The Best of Both Phone, and Tablet
CNET Editors' review
When it originally debuted, Panda Cloud Antivirus was notable as a free security solution for two reasons: Panda traded on its reputation as a solid security suite vendor making its first foray into the realm of freeware, and the program attained its goal of freeing up system resources by putting much of the program's heavy lifting in the cloud. Now we can add a third reason to the list: it's now known as an effective alternative to the security powerhouses.
When you open Cloud Antivirus, the main window lets you know whether you're safe or not with a big red or green icon. Cloud Antivirus works as other antivirus solutions do, offering a Quick Scan and a Custom scan for specific folder, files, and drives, but its ancillary features are exceptionally light. You can opt out of contributing anonymous data to the cloud, but that also opts you out of automatic threat management. There's a network connection proxy option should you need it, and a reporting feature that will show you what kind of threats have been detected and removed from your computer. You can filter the report by All, Last 24 hours, Last Week, or Last Month, and there's a Recycle Bin pane from which you can recover a false positive, should you need it. The modest level of tweaks and customizations have been hidden behind an obnoxious "flipping" screen that cheesily rotates when you need to access it, but they do provide choices in a clean UI that weren't available before.
Lightweight security from Panda Cloud AV
CNET Labs' benchmarks determined that Panda Cloud Antivirus Free 1.3 had a small but detectable impact on system performance. It slowed down boot time by just under eight seconds as compared to an unprotected system, while computer shutdown time was more than three seconds slower. However, Cloud Antivirus' virus scan time was a zippy 540 seconds on CNET's test computer, in the top five scan times from suites benchmarked this year. Cloud Antivirus' impact on Microsoft Office was disappointingly large, but impressively the program marked the least impact on the Cinebench test. Overall, the program could have had less of an impact on computer startup times, but does have a very fast scan and caused the least disruption to the Cinebench test.
| Security Program | Boot time | Shutdown time | Scan time | MS Office performance | iTunes decoding | Media multitasking | Cinebench |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Unprotected system | 42.5 | 11.28 | n/a | 917 | 180 | 780 | 4795 |
| Panda Cloud Antivirus Free 1.3 | 50.12 | 14.8 | 540 | 1044 | 199 | 832 | 4790 |
*All tests measures in seconds, except for Cinebench. On the Cinebench test, the higher number is better.
Despite still lacking some of the deeper customization heft that other free antivirus solutions have, most glaringly a scheduler, the program is not necessarily a bad choice for a stripped-down antivirus. It has added a full on-demand scan, and it runs at around 15MB of RAM when idle and around 60MB when scanning. It's a great choice for resource-conscious Netbook users. Panda Cloud Antivirus makes a decent, reasonable security choice for anybody looking to effectively balance security and system performance.
Publisher's Description
From Panda Security:
Panda Cloud Antivirus is cloud-based. It consists of a lightweight antivirus agent that is connected in real-time to PandaLabs' online Collective Intelligence servers to protect faster against the newest malware variants while barely impacting PC performance.
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All versions:
3.6 starsout of 485 votes
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Current version:
5.0 starsout of 8 votes
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My rating:
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Results 1-8 of 8
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"superb!very light N effective! 'SHOOT AT SIGHT' action!"
Version: Panda Cloud Antivirus Free Edition 1.5.2
Pros
*doesn't use much system resourses so you can do other works side by side while scanning your computer without hanging up your computer!
*unlike AVAST, it doesn't ask you what to do with viruses,trojans,etc! it deletes or neutralizes wherever necessary.Cons
*not effective offline.
*sometimes keeps on annoying continuously by popping up 'VIRUS DELETED'Summary
it should include protection against malware as well,then it would perhaps be 'no.1'
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"Simple and effective!"
Version: Panda Cloud Antivirus Free Edition 1.5.2
Pros
Light, efficient, fast as it claims to be. Detection rate is good, easy to use.
Cons
Doesn't include scheduled scan and other secondary features.
Summary
Panda's cloud based technology is great advantage compared to other free antivirus.
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"So Far, So Good !"
Version: Panda Cloud Antivirus Free Edition 1.5.2
Pros
Installs without issue and is easy to use. Very light footprint and minimal impact on system resources. No conflicts with current security programs.
Cons
Aside from a minimal feature-set (which some might consider a pro), I've found no cons at all.
Summary
I haven't been using it long enough to talk about it's efficacy, but my initial impressions are extremely positive. I'm using it alongside my primary A/V, Avast free, along with the Comodo Firewall and it runs so quietly in the background you'd never know it was there. I love Avast, but haven't always felt as secure as I'd like. After trying some other solutions that bogged my system down, I did some research and kept coming across positive comments about Panda Cloud A/V and decided to try it. At this point I couldn't be happier with it: it installs like a breeze, has fairly quick scans, and the company isn't always trying to sell you something. Mostly, though, there's just something about Panda that "feels right". It's hard to describe, but you know it when you feel it. Suffice it to say, even if I were to switch to a different primary A/V program, the Panda stays ! It's a keeper !!!
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"Easy to use & install"
Version: Panda Cloud Antivirus Free Edition 1.5.2
Pros
Easy to use, easy to install, and it's really free. I've been looking for a good free antivirus that doesn't cost anything, and this one seems to do it.
Cons
None yet - no problems.
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"Quiet, fast and great scanner without any issues"
Version: Panda Cloud Antivirus Free Edition 1.5.2
Pros
+ Auto updates (no need to update it manually thanks to Cloud)
+ Light Program (takes only around 1.000 kb and it's very quiet)
+ Easy install and easy use with the basic but helpfull options.
+ Custom scan where you can select your files and drives is thorough and very accurate.Cons
- No auto scans, but i always want to do it myself. (manual)
- No email filterSummary
Years ago i used Panda and it was slow and just plain rubbish.
Panda 2012 free really is awesomely great.
But someting has changed with the latest 2012 free version, and i mean that in a good way.
Don't know why the program is just so good, and it's free! amazing.
Hopefully they will improve and not fall back and rely on money.
Because if they keep this up, Panda will be the greatest free antivirus program out there.
MSE is quiet and almost no problems untill i figured out that MSE made a lot of conflicts with other programs.
So i tried Panda and i like it a lot.
Combine Panda with Comodo Firewall, Emsisoft FreeEmergencyKit and MalwareBytes to get the best out of it. Best free solution and just as good as paid programs.
The only thing you have to do is disable windows defender and the rest is self-explanatory.
The king of all free antivirus programs.
I will never go back to MSE and other security programs.
Maybe a pro version in the future, but free is satisfying enough.
Updated on Apr 17, 2012
Vista became a even bigger mess on my older pc because Avast didnt detect certain trojans and so it infected intire system.
Now have windows 7 ultimate installed with panda and comodo firewall.
And that combination is just the best you can get, panda+comodo is a free package and they are the best free security programs out there in my opinion.
Panda found 9 trojans from 1 program while avast internet security just let it into my computer.
Panda free 2012 is the best you can get, and it's free.
Best use of the Cloud system in my opinion. -
"Tremendous."
Version: Panda Cloud Antivirus Free Edition 1.5.2
Pros
Light as a feather.
Install and forget.Cons
Occasionally flags false positives. But then, all anti viruses do!
Summary
Easily the best anti-virus out there. Uninstall whatever you're using, this beats all of them.
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"worked well never had any problems"
Version: Panda Cloud Antivirus Free Edition 1.5.2
Pros
Did not even know it was there in the background.
Cons
I went to update and it uninstalled the original.
Summary
liked software.
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"Very Good."
Version: Panda Cloud Antivirus Free Edition 1.5.2
Pros
Efficiency
Cons
None, ....
Summary
Very Good.
Results 1-8 of 8
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