Panda Cloud Antivirus Free Edition 2.0

The very first cloud antivirus from Panda presented lightweight cloud-based antivirus scanning in an utterly minimalist user interface. Label-free buttons used icons to represent settings, scanning, and statistics; that was about the extent of it. Panda Cloud Antivirus Free Edition 2.0 packs a bit more into its user interface, including display of a few features that are only available in the Pro edition. It remains lightweight and tiny due to keeping malware definitions in the cloud.

New in version 2.0, the antivirus also gets disinfection instructions from the cloud. As with previous editions, its malware cleanup ability becomes quite limited if the Internet connection is cut. However, virtually all modern threats attack via the Internet. To help head off threats that enter via infected USB devices, Panda turns off USB autorun.

Installation Challenges
Panda wouldn't install or wouldn't run on several test systems. My Panda contact explained that, in such a situation, tech support would recommend use of the free Panda Cloud Cleaner. The Cleaner is a more aggressive cleanup tool designed specifically for malware cleanup, while the basic Panda Cloud Antivirus is better at keeping threats out of a clean system.

He went on to say that Panda always advises using the Cleaner first on a system known to be infested. However, that wasn't spelled out by the antivirus. I compromised by invoking the Cleaner whenever the antivirus seemed to be having trouble. That included one test system where Panda repeatedly requested a reboot to clean up an active threat and three others that pointed to generic instructions online for cleanup.

One system lost connectivity after installation, so the Cleaner couldn't function. I booted from Panda's SafeDisk rescue CD and ran a scan, but it didn't help. Tech support supplied a threat-specific tool that also didn't help.

In the end tech support resorted to PSCAN, a kind of slow-motion version of the remote-control disinfection some other vendors use. The technician can instruct PSCAN to gather logs, run scans, and execute specific cleanup tasks. Two other tests systems needed PSCAN, and one needed several days to finish the process.

In every case where I used these specialized cleanup tools, I finished with a full scan by Panda Cloud Antivirus itself. Yes, Panda has layers and layers of tools to clean up malware-infested systems, but getting through those layers can be quite a job.

Effective Malware Cleanup
After days of work and a raft of different tools, I totaled up Panda's results. All that work did pay off, it turns out. Using one tool or another, Panda detected 84 percent of the threats, and scored 5.4 points. That puts it in third place for malware removal among the ten products tested using the same collection of malware. The cleanup-only Emsisoft Emergency Kit 2.0 (free, 3.5 stars) is second, with 82 percent detection and a score of 5.6. Bitdefender Antivirus Plus 2013 ($39.95 direct, 4.5 stars) leads the pack with 87 percent detection and 6.4 of 10 possible points.

Panda detected every single one of the threats that use rootkit technology to evade detection, as did Bitdefender and the USB-based FixMeStick ($49.95 direct for three licenses, 3 stars). Panda scored 8.0 points for rootkit removal. Only ZoneAlarm Free Antivirus + Firewall (free, 3.5 stars) did better, with 100 percent detection and 8.2 points.

Of products tested using my previous malware collection, Norton AntiVirus 2012 ($39.99 direct, 4.5 stars) scored highest, with 7.1 of 10 possible points. Webroot SecureAnywhere Antivirus ($39.95 direct, 4.5 stars) exhibited the best detection rate, 94 percent.

AVG Anti-Virus Free 2012 (free, 4 stars), our current Editors' Choice for free antivirus, detected 88 percent of the previous sample set and scored ??????? 6.5 points, well above Panda's 5.4.

For a full explanation of how I derive these scores, see How We Test Malware Removal.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/ziffdavis/pcmag/~3/lGPscISqmYw/0,2817,2407277,00.asp

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