Panda AntiVirus, now in its 10th version release, may not be as well known as some names in the antivirus market, but the company has been around since its start in 1990 in Spain. Since then, Panda has expanded to over 200 countries and 23 languages, and continues to climb its way up the security software ranks.


1) Installation:  ³/₅

On our reference system*, Panda AntiVirus Pro 2011 installed in a speedy 70 seconds (not including reboots or updates). The installation procedure employed only three dialogs that required user input. On the downside, Panda required a reboot after installation - an annoyance that other major anti-virus platforms manage to bypass. Not only that, but instead of automatically downloading the very latest version of Panda during the install process, Panda displayed a red security warning on the Dashboard when the application first started, prompting us to download the latest update manually. After that update, Panda requested a second reboot.

*Reference Computer: Windows 7 Home Premium running on a Toshiba Pentium Dual-Core T4200, with 3GB of RAM and a 210GB hard drive. 2) Features & Ease of Use:  8/10 Panda AntiVirus comes stocked with a great set of features. The Panda Dashboard displays a green or red status indicator based on the current security status of the machine. From here, users can access most of Panda's features by navigating across five tabs: Status, Scan, Reports, Quarantine, and Services. Panda 2011 Dashboard: Two intriguing features are available from a button strip at the bottom of the Dashboard. The Network Management icon displays a window that enables remote management of multiple computers running Panda AntiVirus on your home network. Panda is one of the few antivirus vendors to offer network management as part of its entry-level commercial antivirus package. The Virtual Keyboard button displays a software keyboard that can be used with any window on the system. While a bit out of place, it may be useful for users utilizing Panda from a Windows tablet device. Right-clicking the Panda icon in the System Tray displays a context menu that provides shortcuts to key product features, including Gaming/Multimedia Mode, which prevents virus scans from launching or running when an application is running full-screen. Most users will never need to use this command manually, however, as Panda by default automatically suspends antivirus operations when running in full-screen mode. Settings dialogs are context-dependent: the settings options for a given feature are available by clicking the Settings link on that feature's tab. Users can use the various Settings dialogs to configure antivirus scanning behavior, schedule regular antivirus scans and virus database definition updates, disable heuristic scanning for unknown vulnerabilities, and mark certain files or even entire categories of malware as excluded from virus scans. A Preferences link at the bottom of the Dashboard provides access to an additional crop of global settings and features, including a Self-Diagnosis option that instructs Panda to check its own integrity. 3) Virus Scanner:  2.5/5 Like many antivirus platforms, Panda provides two layers of protection: a virus scanner that uses a virus definition database to identify known threats; and a heuristic scanner that identifies possible new threats that were previously unidentified. Panda's Settings dialogs help users distinguish between these two virus detection features by referring to these threats as "Known Vulnerabilities" and "Unknown Vulnerabilities." Panda uses a feature called Collective Intelligence when a computer is connected to the Internet, which incorporates new virus discoveries made by other Panda users. Panda Virus Scanner: Speed and Performance: For known vulnerability scanning, Panda AntiVirus 2011 supports running a Full Scan, a Detect Vulnerabilities scan, and a Custom scan of specific drives or removable media. On our reference machine (see above), Panda was the 3rd slowest program we tested in terms of scan speed, managing only to scan 16.4 MB per second. It took Panda an average of 62.3 seconds to scan our 1GB test file matrix. The Detect Vulnerabilities scan, however, finished in a speedy 90 seconds. Updates: Panda ranked near the top of our list in virus definition updates, performing an average of 13 updates per day. 4) Performance Testing:  3.5/10 A good antivirus program should not only protect your computer from viruses but also not slow down the Performance of your computer too much by using up your computer's resources. We run each antivirus program through a set of Performance Tests to see the impact it has on the computer. View the results below of our antivirus testing for Panda 2011... • Memory Use: Panda 2011 uses 9.8 MB of system memory. #2 rated of the 15 antivirus programs we tested. • Reboot Time: Panda added 21.5 seconds to our test computer's reboot time. #10 rated program we tested this year. • Installation Size: Panda AntiVirus Pro 2011 requires 311 MB of hard-drive space for installation. #7 rated program we tested. • Initial Scan Speed: Panda AntiVirus scans files the first time at a speed of 16.4 MB/s. #13 rated program we tested. • Subsequent Scan Speed: Panda performs subsequent scans at a speed of 15.9 MB/s. #14 rated program we tested. • Initial Application Launch: Panda 2011 added 0.147s to launch a web browser for the first time after a reboot. #4 rated program we tested. • Subsequent Application Launch: Panda added 0.314s on average for subsequent web browser launches. This was the #10 rated program we tested. • File Conversion Time: Panda added 2.78s on average to convert a MP3 file to four other file types. #15 rated program we tested. • System Impact Score: The "System Impact Score" is a comparative score tallied from the above 8 Antivirus tests. Panda 2011 scored a total of 53 out of 120 points when compared to the other antivirus programs tested. This ranked Panda 2011 as the 2nd worst antivirus program we tested this year - well behind Performance leaders Norton 2011, NOD32 v4.2, and Avira. 5) Effectiveness: (Virus/Malware Detection)  10.5/15 The most important function of an antivirus program is to keep your computer free from Viruses and other Malware. Below we'll take a look at some of the industry's top Virus/Malware Detection testing and certification. a) AV Comparatives is an independent antivirus testing lab in Austria providing some of the most trusted virus detection tests in the industry. They have 2 major virus/malware tests that they perform. In the most recent test in November, the Proactive Test, Panda was rated 2 out of 3 Stars. In the 2nd test last August, the On Demand Detection Test, Panda also received a 2-Star rating. The reason Panda didn't receive a 3 Star rating in these tests was due to Panda having too many false alarms in their malware detection.     b) AV-Test is another major antivirus testing lab which is located in Germany. In their recent antivirus testing in 2010, Panda received a 16 / 18 score on the Windows 7 platform. In the 2nd set of tests run on Windows XP, Panda received a 13 / 18 score. While on the 3rd test run on Windows Vista, Panda received a 14 / 18 score. All 3 of these scores were good enough to receive AV-Test's Certification level (12 points needed on each test for Certification). Overall, Panda performed very well in these 3 tests. Despite these tests being run on Panda's Internet Security software, they are useful when evaluating Panda's more basic antivirus program since they test the software's Protection and Repair capabilities against Viruses and Malware. Win 7: Win XP: Win Vista:         c) ICSA Labs Desktop Anti-Virus Certified. ICSA is an independent organization that sets standards for security products and certifies anti-virus software. d) Virus Bulletin - Panda hasn't been tested by Virus Bulletin since 2002. In the 4 tests Panda was involved in, it failed 3 out of 4 tests. Virus Bulletin's VB 100% award is given to antivirus software that detects all viruses "in the wild." e) West Coast Labs' Checkmark Anti-Virus Desktop Certification. WCL specializes in functionality testing, performance validation and Checkmark Certification of security products. 6) Help & Support:  3/5 »On-Screen Assistance: Panda provides little inline help text or links, though it does occasionally provide mouse-over tips for application-specific terms such as "Collective Intelligence." »Local Help: Panda ships with a local (Windows .CHM) help file that is well written, well organized, and easy to search. »Online Support: Panda provides access to technical support options from both its System Tray context menu, and from the Services tab of the Dashboard. Panda ships with a separate Windows Help file consisting of Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs), and supports sending an e-mail to Technical Support right from the application. The Panda Web site also hosts a user support forum. What Panda does not seem to offer is any option for live chat or telephone tech support - services that are nearly universal in the anti virus application field. While the online help is excellent, it can't compensate for the lack of immediate, one-on-one support. »Quick Support Links:      • Panda Security Technical Support Home      • Technical Support Forum      • Knowledge Base CONCLUSION: Panda AntiVirus Pro 2011 is a mixed bag. On the one hand, it sports a great array of features, a friendly interface, and regular virus definition updates. On the other hand, it has the 2nd worst impact on a computer's Performance out of all the antivirus software we tested, plus it's hobbled by slow virus scanning speeds, and lacks critical customer support options that are commonplace on other platforms. But if you can live with the slow speed and sluggish Performance, Panda AntiVirus is a solid alternative to more well-known packages. Overall Rating: Fair    (Total Score: 30.5 / 50 = 3 Stars) Misc Info:     • Version Tested: 10.0     • Release Date:     • Review Date:     • Last Updated:     • Previous Version: Panda AntiVirus Pro 2010