NEW – Panda Cloud Antivirus 1.3 Blocks Malicious And Suspicious Websites

Panda Cloud Antivirus 1.3, Panda Security’s newest release (October 27, 2010), of it’s popular cloud-based antimalware application, should be even more effective at keeping the bad guys at bay with it’s newest enhanced feature – blocking suspicious and malicious websites before they can exploit vulnerabilities (available in both the Free and Pro versions).

Equally as important, a drawback to using previous editions of the free version of Cloud Antivirus has been eliminated – the free edition will now automatically update to new releases as they become available.

How good is Panda Cloud Antivirus at shutting down the bad guys? How about 100% of the time. Well, not quite – but having established a detection rate of 99.87% in recent comparative tests carried out by AV-Test.org – places Panda Cloud Antivirus at the head of the class.

Testing anti-malware applications takes considerable time in order to get to the heart of the matter – does an application work in the “real world?”

Will the application do what an average user expects – does it block malware effectively and efficiently? Particularly new, or emerging, malware threats.

Is the interface crafted in such a way that an average user doesn’t need to digest an instruction manual in order to navigate the application?

Is the application capable of providing adequate protection without stressing system resources?

I’ve been running Panda Cloud Antivirus, on a secondary system, since April 2009, and in this extensive testing, Panda Cloud Antivirus has met, or exceeded, all of these requirements.

Happily, Panda Cloud Antivirus  is not a resource hog – on my secondary system it  consumes only 15 MB of RAM, or so, when idle, and only 60MB, or so, while  scanning.

Backed by a year and a half’s experience running Panda Cloud Antivirus in various editions, I have no hesitation in recommending Panda Cloud Antivirus as a front line antivirus application.

Panda Cloud Antivirus 1.3 Quick Highlights:

Malicious Web & URL Filtering. This feature blocks websites that push malware, exploits and drive-by downloads. It is available both in Free and in Pro Editions and is installed by the toolbar. Unlike similar solutions, this web filtering works at a low level so it works under all browsers: Internet Explorer, Firefox, Chrome, Safari, etc. For those of you that didn’t install the toolbar but would like to install the Web & URL Filtering, you can download it from here and install it manually.

Unified Recycle Bin and Quarantine. Previously the Recycle Bin handled suspicious detections and the Quarantine handled deleted malware detections. This has been unified into a new Recycle Bin for ease of management. This is included in both Free and Pro Editions.

Automatic and transparent upgrades to new product versions, previously only available in the Pro Edition, this is now available in the Free Edition as well. All users of Free Editions versions 1.1.0, 1.1.1 and 1.1.2 will automatically and transparently upgrade to the new 1.3. See notes below for the upgrade schedule.

No more nagging advertising. After listening to many of you we have decided to turn off the nagging advertising popups prompting to upgrade to Pro Edition. If you want to support Panda Cloud Antivirus and wish to get the Pro Edition, you can do so from here, but we won’t bug you anymore from the popups.

Hot updating of behavioural blocking rules. In order to increase protection on the fly against new vulnerabilities and attacks and to fix false positives, hot updating of behavioural blocking rules allows faster response time in both the Free and Pro Editions.

Immediate notifications of virus detections. Previously if Panda Cloud Antivirus encountered multiple viruses, it would delay its traybar notification and show them grouped. This behaviour has been changed so that the notifications are shown immediately.

Suspicious detection counter. Under the statistics window there’s some new counters for the different types of heuristics and behavioural detections.

System requirements: Windows 7 32-bit, Windows 7 64-bit, Windows Vista 32-bit, Windows Vista 64-bit, Windows XP 32-bit,  Windows XP 64-bit.

Panda Cloud Antivirus is available in 20 languages.

Download at: Cloud Antivirus

About Panda Security

Founded in 1990, Panda Security is the world’s leading provider of cloud-based security solutions with products available in more than 23 languages and millions of users located in 195 countries around the world.

Panda Security has 56 offices throughout the globe with US headquarters in Florida and European headquarters in Spain. For more information, visit the Panda site.

Update: A reader has just advised that Panda Security is giving away Pro licenses for free for 48 Hours at CNET! (See below).

CNET Exclusive Discount: FREE Panda Cloud Antivirus Pro Edition

Here’s some great news for anyone in need of antivirus software. TrialPay has teamed up with CNET and Panda Security to give away unlimited free copies of Panda Cloud Antivirus Pro Edition. That’s right, free. And unlimited. It’s complete Panda-monium!

For the next 48 hours only, Panda Cloud Antivirus Pro Edition (reg. $29.95) will be available for FREE exclusively on CNET download.com. Simply follow this link, click on the “SPECIAL OFFER: Get It Free” promotion, then enter your name and e-mail, and you’ll get a one-year license for Panda Pro absolutely free.

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Panda Security Says Apple’s iOS Not Bulletproof

PandaLabs, the anti-malware laboratory of Panda Security, the company responsible for Panda Cloud Antivirus, disclosed today that iPads, are NOT invulnerable to malware.

According to Panda, “Apple users’ brand new iPads could potentially fall prey to the same type of malware as iPhones, such as the malware that was able to infect jailbroken iPhones last year”. Panda goes on to say, “any device that runs on Apple’s operating system iOS (iPhone, iPad, iPod touch) is vulnerable to this threat.”

To my way of thinking, it’s long past the time for Apple to stop running those highly deceptive television commercials. Commercials,  in which the impression is created that Apple products are somehow hardened against malware attacks. Facts, continuously disprove this assertion.

In March of this year, for example, Apple fixed 53 security holes in OS X, and in the past several days patched 65 security flaws in its iPhone and  iPod Touch operating system.

For more information, and to see the video demonstration of the Eeki.A Worm Infecting an Apple iPad, click on the graphic.

About PandaLabs:

Since 1990, its mission has been to detect and eliminate new threats as rapidly as possible to offer our clients maximum security. To do so, PandaLabs has an innovative automated system that analyzes and classifies thousands of new samples a day and returns automatic verdicts (malware or goodware). This system is the basis of collective intelligence, Panda Security’s new security model which can even detect malware that has evaded other security solutions.

Currently, 99.4 percent of malware detected by PandaLabs is analyzed through this system of collective intelligence. This is complemented through the work of several teams, each specialized in a specific type of malware (viruses, worms, Trojans, spyware, phishing, spam, etc), who work 24/7 to provide global coverage. This translates into more secure, simpler and more resource-friendly solutions for clients.

More information is available in the PandaLabs blog.

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Panda Cloud Antivirus Releases Pro Version, but Free Version Does the Job

Today, Panda Security announced that it has significantly upgraded and extended its Panda Cloud Antivirus product line to offer both a free, and a Pro version to users.

According to Panda “With nearly 10 million downloads since the beta launch one year ago, Panda Cloud Antivirus is the fastest growing free antivirus today”.

I’ve been running Panda Cloud Antivirus, on a secondary system, since April 2009 (the Beta launch), and I’ve been pleasantly surprised with it’s performance, particularly the light use of system resources.

After all, who needs a resource hog interfering with one’s computer experience?  Happily, Panda Cloud Antivirus  consumes only 15 MB of RAM, or so, when idle, and only 60MB, or so, while  scanning.

Testing anti-malware applications takes considerable time in order to get to the heart of the matter – does an application work in the “real world?”

Will the application do what an average user expects – does it block malware effectively and efficiently? Particularly new, or emerging, malware threats.

Is the interface crafted in such a way that an average user doesn’t need to digest an instruction manual in order to navigate the application?

Is the application capable of providing adequate protection without stressing system resources?

In the long term test on my secondary system, I found Panda Cloud Antivirus met, or exceeded, all of these requirements, and I have no hesitation in recommending it as a front line antivirus application.

Should you consider installing and running Panda’s Cloud Antivirus? Well, let me offer you this, from previous correspondence with Panda’s CEO Juan Santana “The threat climate demands a new protection model”.

Given the unstable security state of the Internet, I can certainly agree, and it comes not a moment too soon, in my view.

Quick highlights:

FREE, antivirus thin-client service for consumers which is able to process and block malware more efficiently than locally installed signature-based products.

The immediate benefits to users thanks to Panda’s new protection model are: 100x faster protection against new malware and 50 percent less impact on PC performance, compared to the industry average.

Utilizing its proprietary in-the-cloud scanning technology called Collective Intelligence, to automatically identify and classify new malware strains in near real-time (less than six minutes.

This same process takes up to 48 days with traditional AV products, according to a recent study from the University of Michigan.

New functionality in Panda Cloud Antivirus Free Edition includes:

New and improved interface makes Cloud Antivirus even easier to use.

Improved performance with cache optimization and memory management lowers CPU utilization and memory consumption.

Advanced configuration and exclusions allow users to customize certain features, such as behavioral blocking and analysis, to suit their individual needs and system requirements.

Behavioral blocker provides instantaneous protection against new malware and targeted attacks.

Self-protection of antivirus files and configurations ensures protection can’t be disabled by targeted malware attacks.

Collective Intelligence Monitor give users access to a list of malware from the community that is updated in real-time.

Ability to restore any neutralized file.

Improved detection & protection against rootkits.

Free Technical Support forums.

Choosing the Cloud Antivirus Pro Edition gets you these additional features:

Automatic, transparent upgrades provide completely “hands-free” protection by eliminating the need for reinstalling the antivirus each time a new version is released.

Automatic vaccination of USB and hard drives ensures neither drive type can transmit an infection while users are offline.

Dynamic behavioral analysis provides an added layer of protection by analyzing running processes and blocking any found to be malicious.

24/7 multilingual technical support online.

System requirements: Windows 7 32-bit, Windows 7 64-bit, Windows Vista 32-bit, Windows Vista 64-bit, Windows XP 32-bit,  Windows XP 64-bit.

Download at: Cloud Antivirus

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?

My friend Steve Mallard, at the The Tennessee Technology Center at Shelbyville, has posted on  “Panda Cloud Antivirus Free”, which provides additional information including their installation experience, screenshots, and findings.

About Panda Security

Founded in 1990, Panda Security is the world’s leading provider of cloud-based security solutions with products available in more than 23 languages and millions of users located in 195 countries around the world.

Panda Security has 56 offices throughout the globe with US headquarters in Florida and European headquarters in Spain. For more information, visit the Panda site.

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Panda Cloud Antivirus Out of Beta – Still Free

Testing anti-malware applications takes considerable time in order to get to the heart of the matter – does an application work in the “real world?”

Will the application do what an average user expects – does it block malware effectively and efficiently? Particularly new, or emerging, malware threats.

Is the interface crafted in such a way that an average user doesn’t need to digest an instruction manual in order to navigate the application?

Are database updates provided in a timely manner?

Is the application capable of providing adequate protection without stressing system resources?

This last point can be critically important. After all, who needs a resource hog interfering with one’s computer experience?

I’ve been testing the Beta version of Panda Cloud Antivirus since the end of April 2009, off and on, and I’ve been pleasantly surprised with it’s performance, particularly the light use of system resources. This application is definitely not a resource hog, and I found it outstanding at recognizing and blocking malware threats. In fact, this application meets all of the above requirements.

PC Magazine recently stamped Panda Cloud Antivirus with it’s Editor’s Choice Award for Best Free AV, and I take that as an additional indication of the reliability of Panda’s Cloud Antivirus as a front line anti-malware application.

Should you consider installing and running Panda’s Cloud Antivirus? Well, let me offer you this, from previous correspondence with Panda’s CEO Juan Santana “The threat climate demands a new protection model”.

Given the unstable security state of the Internet, I can certainly agree, and it comes not a moment too soon, in my view.

Quick highlights:

FREE, antivirus thin-client service for consumers which is able to process and block malware more efficiently than locally installed signature-based products.

The immediate benefits to users thanks to Panda’s new protection model are: 100x faster protection against new malware and 50 percent less impact on PC performance, compared to the industry average.

Utilizing its proprietary in-the-cloud scanning technology called Collective Intelligence, to automatically identify and classify new malware strains in near real-time (less than six minutes.

This same process takes up to 48 days with traditional AV products, according to a recent study from the University of Michigan.

The final release includes a number of new features and upgrades including:

New and improved interface makes Cloud Antivirus even easier to use.

Improved performance with cache optimization and memory management lowers CPU utilization and memory consumption.

Collective Intelligence Monitor give users access to a list of malware from the community that is updated in real-time.

Supports Windows Vista and Windows 7 64bits.

Ability to restore any neutralized file.

Improved detection & protection against rootkits.

Free Technical Support forums.

System requirements: Windows XP (32 bit), Windows Vista (32bit and 64bit), Windows 7 (32bit and 64bit) – My x64 friends will be happy to see this.

Download at: Cloud Antivirus

Installation instructions (from Panda).

If you have any of the previous versions installed (Beta1, Beta2 or Beta3) do the following:

1- Uninstall your current version.

2- Reboot your computer.

3- Download version 1.0 and install.

4- If you already have an account from Beta3, you can use the same one. Otherwise the installer will prompt you to create a Cloud Antivirus account.

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Free Panda Cloud Antivirus 1.0 – The Ultimate in Protection?

Talk of the “Cloud”, as a startling new concept in computing, is everywhere it seems. I’ve always found this “new concept” idea kind of curious though, when you consider that the Internet, by simply definition, IS the  “Cloud”.

Yes, I am aware that the concept is at least marginally different, inasmuch as delivery of “software as a service”, which allows customers to access applications via the Web, puts a slightly different spin on things.

I must admit though, that I have been a late adapter of the Cloud concept in general, since the state of security on the Internet with its exponentially growing threats has dissuaded me, by and large, from active involvement.

It’s ironic, in a sense,  that Panda Security, a noted security provider, with the final release of their free Panda Cloud Antivirus after six months of Beta testing , have convinced me to overcome my reluctance to jump on board the Cloud express, and participate at least at the system and Internet security level.

I’ve been testing the Beta version of Panda Cloud Antivirus since the end of April 2009, off and on, and I’ve been pleasantly surprised with it’s performance, particularly the light use of system resources. This application is definitely not a resource hog.

A good indication of the reliability of Panda’s Cloud Antivirus as a front line anti-malware application is, the 99.4 percent overall detection rate established in malware detection rate tests performed by AV-Test.org, a highly reputable test organization. This is an outstanding result.

Should you consider installing and running Panda’s Cloud Antivirus? Well, let me offer you this, from previous correspondence with Panda’s CEO Juan Santana “The threat climate demands a new protection model”. Given the unstable state of the Internet, I can certainly second that, and it comes not a moment too soon, in my view.

Quick highlights:

FREE, antivirus thin-client service for consumers which is able to process and block malware more efficiently than locally installed signature-based products.

The immediate benefits to users thanks to Panda’s new protection model are: 100x faster protection against new malware and 50 percent less impact on PC performance, compared to the industry average.

Utilizing its proprietary in-the-cloud scanning technology called Collective Intelligence, to automatically identify and classify new malware strains in near real-time (less than six minutes.

This same process takes up to 48 days with traditional AV products, according to a recent study from the University of Michigan.

The final release includes a number of new features and upgrades including:

New and improved interface makes Cloud Antivirus even easier to use.

Improved performance with cache optimization and memory management lowers CPU utilization and memory consumption.

New website and Collective Intelligence Monitor give users access to a list of malware from the community that is updated in real-time.

Online support forums now available.

System requirements: Windows XP (32 bits), Windows Vista (32bits and 64bits), Windows 7 (32bits and 64bits) – My x64 friends will be happy to see this.

Download at: Cloud Antivirus

Installation instructions (from Panda).

If you have any of the previous versions installed (Beta1, Beta2 or Beta3) do the following:

1- Uninstall your current version.
2- Reboot your computer.
3- Download version 1.0 from http://www.cloudantivirus.com and install.
4- If you already have an account from Beta3, you can use the same one. Otherwise the installer will prompt you to create a Cloud Antivirus account.

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?

If you enjoyed this article, why not subscribe to this Blog via RSS, or email? It’s easy; just click on this link and you’ll never miss another Tech Thoughts article.

PandaLabs – “52 Percent of New Viruses Last Only 24 Hours”

Panda’s Collective Intelligence, coupled with free Panda Cloud Antivirus, offers almost real-time protection, significantly reducing your risk.

Panda Security, the Cloud Security Company, announced today that PandaLabs, the company’s laboratory for detecting and analyzing malware, has discovered that 52 percent of new viruses last only 24 hours.

Each day, PandaLabs receives nearly 37,000 samples of new viruses, worms, Trojans and other types of Internet threats. Of these, PandaLabs found that approximately 52 percent of them (19,240 on average) spread and try to infect users for just 24 hours.

After that timeframe, they become inactive and harmless as they are replaced by other, new variants that join the list of new specimens in circulation.

The reason for this lies in hackers’ motivation to profit financially from malware and the goal of ensuring their creations go unnoticed by users and security solution vendors.

Just 24 hours after hackers put any strain of malware into circulation, they will modify its code so that malware can continue to spread without being detected by security companies.

This explains the significant increase in the number of new threats detected by PandaLabs. In 2008, PandaLabs recorded a total of 18 million malware samples the company had received in its 20 year history. Since last year, the number of malware has increased dramatically to 30 million through July 31, 2009.

“This is a never-ending race which, unfortunately, the hackers are still winning. We have to wait until we get hold of the malware they have created to be able to analyze, classify and combat it,” said Luis Corrons, Technical Director of PandaLabs. “In this race, vendors that work with traditional, manual analysis techniques are too slow to vaccinate clients, as the distribution and infection span is very short. Panda’s Collective Intelligence offers almost real-time protection, significantly reducing the risk window.”

Reduce your risk with Panda Cloud Antivirus which provides you with the fastest protection against the newest viruses thanks to its cloud-scanning from PandaLabs’ servers.

Quick highlights:

FREE, antivirus thin-client service for consumers which is able to process and block malware more efficiently than locally installed signature-based products.

The immediate benefits to users thanks to Panda’s new protection model are: 100x faster protection against new malware and 50 percent less impact on PC performance, compared to the industry average.

Utilizing its proprietary in-the-cloud scanning technology called Collective Intelligence, to automatically identify and classify new malware strains in near real-time (less than six minutes.

This same process takes up to 48 days with traditional AV products, according to a recent study from the University of Michigan.

Download at: Panda Cloud Antivirus

Panda Security Set to Announce Further Global Expansion

Panda Security intends to maintain its position as global technology leader and consolidate international expansion.

Panda Security, the well known computer security provider, headquartered in Spain and with additional offices in 44 countries, will announce tomorrow  that it has bought 100 percent of its Swedish, Finnish and UK franchises, furthering the aggressive investment plan started in 2007 with a view to consolidating the company’s international assets.

Regular readers will remember Panda’s release of its groundbreaking, free security application, Panda Cloud Antivirus earlier this year.

Panda Cloud Antivirus protects users while they browse, with the fastest protection against the newest viruses thanks to its cloud-scanning from PandaLabs’ servers.

With Panda Cloud Antivirus, Panda Security introduced a new protection model that utilizes a thin-client agent and server architecture which processes and blocks malware more efficiently than locally installed signature-based products.

By moving the entire malware scanning and determination process to the cloud and applying non-intrusive interception techniques on the client architecture, Panda Cloud Antivirus is able to provide advanced protection against new and unknown viruses with a lightweight thin-client agent that barely consumes any PC resources.

Quick highlights:

FREE, antivirus thin-client service for consumers which is able to process and block malware more efficiently than locally installed signature-based products.

The immediate benefits to users thanks to Panda’s new protection model are: 100x faster protection against new malware and 50 percent less impact on PC performance, compared to the industry average.

Utilizing its proprietary in-the-cloud scanning technology called Collective Intelligence, to automatically identify and classify new malware strains in near real-time (less than six minutes.

This same process takes up to 48 days with traditional AV products, according to a recent study from the University of Michigan.

If you’re ready to give cloud computing a test drive, I can’t think of a better free application to test your wings in the cloud, than Panda Cloud Antivirus. It’s a whole new concept in computer security. Here’s your chance to be a trendsetter!

Download at: Cloud Antivirus

My good buddy and fellow tech Blogger Rick Robinette, at What’s On My PC, has already completed a substantial test run on Cloud Antvirus, so be sure to read his report – Panda Cloud Antivirus – Is It Netbook ready?

Panda Cloud Antivirus – Free Cloud Protection

As Glenn Taggart, in a guest writer article on this site, wrote recently – “Cloud computing is not a new concept. If you really want to get down to it, the internet IS the cloud”. He is right of course.

Nevertheless, the sorry state of security on the Internet with its exponentially growing threats has dissuaded me, at least to this point, from actively participating in the Cloud, in any form.

Good news for late adapters (like me), of the Cloud concept though. Overnight, Panda Security briefed me on their new free Cloud application, so I might have to overcome my reluctance to jump on board the Cloud express.

Let me just quote briefly from Panda’s email:

“With Panda Cloud Antivirus, Panda Security is introducing a new protection model that utilizes a thin-client agent and server architecture which processes and blocks malware more efficiently than locally installed signature-based products. By moving the entire malware scanning and determination process to the cloud and applying non-intrusive interception techniques on the client architecture, Panda Cloud Antivirus is able to provide advanced protection against new and unknown viruses with a lightweight thin-client agent that barely consumes any PC resources”.

As Panda Security CEO Juan Santana says “”The threat climate demands a new protection model”. I can certainly second that, and it comes not a moment too soon, in my view.

Quick highlights:

FREE, antivirus thin-client service for consumers which is able to process and block malware more efficiently than locally installed signature-based products.

The immediate benefits to users thanks to Panda’s new protection model are: 100x faster protection against new malware and 50 percent less impact on PC performance, compared to the industry average.

Utilizing its proprietary in-the-cloud scanning technology called Collective Intelligence, to automatically identify and classify new malware strains in near real-time (less than six minutes.

This same process takes up to 48 days with traditional AV products, according to a recent study from the University of Michigan.

If you download and install this product, I’d be very interested in your personal observations as to its speed, functionality and ease of use, and so on.

It’s too early yet for me to provide a personal assessment of this product; that will come later. I like to run test applications for a minimum of 30 days to properly assess an applications relative strength, and weaknesses.

One disappointment though: I run Windows 7 Beta on all my machines, including my test beds, and Panda Cloud Antivirus does not yet run on Win 7.

Download at: Cloud Antivirus

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?