Bill Mullins’ at Tech Thoughts scooped us all on a new “exciting” and FREE antivirus product called “Panda Cloud Antivirus”. I encourage you to visit Bill’s site [ CLICK HERE ] to preview his article, “Panda Cloud Antivirus – Free Cloud Protection”. My reading of Bill’s article prompted me to get the word out about this new security product and to test it on my netbook.
Many of you may not have heard of Panda.
Panda Security is an European based company…
Founded by Mikel Urizarbarrena in 1990 in Bilbao, Spain, the company operated under the name Panda Software for the first 17 years. By 1995, it was the antivirus market leader in Spain and the following year saw the start of its international expansion effort. It currently has a direct sales presence in 56 countries, operating through an extensive network of subsidiaries and franchises.
“Panda Cloud Antivirus” compared
to the other FREE antivirus software…
Panda Cloud Antivirus is a “thin client” service that you install on your PC that is dependent on the Panda’s internet (cloud) based services for its’ processing activities (aka: cloud computing). As result of the processing services being managed at the cloud (internet) level; maintenance, updates, configuration changes and system resources are minimized to the point that it becomes a maintenance free product. Panda is claiming that by using this model, which is the first that I am aware for any security software, their system will scan and quarantine malware with a 50 per cent less performance load on your PC than other traditional signature based antivirus systems. The detection component of “Panda Cloud Antivirus” is installed on your computer, but the analytic component is managed at the cloud level. One important thing to point out is that Panda Cloud Antivirus is in beta (released to the public for testing) and has not been made final. [added 05/01/2009 - Panda Cloud Antivirus" - Instructions & Help]
“Panda Cloud Antivirus” installed and running on a netbook…
Following my review of Bill Mullins’ article I downloaded and installed “Panda Cloud Antivirus” on my Acer AspireOne Mini-Netbook over a wireless connection (Intel Atom processor, 1.60 Ghz, 1Gig of RAM, 120 GB SATA, Windows XP). Netbooks are basically low-end PCs’ that primarily rely on the Internet for remote access to web-based (cloud) applications. I use my netbook to test software; and in theory, if it will run on the “netbook” it will run on just about anything.
System Requirements for Panda Cloud Antivirus
Operating system: Windows Vista 32
(also compatible with Windows Vista SP1 32-bit), Windows XP (32-bit with SP 2 or 3).
RAM: 64 MB.
Hard disk free space: 100 MB.
Browser: Internet Explorer 6.0 or later.
Netbook Install Experience
In summary, the install file was approximately 18.5 MBs and occupied a footprint of approximately 56 MBs following the installation. The installation was very, very quick. The Windows XP Security Center immediately recognized the product as a Security product. The GUI (graphical user interface) is very attractive and simplistic (one of the easiest GUI’s I have experienced). I performed a system scan and found the scan time was comparable in speed and duration to the previous antivirus software I had installed. I plan to continue using “Panda Cloud Antivirus” on the netbook, as my primary level of antivirus protection, for further review and testing. So far this cloud app is running smoothly on my netbook, but time will tell.
To Bill Mullin’s at Tech Thoughts; Thank you for bringing this product to our attention. As Bill stated in communication with me “This is an important improvement to our overall security status..”
THE WORD IS OUT
Official Blog – Panda Cloud Antivirus
Panda Cloud Antivirus hits Internet for free – USA Today
Panda Cloud Antivirus is a Lightweight,
Always-Updated Virus Killer – Lifehacker
Panda Launches New Free Cloud-based Antivirus – PCWorld
Panda debuts first cloud-based anti-virus system – VNUNet
Panda Security debuts cloud-based anti-virus – itWorldCanada
Panda Security launches free cloud-based antivirus – Geek.com
Addendum (05/01/2009) – The Tennessee Technology Center at Shelbyville (aka: TTC Shelbyville) has posted the article “Panda Cloud Antivirus Free”. The TTC Shelbyville article provides additional information about their installation experience(s), screenshots and findings; that is a great supplement to this article. They also threw some actual viral content at “Panda Cloud Antivirus”… I encourage you to visit TTC Shelbyville [ CLICK HERE ] to see the results of their review.
post to jaanix
April 30, 2009 at 10:03 pm |
Excellent early review. It also dovetails nicely with Mr. Mullins’ article (highly reco’).
I wanted to state for your readers – who may never have heard of Panda – that they are a long-standing security company of solid repute.
They are to be commended not only for being first with this new methodology, but for bringing it to the public for free. They get a big tip of my Geek hat.
(Now.. all they have to do is modify the installer to allow it on Win 7..)
Great job, Rick.
April 30, 2009 at 10:49 pm |
TechPaul,
I am sure the modification for Win 7 will soon be in place… Both still in beta. I just read that when Panda gets this completely nailed down, the install and footprint will even be smaller. Thanks for pointing out Panda’s good reputation…
Rick
May 11, 2009 at 12:37 am |
I third Tech Paul’s praises — great review. How’d this get under my radar? Looks like the future of fighting e-crime.
April 30, 2009 at 10:08 pm |
[...] Today’s free link(s): Panda Cloud Antivirus – Free Cloud Protection Panda Security has launched a brand new type of antivirus, and Security blogger Bill Mullins has this excellent write up. “FREE, antivirus thin-client service for consumers which is able to process and block malware more efficiently than locally installed signature-based products.” Click the link for more.. [update: For more, also see Panda Cloud Antivirus - Is it netbook ready?] [...]
May 1, 2009 at 2:31 am |
Sean-Paul here from the Panda team. We’re super pumped about Cloud AV and everyone seems to like it so far!
I just wanted to remind you all that it is in the first beta phase, so that means we are looking for the community to give us that valuable feedback we need to keep improving the product.
If you have any problem whatsoever, please e-mail us at beta@pandasecurity.com. (or message us on Twitter (twitter.com/Panda_Security)
Thanks!
May 1, 2009 at 8:33 am |
[...] Update – May 1: Good news from Rick Robinette over at What’s On My PC. Rick has already completed a substantial test run on Cloud Antvirus, so be sure to read his report – Panda Cloud Antivirus – Is It Netbook ready? [...]
May 1, 2009 at 9:57 am |
[added 05/01/2009 - Panda Cloud Antivirus" - Instructions & Help]
Can access the help file by clicking the link above or in the content of the article.
Thank you!
May 1, 2009 at 10:05 am |
I neglected to add the System Requirements to the article. System Requirements for Panda Cloud Antivirus added 05/01/2009.
Thank you…
May 1, 2009 at 11:10 pm |
[...] Mullins and Rick have done some great research behind this product and you should go over and review their [...]
May 6, 2009 at 1:24 am |
Nice review I’ll give it a try. I used Panda for years after I dumped Norton, then Panda became bloated.
Appreciate the time you spent on a thorough review.
May 6, 2009 at 3:58 am |
Mark,
Thanks for visiting and commenting… Just checked out your blog! You are doing a great job… I am going to be updating my blogroll soon and will add you to the listing…
Rick
July 23, 2009 at 10:48 am |
[...] Panda Cloud Antivirus – Is it netbook ready? [...]
September 10, 2009 at 12:21 am |
[...] about Panda Clould Antivirus you may visit to 1. Panda Cloud Antivirus – Official Site 2. Panda Cloud Antivirus – Is it netbook ready? 3. Bill Mullins’ Weblog – Panda Cloud Antivirus – Free Cloud [...]
November 11, 2009 at 1:29 pm |
[...] Rick Robinette over at What’s On My PC, has also completed a substantial test run on Cloud Antivirus, so be sure to read his report – Panda Cloud Antivirus – Is It Netbook ready? [...]