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As someone who has used Panda Free Antivirus, I can say that it is a simple but effective malware defense tool for Windows. It stands out because it has many scanning tools, as many or more than some paid antivirus software. It protects you in real time, scans your files when you want them to, scans your drives automatically when you plug them in, and more.
One cool feature is that you can make a running scanner on a USB drive, which is useful for getting rid of viruses on PCs. The VPN that comes with it is another perk, but it has some limits. You can’t pick where to stay, and you can only use 150MB of data per day. You can only use 500MB of data each month with some free VPNs, like Avira. This one is better than those though. The amount of data should be enough for simple jobs, though.
Panda Free Antivirus has some extra tools and features, like a Dark Web Scanner that looks for signs that your email address has been used in a data hack. But these extra tools are pretty basic, just like the VPN. Overall, Panda Free Antivirus might be a good choice if you’re looking for a small antivirus program that does the most important things to find malware. It might not have as many features as some more powerful antivirus program, but it’s a good choice if you want an easier, more streamlined way to protect your computer from malware.
Panda Antivirus Specifications
People who are looking for an antivirus program that is not only dependable and cost-effective but also provides a comprehensive set of features should give serious consideration to Panda Antivirus as one of their potential choices.
| Feature | Description |
|---|---|
| Real-time antivirus protection | Scans files and programs as they are accessed to detect and block malware |
| Ransomware protection | Protects your files from being encrypted by ransomware |
| Web protection | Blocks malicious websites and phishing attacks |
| Email protection | Scans incoming and outgoing emails for malware |
| Firewall | Monitors and blocks suspicious network traffic |
| VPN | Encrypts your internet traffic to protect your privacy |
| Password manager | Helps you create and manage strong, unique passwords for all of your online accounts |
| Parental controls | Restricts your children’s access to certain websites and apps |
| Game mode | Boosts performance while gaming by temporarily disabling certain features |
| Download Now |
What is Panda Antivirus?
Panda Security is a Spanish IT security company that was established in Bilbao in 1990. They provide their services to clients in both the commercial and personal sectors. Since the year 2020, Panda has become a part of WatchGuard Technologies, a conglomerate based in Seattle that specialises in cybersecurity.
Panda Security Free is the free version of the developer’s antivirus software, Panda Dome Premium. The developer also sells a commercial version of the software. Windows, Android, macOS, and iOS may all benefit from the enhanced levels of security, privacy, and performance offered by both.
Panda Antivirus review: Setup
Although the installation of Panda Free Antivirus was not particularly challenging, we did encounter a few peculiarities along the road.
For instance, nearly every other free antivirus programme offers its own downloads on its website. presumably a useful method for bringing in some additional cash. During the setup process, the installer proceeded to advertise third-party products by displaying the phone number of a support firm and advising us to call them if we experienced any issues with our computers.
After the installation was finished, we were prompted to register using an email address by the installer. The good news is that Panda takes an unusually permissive approach to registration, and it enabled us to use the app without requiring us to verify that the address provided was authentic.
The bad news is that in addition to requesting that we choose a password and validate our email address, the website also requested for our full names, birth dates, phone numbers, and addresses. We were fortunate in that we were able to cancel that form by just tapping the “Not Now” button. However, our best estimate is that it will come back every so often. And even if it doesn’t, the fact that Panda asks consumers for that much information gives us a negative opinion of the service.
Panda Antivirus review: Installation and Usage
Panda Security Free is available on the provider’s website without an account. Panda Dome can be downloaded without a Panda account after entering a payment method and information for a premium subscription. Panda Dome automatically creates an account for you to manage subscription payments. The 3 MB file downloads and installs in minutes. Panda Dome is light and appears to use less resources, unlike most antivirus programmers.
The software’s interface is attractive and central to its functions. These include antivirus, VPN, and parental controls. The home screen displays your security status, scanned files, and five icons indicating the program’s most important features. Status has a button for a broad summary. You can disable the news ticker at the bottom of the interface. Panda Dome’s other features can be found by scrolling through icons or hitting the top left hamburger menu. The navigation items “My Products”, “My Devices”, and “Support” are again here.
Panda Antivirus review: Scanning and Scheduling
A complete malware scan should be performed immediately after installing antivirus protection on a new machine. It is impossible to determine what harmful software may have infected the unprotected device. Panda also offers a quick scan of critical regions and a bespoke scan of user-selected folders. An exhaustive scan of a standard clean test system took Panda 135 minutes. This is far longer than the current 110 minutes. Returning to the test did not speed up completion like in previous years.
If harmful malware got into your computer without antivirus software, your first thorough scan should eliminate it. Real-time defence should prevent further attacks. However, many users plan regular scans to boost security. Panda’s calendar lets you schedule scans daily, weekly, or monthly. You can scan the entire computer, simply the most relevant spots, or a selected set of files and folders.
Panda Antivirus review: Ransomware and anti-phishing
When we test antivirus software, we usually use our own homemade ransomware to see how well it works. That’s not as important here because Panda says its free software doesn’t fully protect against hacking. However, we tested it anyway, and the company was right: Panda Free didn’t care about our threat and let it encrypt thousands of files without any problems. In a recent study from AV-Comparatives, Panda’s engine blocked 100% of threats, so this doesn’t mean it can’t stop ransomware.
However, it doesn’t offer as much protection as the paid versions. It’s not a big surprise. The paid versions of Bitdefender, Kaspersky, and Trend Micro all found and stopped our test ransomware, but the free versions of Avast and Avira also didn’t. We also tried going to a number of malicious URLs, but had mixed results. Panda was able to find and stop dangerous files when they reached our hard drive. But it didn’t stop threats at the URL level, so we could still visit phishing sites and other browser-based threats.
Panda Antivirus review: Self-protection
Any security app should be able to protect itself because malware occasionally disables antivirus before infecting. Tests of Panda’s self-protection found flaws. We were able to download malicious files undetected after one attack physical disability Panda’s real-time file scanning mechanism. The second disabled Panda’s protections, letting malware do anything it wanted. An attacker has to convince you to run a malicious script or macro as Administrator for these attacks.
Spam email text may induce you to open an attached Office document and run an embedded macro. Panda received our findings. The business stated these security holes ‘could only be exploited by malware that has escalated admin rights and has not been discovered by any of our technologies.’ Panda claimed had ‘took notice’ of our fix idea but didn’t commit to it.
Final Words
My own testing has shown that Panda’s free antivirus software is rather capable when it comes to addressing the most fundamental security concerns. It does an excellent job of locating and eliminating malware with no effort required. When it comes to additional features, however, it does not live up to expectations. Notably, it does not provide protection against websites that may contain malicious content, and it contains a few weaknesses that an attacker may be able to take advantage of. It is recommended that you look at other choices because there are free antivirus program accessible that are more feature-rich.
Panda Antivirus review: The Good and Bad
Although Panda Free is effective at identifying harmful files, the application cannot be recommended because it does not provide protection against phishing websites and may be susceptible to infection by malware.
The Good
- Free
- Vaccinates USB drives against malware attack
- Includes Dark Web Scanner, limited VPN
- Appealing interface with nature-themed backgrounds
The Bad
- Mixed scores in independent lab tests
- Mediocre scores in our hands-on tests
- No protection against dangerous or fraudulent URLs
Questions and Answers
Although the Panda Dome antivirus suite is completely risk-free, it does have a few limitations. The results of their malware lab tests do not appear to be particularly spectacular, particularly when compared to those of their competitors. In March, AV-Comparatives conducted a thorough examination of Panda Dome.
Panda Security is a Spanish software business that specialises in computer security. Antivirus software is Panda Security’s primary business; however, the company has recently moved into the provision of cybersecurity software as well as the development of such software.
