Panda Antivirus Pro 2011 – PC Magazine
Specifications
- OS Compatibility
- Windows Vista, Windows XP, Windows 7
- Tech Support
- 24/7/365 free email and chat; phone and remote assistance for a fee
Panda Security has received widespread praise for their free Panda Cloud Antivirus 1.1 (Free, 
), with its fully cloud-based virus detection system and unusual, minimalist UI. Panda Antivirus Pro 2011 ($50.95 direct for three licenses; $40.95 for one) has a UI similar to that of the free product, at least in its color scheme, but it packs traditional local antivirus signatures along with cloud-based detection. For those who want a little more protection than antivirus alone, Panda has a great surprise—Panda Antivirus Pro 2011 includes a full-powered firewall.
With its slate-grey background and white text Panda, definitely makes a fashion statement. The main window displays just enough information to let you know that all security elements are working correctly…or not. If there's any problem with the security configuration, a warning appears, along with a button to solve the problem. But enough about how it looks—how well does it work?
Liked by the Labs
German antivirus testing lab AV-Test has just released a study of real-world dynamic protection by 17 security products. They rated each product on a scale from 1 to 6 in three areas: protection against infestation; cleaning up infested systems; and overall usability. Panda's 2010 product scored 5.0 or higher in all three tests, for a total score of 16. Only Norton AntiVirus 2010 ($39.99 direct, 
) and Kaspersky Anti-Virus 2010 equaled that score. In AV-Test's two-month test of real-world protection last year Panda achieved the fourth-best overall protection rate, after Spyware Doctor with AntiVirus 2010 ($39.95 direct, ), Norton, and Kaspersky.
ICSA Labs and West Coast Labs certify Panda for both detection and removal of malware threats. In its most recent tests AV-Comparatives rated Panda ADVANCED both for on-demand malware cleanup and for proactive detection. Panda would have attained the top score of ADVANCED+ in both cases, but got dinged for false positives. Overall, its independent test scores are impressive.
Support, Automated and Otherwise
Panda installed without incident on 11 of my 13 malware-infested test systems. Installation doesn't necessarily require a reboot, though on two systems it requested a reboot to complete disinfection of active malware.
On one test system, malware derailed the installation process. Tech support recommended scanning with the rescue CD. When that didn't solve the problem, they supplied an interesting tool called PSCAN, which lets support technicians remotely gather information and push automatic fixes back to your computer. With very little user interaction required, it's a nice compromise between phone support and full remote control.
Technicians working through PSCAN fixed my first problem system. The other required full-scale remote access help. The website www.fixmypanda.com provides access to PSCAN, the remote access client, support forums, and many useful security utilities.
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