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Panda Internet Security 2010
Panda does an adequate job this year with their Internet Security 2010. Not many improvements from last year, but still worth exploring.
Real-time virus and malware protection is average, but their firewall is effective and easy to use. These core functions are what will keep your PC safe, but there's still much room for improvement.
IMPROVED FEATURES
Average real-time protection
Better resource usage
Decent firewall
We're glad to see Panda's taken their resource usage down quite a bit this year. This version is one of the lowest we've seen.
The user interface is simple enough, but could use some rethinking for easier configuration. The backup function is basic, but effective for most home users.
Unfortunately, their technical and customer support is severely lacking. They don't offer free phone support of any kind. All of the major players in the Internet Security market have managed to offer some level of phone support, and we don't see why Panda can't do this same.
Even with its deficiencies, Panda Internet Security 2010 can still be considered a viable option for some.
Panda Internet Security 2010 Features
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- Real-time Protection
Keeps your PC safe 24/7 from viruses, spyware, and other malware. Stops threats before they can do any harm.
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- Spyware Removal
Protects your PC from spyware and adware. Finds and destroys spyware already infecting your computer.
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- Email Protection
Helps protect your inbox from viruses and other malicious files. Scans incoming and outgoing messages for dangerous content.
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- Instant Messaging Protection
Scans and blocks malicious file transfers that come through your Instant Messaging conversations. Helps to keep your IM conversations free from intruders.
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- Anti-Phishing
Identifies and blocks phishing websites that try to steal sensitive and personal information. Helps to protect against identity theft.
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- Parental Controls
Helps keep children safe online by blocking inappropriate websites.
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- Firewall
Stops unwanted programs from accessing your PC. Your first line of defense against viruses and malicious intruders.
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- Anti-spam
Helps keep junk mail out of your inbox.
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- Vulnerability Check
Checks the following for vulnerabilities: Windows updates, application updates, Windows account passwords, up-to-date programs.
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- Backup
Lets you create a simple backup disk in case of emergency.
Panda Internet Security Suite 2010 Assessment
Here we've listed a breakdown of each category we've tested for Panda Internet Security 2010. Each category was given a percentage rating based on those tests.
Antivirus Installation: 95%
Panda Internet Security installation was easy with no real issues. An initial memory scan is performed during installation (this is not a full system scan, so you'll need to run a full scan once the install is complete).
A reboot is required to activate the firewall. Otherwise, the firewall is not activated by default.
Definition updates are not downloaded automatically, however. But they will eventually download within about 10 minutes of use. Or, you can always manually download current antivirus definitions right away.
Total installation only took about 4 minutes.
Un-installation: 95%
Uninstallation was simple and did not require much interaction except for the option to offer feedback on the product.
A self-uninstall is included or you can uninstall through the Windows ADD/REMOVE Programs feature. A reboot is required to complete the uninstall. Total time was only about 1 minute.
There were a few registry entries left behind, but nothing that would cause any problems.
User Interface: 89%
The navigation for Panda's user interface (UI) was straight-forward and simple. The UI was not as attractive as other Internet Security products, but was still easy to use.
The main page uses tabs to separate the different sections, creating a successful way to display any data and features you need to access.
Each section has a corresponding help page that explains the features in detail. The help pages are easily understood and included enough information without being too long.
Our only complaint besides being fairly plain, was that the antivirus section is divided into 2 sections: known threats and unknown threats. Each must be configured on separate pages. We would have liked to see Panda included both options on the same page for easier configuration.
Real-time Protection: 87%
Real-time protection was average for the most part. Only 70% of the viruses we tested against Panda were successfully blocked. The 30% of malicious files that were missed were generally caught by more aggressive antivirus programs.
Not bad, by any means, but we've seen better results with our top Internet Security choices.
Memory used during real-time protection was under 3MB. This is a fairly light PC footprint.
Panda's real-time protection proved to be average, but still acceptable according to our testing.
Manual Antivirus Scan: 95%
During a full-system, manual scan, Panda found and removed up to 93% of malware files (much better than their real-time protection).
Only 3MB of memory was used during a manual scan, which is a very light for a deep scan.
The full-system, manual scan took about 25 minutes to complete. All files, memory, registry, and emails were scanned.
Resource Usage: 99%
Overall resource usage was very low. The CPU usage during real-time protection was between 1%-5% when opening directories.
Manual scanning only used about 60-105MB of memory.
CPU usage during a full-system scan was 40%-70%. Only when scanning compressed files did the CPU peak at 100%. But most of the time, CPU usage was under 10% when scanning text files.
Not bad for an Internet Security suite.
Spyware/Adware Protection: 93%
All spyware programs that were previously installed and actively running were detected by the firewall, but were not detected by the real-time protection.
However, when a manual scan was run, all spyware and adware programs were successfully identified and removed.
What this boils down to is, Panda's real-time protection is not as secure as it should be. But their full-system manual scanning is potent enough for us to give them a passing grade.
Virus Removal from a Pre-infected Machine: 75%
We infected our testing PC with viruses and other malware, then installed Panda to see how well the software would perform. Unfortunately, it didn't perform as well as it should.
Panda didn't detect any of the pre-infected spyware, malware, or viruses during the installation process, nor during the memory scan.
The real-time protection didn't detect anything either, even after the reboot.
After running a manual, full-system scan, all malicious programs were finally detected and removed.
While Panda did finally remove all malicious programs, the software isn't dependable enough for us to give it more than an average score.
Email Protection: 92%
The antivirus email protection works in both IMAP and POP email clients. Attachments are scanned for viruses and malware. The email protection will warn you of any suspicious files.
Panda's email protection will only actively scan for viruses in Outlook and Outlook Express. However, all attachments you attempt to open or save will be scanned by Panda's real-time protection (provided it's turned on).
Memory usage was fair to average with CPU activity under 5% during email and attachment scanning. Our testing PC wasn't noticeably slower when email protection was engaged.
Anti-spam: 70%
Panda's anti-spam feature comes in the form of a toolbar compatible with Outlook and Outlook Express. This toolbar allows you to classify email as spam or friendly.
Overall, the anti-spam function was average. Most emails were correctly identified as spam. Only some were not filtered correctly.
Firewall: 92%
Panda Internet Security Suite 2010
Firewall Scores
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Firewall Performance
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| Inbound Blocking |
50 |
| Outbound Blocking |
50 |
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Other Firewall Ratings
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| Firewall Ease-of-Use |
50 |
| Configuration Flexibility |
50 |
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Panda's bi-directional firewall is simple and easy to use. You can set it and forget it with automatically set permissions, or you can set it to ask permission for every program that attempts to access your computer.
Rules can be configured for your trusted network (home) or public network.
Rules can be created for both individual programs as well as for IPs, ports, and protocols.
The help section is thorough enough to help the user configure the firewall with ease.
Even with standard settings, the firewall correctly blocks most virus and other malicious attempts to access your PC.
Panda's firewall is complete and effective for the novice or advanced user.
Parental Controls: 80%
The parental controls are only web content controls. There's no keylogging, IM protection, or social networking protection.
The web content controls allow you to create different web users and set a filter for each one. However, these user profiles are not associated with Windows user accounts (as most parental controls are). When a browser is opened, Panda asks you to sign in as one of the created users.
There are 3 predefined filters: Employee, Teen, and Child, as well as No Filter.
You can select from 15 main category filters and several sub-categories. All filter groups can be modified, and custom filters can be created. The filtering worked very well in our testing. It blocked everything in the appropriate categories.
One major draw back is that the parental controls do no scan web pages for content. So, it's possible to view inappropriate content if it was on a forum or other public site. On the plus side, pornographic images are removed from image searches.
Web blocking works on all major web browsers, and white and blacklisting of specific sites is possible.
If you're using Panda for a small business, the parental controls allow you to import filter settings across multiple computers (for instance, if you wanted the same filters to be used on all of your employee PCs).
Panda does an adequate job with parental controls, but doesn't go far enough. Basically, it's only good for blocking web content. For today's parental controls, you really need a more robust approach that logs keystrokes, IM conversations, social networking sites, and more. While Panda does a good job with content blocking, it's not enough to feel completely protected.
IM Protection: 98%
IM (Instant Messaging) protection scans incoming file transfers for viruses or other malicious content.
IM protection works with MSN Messenger, Yahoo Messenger, Trillian, and AIM (AOL).
Panda scored very well in scanning for viruses and suspicious files.
Anti-phishing: 70%
The anti-phishing feature scored very poorly in our tests. The phishing filter only blocked a small percentage of the URLs we tested: under 20% were successfully identified or blocked.
Compare this with default Internet Explorer (IE) or Chrome settings which both scored 90% in blocking phishing sites.
Panda really needs to take anti-phishing more seriously.
Antivirus Definition Updates: 85%
Definition updates are only available once a day. We couldn't find a list or setting to increase this interval. However, you can choose the updates to be automatic or manual. Panda defaults to automatic definition updates.
While the updates are consistent, Panda really needs to make definition updates much more frequent: at least hourly. Virus and malware threats are a minute-by-minute threat. Faster definitions are needed for maximum protection.
Backup and Recovery: 90%
A simple disk backup is available. You check which files you want backed up: pictures, documents, videos, contacts, etc. You can also backup by file extension (ex: .doc, .jpg).
Create a schedule for regular backups, and Panda will search for all selected file types, then copy of those files to a directory of your choice. After a defined period of time, the software will remind you to copy the backup folder to a CD or external device.
Panda allows you to write files directly to a CD from within the Internet Security program. So, there's no need for a separate CD burning program.
While there aren't a lot of backup/recovery features, Panda has the important ones. Simple enough for most home users.
Customer Support: 80%
From the main control panel, you can submit an email support ticket, or choose Internet tech support (which is a knowledgebase).
There is no phone or chat support, but email support and knowledgebase access is free.
Email support is easy to access from the control panel, but with no phone or chat support, we simply can't give Panda high marks. We've found that good, free phone support is vital for accurate and healthy antivirus and Internet Security.
Panda Internet Security Suite 2010
Review Conclusions
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Panda Internet Security Suite 2010 Scores
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Antivirus
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$79.95
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| Overall Internet Security Protection |
92 |
| Real-time Security Protection |
87 |
| Manual Antivirus Scanning |
95 |
| Resource Utlization |
99 |
| Virus Removal (Pre-infected Machine) |
75 |
| Antivirus Definition Updates |
85 |
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Additional Internet Security Features
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| Spyware/Adware Protection |
93 |
| Email Protection |
92 |
| Anti-Spam Protection |
70 |
| Firewall Software |
92 |
| Parental Controls Software |
80 |
| IM/Instant Message Protection |
98 |
| Anti-Phishing Protection |
70 |
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Other Software Ratings
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| Installation |
95 |
| Un-installation |
95 |
| User Interface |
89 |
| Customer Technical Support |
80 |
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Each version of Panda's Internet Security comes with new pros and cons. This year's version is very similar to last year's, but markedly better than years before that.
Where it counts, Panda Internet Security 2010 does an adequate job with antivirus and Internet Security. Their real-time protection scored fairly well with us, and their firewall was satisfactory.
- Adequate real-time protection
- Poor anti-phishing
- Decent firewall
- Poor customer support
- Good user interface
The anti-phishing feature was virtually useless, especially considering you get better phishing protection from default settings in IE or Chrome. Phishing is a real problem these days, and Panda needs to take this much more seriously.
Panda's customer support is very minimal and not very effective. You can send them an email, or search their knowledgebase, but without person-to-person phone support, we can't give them high marks.
Overall, Panda does an average to good job with basic Internet Security. Their real-time antivirus protection combined with a decent firewall will probably be enough for some users. But there are a few loose ends, like poor anti-phishing and lack of customer support that keep Panda Internet Security 2010 from being a top-notch program.
Panda Internet Security Suite 2010
XP / Vista / Windows 7 System Requirements
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- Microsoft Internet Explorer 6 or higher
- Mozilla Firefox 2.5 or higher
- CD-ROM drive
(NOT required for installation via the Internet)
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| Software
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Microsoft Windows XP (32 bit)
Windows Vista (32 and 64 bit)
Windows 7 (32 and 64 bit)
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| Processor/CPU
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Intel Pentium processor 300 MHz or faster
(or compatible)
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| System Memory/RAM
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1 GB
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| Free Disk Space
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275 MB
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| Email
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- Microsoft Outlook
- Microsoft Outlook Express
- POP and IMAP supported clients
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| Instant Messaging
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- Yahoo Messenger
- Windows Live Messenger
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