Regular readers may recall that, historically, I have not been a fan of Panda’s free offerings but have been well impressed with their retail products. Lets see if that will change this year…
The Good:
Runs well on older computers
Firewall included
Large range of features
The Bad:
Panda Safe Browser isn’t the nicest thing I’ve ever used
Interface: white text on a black background is a personal no-no
-
Installation and first impression
Installation of Panda Antivirus Pro 2012 is quick and straightforward and, once done, you will be presented with the program for the fist time, as seen in the screen shot below. I’m not a huge fan of white text on black backgrounds because I get headaches when looking at it for long times but I’m sure most people will not have such an issue.
As you can see in the image above, the program makes it clear that you need to run an update sharpish which really is a smart move as I’m sure you can appreciate. Once the update has processed you can start to play around with the program to see what it offers.
Panda Antivirus Pro 2012 update
Traditionally, an antivirus program is just that – an antivirus program. If you wanted more security features than that then you would buy an internet security suite. Panda Antivirus Pro 2012 may make you think twice about that though…
Features
As I alluded to above, Panda Antivirus Pro 2012 is more than just an antivirus program. It also offers up a firewall, parental control, anti-spam and other features such as the Panda Safe Browser which acts as a sandbox.
Then there is Panda’s USB Vaccine which can disable autorun on any devices that you attach to your computer. This makes it nigh on impossible for malware to spread to your system from USB drives and sticks which is a handy additional feature for sure.
Network management could also prove useful as it will display on the computers on your own network, noting which have Panda products installed on them and whether they are out of date or not. Additionally, a seperate feature through the firewall will identify all computers that have connected to the network by their name, IP address and MAC address. If you see something you don’t like in that list then you can easy blacklist it, thereby preventing it from accessing your PC.
When it comes to scanning there is the full range of usual options that you will see in any antivirus program these days. Panda adds another though with is a scan for vulnerabilities. This particular scan will assess the severity of any vulnerability that it finds and will identify any specific threats that exploit it. You can then click on a button to open up Windows Update to fix the problem but I would hope that you are fully up to date already!
For those of you who may be wondering, Panda Antivirus Pro 2012 does come with something that I think is obligatory these days – the gaming mode!
System Requirements
Panda Antivirus Pro 2012 has the following system requirements -
Windows operating system Windows XP (32-bit), Vista (32 and 64 bit) and 7 (32 bit and 64 bit)
A Pentium processor running at 300 Mhz or faster
128 MB RAM or 512 MB RAM with TruPrevent (though 1 GB RAM is recommended)
265 MB of available hard drive space
Internet Explorer 6 or higher (if you have IE 6 change it now!) / Firefox 2 or newer / Google Chrome
Effectiveness
Running a scan with the latest offering from Panda was a quick affair – a full scan of my drives took about 20 minutes and a quick scan seemed to take mere seconds. That seems impressive and would seem to suggest that anyone with the low spec required to run the program may well be ok with it.
When testing the program against my list of naughty links it fared well, identifying all as threats and blocking them (I need to use a much bigger list in the future to test these programs with though methinks).
+ Plus Points
Low spec machine required to run it
Quick scans
Effective detection of threats
Includes firewall, anti-spam, USB vaccine, vulnerability scan and gaming mode
Collective Intelligence provides quick response to new threats as they are discovered
16 Aralık 2011 Cuma
Kaspersky Antivirus 2012.
Installation and first impression
Installation of the files needed to run Kaspersky Antivirus 2012 was just as quick as it was with their internet security program that I looked at last week. Likewise, at the beginning of the installation process the program looked for any conflicting security programs that were already on my system but didn’t find any this time :) . Once installed I simply activated the product and it was good to go.
The first thing I did was to update the database. This was a download of around 80 MB which came through an awful lot quicker than the 100 MB one I needed for Kasperksy Internet Security 2012 so that was a pleasant surprise.
Kaspersky Antivirus 2012 looks very much like their internet security program, just with less features accessible so, needless to say, I am equally impressed with the layout and the ease with which I could find all the features that this program has to offer.
Features
It goes without saying that an antivirus program is not as feature packed as an internet security package but Kaspersky Antivirus 2012 still contains a good number of features as evidenced by the list below -
antivirus protection for files, mail, instant messaging and the web
network port monitoring
quick response to new threats via the cloud protection
privacy cleaner
gaming profile
virtual keyboard which is a great defense against keyloggers (use for entering online banking details for example)
System Requirements
Kaspersky Antivirus 2012 has the following system requirements -
Windows XP Service Pack 2 /Vista /7 (both 32 bit and 64 bit)
a minimum of 480 MB free hard drive space
an internet connection
a processor rated at 800Mhz or better for Windows XP / 1Ghz or above for Vista and 7
512 MB RAM for Windows XP users / I GB RAM for 32 bit Vista and 7 / 2 GB RAM for 64 bit Vista and 7 users
Additionally, the program will run on the majority of current line netbooks assuming they can match or exceed the following specs
Effectiveness
As per the internet security program I looked at last week, I tested Kaspersky Antivirus 2012 against some dodgy links found on malwaredomainlist.com. The program performed admirably, detecting the 20 or so links I tested it against, identifying each of them as a threat.
A small test such as that isn’t going to be conclusive of course but it does seem to indicate that Kaspersky Antivirus 2012 is certainly an effective security program.
Installation of the files needed to run Kaspersky Antivirus 2012 was just as quick as it was with their internet security program that I looked at last week. Likewise, at the beginning of the installation process the program looked for any conflicting security programs that were already on my system but didn’t find any this time :) . Once installed I simply activated the product and it was good to go.
The first thing I did was to update the database. This was a download of around 80 MB which came through an awful lot quicker than the 100 MB one I needed for Kasperksy Internet Security 2012 so that was a pleasant surprise.
Kaspersky Antivirus 2012 looks very much like their internet security program, just with less features accessible so, needless to say, I am equally impressed with the layout and the ease with which I could find all the features that this program has to offer.
Features
It goes without saying that an antivirus program is not as feature packed as an internet security package but Kaspersky Antivirus 2012 still contains a good number of features as evidenced by the list below -
antivirus protection for files, mail, instant messaging and the web
network port monitoring
quick response to new threats via the cloud protection
privacy cleaner
gaming profile
virtual keyboard which is a great defense against keyloggers (use for entering online banking details for example)
System Requirements
Kaspersky Antivirus 2012 has the following system requirements -
Windows XP Service Pack 2 /Vista /7 (both 32 bit and 64 bit)
a minimum of 480 MB free hard drive space
an internet connection
a processor rated at 800Mhz or better for Windows XP / 1Ghz or above for Vista and 7
512 MB RAM for Windows XP users / I GB RAM for 32 bit Vista and 7 / 2 GB RAM for 64 bit Vista and 7 users
Additionally, the program will run on the majority of current line netbooks assuming they can match or exceed the following specs
Effectiveness
As per the internet security program I looked at last week, I tested Kaspersky Antivirus 2012 against some dodgy links found on malwaredomainlist.com. The program performed admirably, detecting the 20 or so links I tested it against, identifying each of them as a threat.
A small test such as that isn’t going to be conclusive of course but it does seem to indicate that Kaspersky Antivirus 2012 is certainly an effective security program.
1 Aralık 2011 Perşembe
Antivirus Tips
Use common sense. It's always better to err on the side of safety. If you're unsure about an attachment, delete it. Especially if it's from a source you don't recognize. If there are tempting animations on a site that look highly unprofessional, don't download them.
Y8,Y8,Y8,Y3
Scan floppies before using them. This is always important, but especially if you are using the disk to carry information between one computer and another. You could easily pick up a virus from an insecure network and introduce it into your system. Running a virus scan before launching any of the programs on the disk will prevent infection.
Don't share floppies. Even a well-meaning friend may unknowingly pass along a virus, Trojan horse, or worm. Label your floppies clearly so you know they're yours and don't loan them out. If a friend passes you a foreign floppy, suggest an alternative method of file sharing.
Don't boot from a floppy disk. Floppies are one of the most common ways viruses are transmitted. If you are using a floppy while working on your computer, remove it when you shut the machine off or the computer will automatically try to boot from the floppy, perhaps launching any viruses on the disk.
Y8,Y8,Y8,Y3
Scan floppies before using them. This is always important, but especially if you are using the disk to carry information between one computer and another. You could easily pick up a virus from an insecure network and introduce it into your system. Running a virus scan before launching any of the programs on the disk will prevent infection.
Don't share floppies. Even a well-meaning friend may unknowingly pass along a virus, Trojan horse, or worm. Label your floppies clearly so you know they're yours and don't loan them out. If a friend passes you a foreign floppy, suggest an alternative method of file sharing.
Don't boot from a floppy disk. Floppies are one of the most common ways viruses are transmitted. If you are using a floppy while working on your computer, remove it when you shut the machine off or the computer will automatically try to boot from the floppy, perhaps launching any viruses on the disk.
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