ESET has announced the release of their consumer security packages, ESET NOD32 Antivirus 7 and ESET Smart Security 7, both of which have been enhanced with some major new features.

New real-time memory scanning is a major plus, as it allows ESET to more reliably detect threats, no matter what packing or encryption tricks they might employ.

A patent-pending Exploit Blocker shields commonly-targeted applications – browsers, email clients, Microsoft Office, PDF readers – from malicious attempts to exploit their security flaws.

Enhanced social networking support sees the program able to scan your Twitter account, as well as Facebook, for threats and security issues.

ESET’s latest comes packed with essential new features and functionality

A Device Control module builds on the previous Removable Media functionality, allowing you to take complete control over the ways your users can access and work with any given device type.

The Antiphishing module now blocks scam sites, and allows feedback (both reporting of suspect sites and false positives) from users.

ESET Smart Security’s firewall has been extended with a Vulnerability Scanner, which blocks attacks attempting to exploit network vulnerabilities. A new Anti-Theft module can help to track a missing laptop. And the package is also more compatible, running properly on Windows 8.1, and with a mail plugin which fully supports Windows Live Mail and Office 2013.

While we can’t yet deliver a definitive verdict on the new releases, it’s good to see updates which aren’t just about changing the interface colour, or making it look like Windows 7. It looks to us like ESET has focused on delivering major improvements where it really matters, and if you’d like to check this for yourself then ESET NOD32 Antivirus 7 and ESET Smart Security 7 trials are available now.