"I'm the kind of user who never gets viruses, spyware or adware. I'm also the kind of user who likes his system to be as fast as possible (I built my own, and I have an E8400 overclocked to 4.0GHz on air with 2GB of mushkin 996533 RAM - it's dual channel 800MHz DDR2. The memory is at stock for now.) Before installing NOD32, I had just 22-23 services running while idle (23 if wmiprvse.exe is running). Yeah, I'm crazy like that. I'd have less services, but I'm at the point where there is not a single service I can disable without something going wrong. :) After installing it, I have just 2 more services (so 23-24). One of them takes up about 35.12MB, and the other takes up about 1.92MB.

Now, I have Comcast High-Speed Internet, so I can have McAfee's latest Antivirus for free. But I hate it. It slows my computer down way too much and I end up with over 40 processes. McAfee Antivirus couldn't be more annoying! So, I figured that since I never get infections anyway that I'd just uninstall it and have my system back to normal.

Then I heard about NOD32.

Installation was a pleasure. Setup was a pleasure (I love the Advanced Setup Tree). Now, when I install something, I always go through every last option before I even use it. Just so you know how customizable NOD32 Antivirus 3.0 is, I think it took me over 15 minutes to customize it! lol But I enjoyed every minute of it. After I finished customizing it, I ran a Custom Scan and made sure that my memory was scanned as well as both HDD's. It took 9 minutes and 30 seconds. Yeah.

It also receives updates quite frequently (it seems like it's almost every day). That is really, really nice and really comforting. Really.

----Here's what I like the most about it----

Even though I don't need it, I'm keeping it installed. Why? Not because I paid for it, but because I don't feel a difference with it installed. Granted, there is a slight difference, but I don't mind it one bit, and it's VERY easy for me to forget that it's even installed! But that was definitely not the case with McAfee. It was like trying to walk around with a 100-pound backpack on. But NOD32 is like walking around with a 5 or 10-pound backpack, or perhaps a 15-pound backpack for you stronger people!

I am so extremely happy that I can have virus protection and spyware protection without my system being slowed down - especially considering that I personally do not need it. As I said, I never get infections of any kind. And at random times over the past year, I've installed spyware removal programs and also adware removal programs in addition to McAfee just to do a scan, but I never find infections. I just don't put my system at risk. It's not that I purposely avoid putting it at risk, but it's just the way I use a computer.

So, it is a real pleasure to finally have the best of BOTH worlds: Antivirus (as well as anti spyware) and a system that feels just as fast as NOT having antivirus installed. ESET NOD32 3.0 is by far the very best antivirus available. It is truly second to none. It really has no equal! So stop reading the reviews and buy it already! :) I personally guarantee you that you'll like it. Now that I've experienced NOD32, I'm wishing that I bought Smart Security instead. But I just might do that anyway. Yeah, I'm that happy with ESET NOD32 3.0 Antivirus System! Great job, ESET!!! You have set the standard! And it is quite a high standard! "

    "I've used just about every AV program out there, ranging from the bulky Norton/McAfee to the light and barely functional free ones out there. ESET NOD32 3.0 Antivirus System is by far the best in every aspect.

I could go through and list all the reasons this AV program is superior to all the rest, but it's pretty much been covered by the other reviewers.

The one aspect I like about most this program over all the others, is that it's got an extremely small system footprint.

I've been supporting NOD32 for about 3 years now, and have gotten my family and friends to use it too. So far, no one has gotten a virus."

    "One of the things that attracted to me ESET NOD32 3.0 Antivirus System, is the fact that it will work on Windows XP Pro x64 edition. However, I would like to point out, that I bought mine as a download on there website. Before you download, they give you choice on if you need an x32 or x64 version. So far ESET sells the only x64 XP anti-virus software that I know of, where you do not need to buy like 5 user clients worth of a corporate version, such as Mcafee or Norton.
Another thing to note is that ESET's costumer service is top of the line. Unlike other major Anti-Virus Software providers, ESET's Customer and technical support services are based in North America. On top of that they have really good response times to questions. When I sent an e-mail asking if NOD32 would work on my x64 bit Machine, About 15 minutes later I got a phone call from one of their representatives saying it would work, and if I would like, they would talk me through their website to purchase the correct version.
If you have a gaming machine, or any other multi-media machine, it is important to not have any programs running in the background that impact performance. NOD32 runs as though it is not even there. Also, on the subject over all performance, if your like me, you have massive amounts of stuff on your Hard drives. In my experience, if you do an entire system scan, it goes by really fast compared to Software such as Norton. I have about 400 gigs of stuff on my hard drive, and an entire scan only takes about an hour and a half.
NOD32 also updates every day. So when ever there is some kind of viral outbreak, NOD32 is quick to respond.
The Only complaint I have, is the fact that is has a fairly complex user interface. However, this is really only a problem if you are uncomfortable with a computer to begin with. So it really is not that bad.

Pros:
One of the Only Anti-virus Programs compatible with x64 systems

Really good costumer/technical support

Entire Systems scans are extremely fast

Unnoticeable background application

Updates Daily.

Cons:
Unusual user interface.
"

    "I concur with D. Baker's comments. I have used many incarnations of Norton Antivirus, Internet Security, 360 (2007 edition), etc., and each version was slower and allowed less user control than earlier versions. After 360 turned itself off when the subscription expired, I gave up on Norton. With priorities of strong antivirus, good firewall, and minimal performance hit, I chose ESET Security a month ago. I have been pleased with its ease of installation, usable interface, and minimal lag (about 15-20 seconds) at system startup. (Norton 360 consistently tied up the Pentium P4 w 2GB RAM system for 3-5 minutes at startup.) A ESET scan takes quite a while for two 120 GB drives), but ESET NOD32 3.0 Antivirus System does not seem to be as much of a performance hog has Norton. "

    "After being a Norton user for many years and being irritated with my computer being slower with every "upgrade", I decided to look elsewhere. ESET NOD32 3.0 Antivirus System installs in less than a minute. The install required no reboots unlike uninstalling all the Norton things, which took 3 reboots My computer is noticibly faster with this compared to other virus programs I have seen.

I haven't had a virus so I can't speak to its effectiveness, but it is painless to use. It installed quickly, updated to the latest virus signatures within a minute or two and generally doesn't bother me.

For anyone tired of the huge, slow offerings from competitors, give this a shot.

There is also a version which includes a firewall and spam filter if you need such things. "