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.
What's new in this version: Version 1.5 improves scanning speeds, reduces CPU consumption, and fixes many bugs. It also has a new graphical installer and the ability to close the banner.
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All versions:
3.6 starsout of 486 votes
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Current version:
3.6 starsout of 42 votes
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My rating:
Write review
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"Problematic"
Version: Panda Cloud Antivirus Free Edition 1.5
Pros
Its lightweight and doesn't intrude too much by those pop ups or advertisements.
Cons
The real problems that gets me every time:
1) The product tends to de-activate itself after using it for a month. As strange as it seems, I couldn't find a solution except to re-install it.
2) Security toolbar is installed despite the user's wishes(which is mostly no). After un-installation, I have to use a registry cleaner just to trace every fragments of it and remove each timeSummary
This may not happen to everyone, but its annoying enough to those affected. On a side note, I don't know why I'm not even allowed to access Panda support page. It keeps bringing me to the homepage every time. Very annoying.
I would therefore recommend other better AV solutions instead of this. -
"Got infected!"
Version: Panda Cloud Antivirus Free Edition 1.5
Pros
Lightweight and quick
Cons
Did not detect a virus I had unzipped. It infected my system. Fyi Malwarebytes did not detect either.
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"Mediocre features and configurabilty"
Version: Panda Cloud Antivirus Free Edition 1.5
Pros
Lightweight system resource impact.
Cons
Very few options for customized scans and scheduling, even for a free antivirus application. Leaves you wondering how effective it actually would be in preventing a virus from getting on your machine in the first place.
Summary
Very underwhelming overall.
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"the best antivirus out there!"
Version: Panda Cloud Antivirus Free Edition 1.5
Pros
Very light, doesn't need constant updates. Finds all new viruses and malware thanks to cloud
Cons
Can't think of any.
Summary
A must have antivirus!
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"It works OK"
Version: Panda Cloud Antivirus Free Edition 1.5
Pros
Seems to run in the background quietly enough.
Nothing has gotten past it or I assume I wouldn't be able to write this review.Cons
So far, none.
Summary
It's all right
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"good free AV"
Version: Panda Cloud Antivirus Free Edition 1.5
Pros
feather light
good performance
freeware
new real time scan techniqueCons
requires all time internet connectivity for better performance and security against threats
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"Panda is worse than bad it is dangerous - stay away"
Version: Panda Cloud Antivirus Free Edition 1.5
Pros
None - it is a disgrace
Cons
The product is unstable - needs constant re-installment. It is a virus itself - the worst virus I have ever experienced
The most disgraceful aspect is after uninstalling the program is leaves traces that stop you accessing the internet. The computer repair shop who sold me this louse program said they could not undo the damage Panda had done to my machine. I had to have the hard disc re-formattedSummary
The company should be sued.
STAY AWAY from this Spanish plague -
"Much have paid for the high review"
Version: Panda Cloud Antivirus Free Edition 1.5
Pros
low system impact
short scans
nice GUICons
about everything else.
It does not detect new viruses well, I watched a video on how well it detected new virues and a guy installed 10 different viruses on a Virtual Machine. then he scanned after installing each, and Panda only found 4/10 of them.
thats really bad since 8/10 would be a good raito. -
"Non Invasive AV"
Version: Panda Cloud Antivirus Free Edition 1.5
Pros
Runs quietly in Background
Cons
none found
Summary
Good AV program to use in conjunction with a firewall I also run AdvancedSystemCare4Free once a week and Computer runs fine. Thanks CNET
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"Very Good."
Version: Panda Cloud Antivirus Free Edition 1.5
Pros
Efficiency
Cons
None. ....
Summary
Very Good.
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