the license expiration database server will be made when this occurs.
- [PLANNED] Additional localizations for distinct regional languages, including:
- ESM (Mexican Spanish)
- ESN (European Spanish)
- FRA (European French)
- FRC (Canadian French)
- In the context menu integrated with Windows Explorer, the Quarantine File and Submit File for Analysis options can be hidden from the user.
- The Protection Status pane will contain more detailed information about the license expiration date.
- Notification messages can be hidden and automatically responded to on a per-window basis.
- Watch Activity pane shows File and Network Activity and can be graphed with second, minute or hourly resolution.
- Statistics are displayed on Antivirus and Antispyware protection, Real-Time File System Protection, Email Client Protection, Web Access Protection and Antispam module.
- User Interface features a text mode with keyboard navigation and improved compatibility with screen-reading software and Windows high contrast mode.
General
- Two new modules have been introduced:
- System Status Module
- Self-Defense Support Module
- All modules are verified for authenticity and consistency using strong cryptography (digital signature verification) prior to use or communication.
- Support for Cisco NAC (only available in the Business Edition).
- ESET kernel service has been hardened to prevent tampering or being disabled by malware.
- ESET SysRescue creates bootable CDs, DVDs and USB flash drives using the Microsoft Windows Automated Installer Kit (requires Microsoft Windows XP SP2 or newer).
- Under Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008, filtering no longer is done by acting as a local proxy.
- [PLANNED] Portable computer support.
- Password-protected uninstallation routine to prevent unauthorized software removal (reintroduced from NOD32 v2.7).
- When contacting support for assistance, an ESET SysInspector log can be automatically generated and sent with the support request.
- Improved UAC compatibility for Microsoft Windows Vista.
- [PLANNED] Home Edition can be installed on Windows Home Server.
Antivirus & Antispyware
- Document Protection has been reintroduced from NOD32 v2.7 to the Antivirus and Antispyware Protection module. It scans Microsoft Office documents prior to opening and objects that are automatically downloaded by Internet Explorer, such as Microsoft ActiveX controls. NOTE: Formerly called DMON in NOD32 v2.7.
- Ability to scan email sent over SSL-encrypted POP3 (POP3S) connections.
- Ability to scan email sent over SSL-encrypted HTTP (HTTPS) connections.
- Ability to scan email retrieved using the IMAP protocol for mail clients utilizing an ESET plugin.
- Network files are now scanned during On-Create access.
- New device driver to clean malware which runs at boot time.
- New limits configuration options in the ThreatSense engine for archive handling:
- Maximum Object Size — Specifies the largest size of file to scan, in bytes. Files larger than this will not be scanned.
- Maximum Scan Time for Object — Specifies the amount of time, in seconds, the scanning engine should spend on a single object before moving on to the next one.
- Archive Nesting Level — Specifies the level of archives to recursively scan inside.
- Maximum size of file (from archive) — Specifies the largest size of a file to scan, in bytes, from inside an archive file. Files larger than this will not be scanned.
- In Real-Time File System Protection, it is now possible to enable Advanced Heuristics on file execution. NOTE: This may slow file execution down. Users will be prompted to confirm selection before enabling.
- In Real-Time File System Protection, users are now prompted when changing options that may affect system performance.
- Improved classification of malware by security risk: Potentially Unwanted (adware, toolbars and so forth) and Potentially Unsafe (password audit, traffic capture and so forth) applications are flagged by a yellow alert/status, with an option to exclude the application in subsequent scans.
- Support for Microsoft Windows Live Mail and Mozilla Thunderbird email clients.
- Reliable scanning of large (2GB+) files, such as UDF-formatted ISO and RAR files.
- Added Removable Media options under Real-Time File System Protection. This allows more granular scanning of floppy diskettes, optical media, and
- Option to block access to removable media.
- Option to selectively allow access to removable media on per-drive and per-USB port basis
- Advanced Heuristics can be enabled and/or excluded on files executed from removable media independent of other program settings
- Ability to disable ESET Personal Firewall and Antispam modules from within the graphic user interface until re-enabled.
ESET Personal Firewall
- ESET Personal Firewall modules contains two new Filtering Modes:
- Learning Mode is a special mode in which the firewall automatically creates rules allowing all applications and connections. It is not meant to be used except when initially setting up the firewall rules.
- Automatic Mode with Exceptions combines the default mode with user-definable rules.
- In the ESET Personal Firewall's IDS and Advanced Options tree, the Allowed Services section contains two new options:
- Maintain inactive TCP connections for improved compatibility with databases and streaming media applications
- Enable communication for bridged connections for improved compatibility with virtual machines, VPNs and similar applications
These options will eventually be in ESET Smart Security v3.0 as well.
Antispam
- Antispam module optimized to both perform faster and use less memory than previous version.
- Entries from the email client's address book can now be whitelisted, blacklisted or excluded from spam detection.
ESET SysInspector
- ESET SysInspector is now integrated into ESET Smart Security and can be accessed by pressing Ctrl + I when the graphic user interface is open. NOTE: ESET SysInspector will still be available as a standalone program.
Keyboard Shortcuts
The following is a list of keyboard shortcuts available from within the ESET Smart Security user interface:
| Key Chord | Action |
| Ctrl + G | toggles between graphic and text mode |
| Ctrl + I | opens ESET SysInspector module |
| Ctrl + L | opens Log Files view |
| Ctrl + M | toggles between Standard and Advanced Mode |
| Ctrl + Q | opens Quarantine view |
| Ctrl + R | resets window location and sizes to default |
| Ctrl + S | opens Scheduler/Planner view |
| Ctrl + U | opens Username and Password dialog |
| Function Key | Action |
| F1 | Help |
| Ctrl + F1 | Index |
| Ctrl + Shirt + F1 | Search |
| F5 | Open Advanced Setup |
Known Issues for ESET Smart Security v4.0
December 4, 2008User Interface
- Incorrect displaying of info about the latest log and number of files in quarantine Thunderbird add-on
- Support for Mozilla Thunderbird v2.0.0
- Anti-Spam for IMAP – Works correctly only when "Make the messages in my Inbox available when I am working offline" option is enabled
- Activity monitor disappears ~2 weeks after installation
SysInspector
- Front-end for cleaning functions of ESET SysInspector is not yet available
- Status bar redesign to follow
- Incorrect report of rootkits on some systems running Windows Vista
E-Mail Clients
- Compatibility issues with Windows Live Mail BETA
- Compatibility issues after import of accounts from Windows Mail to Windows Live Mail when running Microsoft Windows Vista
- Power Users on Microsoft Windows 2000 are unable to change some settings (Anti-spam, protocols, Mail Clients rotection, etc.)
Updater
- The username and password embedded in the installer must be used to download updates
- Button “Copy PCU to Mirror” is not working
- Registration dialog is not final
SysRescue
- Check for operating system's service pack level is not taken into account with Microsoft Windows XP
- Some settings are not visible when running High Contrast Mode
- EnumOS
- Unable to find Windows XP, if a Windows Vista volume bootloader is presenter on Windows XP/2000
- Issue with the interpretation of RDISC parameter in boot.ini > result > bad volume determination
Firewall
- Support for UAC (under Windows Vista) and switch to Administrator privileges is not implemented
- Issues with data control under SLL when running Internet Explorer 7 on Vista
- SSL v.2 check is not implemented
- Missing root certificate import to non-IE browsers
- Filtering of http addresses according to user missing
- FW filter according to user/time missing
- SSL support for Opera Software's Opera Web Browser not fully implemented
Other
- Scanning of 2GB+ files and archives is not finished
- Repair installation does not work yet
Optional
By participating in ESET's beta test program you will have the opportunity not just to test our products and services, but to provide feedback directly to our development staff for changes to program behavior and feature requests.
Please fill out the form below if you wish to be contacted with further information about ESET Smart Security.
