Panda Free Antivirus (opens in new tab) is a simple Home windows malware (opens in new tab) hunter with an fascinating bonus additional.
The app is powerful on scanning choices, with extra selections than some industrial antivirus software program (opens in new tab). Actual time safety; on-demand checks; scheduled scans; USB keys optionally scanned as they’re inserted; there’s even the flexibility to create a bootable scanner on a USB key, which you need to use to take away present infections from different PCs.
- Wish to strive Panda Free Antivirus? Try the web site right here (opens in new tab)
You get a VPN (opens in new tab), too. Effectively, nearly: there is no selection of a areas and a 150MB per day knowledge restrict. However it could possibly be worse (Avira’s free unregistered VPN limits you to only 500MB a month), and the allowance could also be sufficient for easy duties.
There are a sprinkling of different instruments and options, together with a Darkish Net Scanner which checks your e-mail tackle to see if it seems in a knowledge breach. However look carefully they usually’re as fundamental because the VPN (extra on that, later.) That is unhealthy information should you’re searching for energy, however would possibly enchantment should you’re bored with chubby antivirus apps, and are pleased with the malware-hunting fundamentals.
Setup
Putting in Panda Free Antivirus wasn’t tough, however we observed just a few quirks alongside the best way.
Nearly each different free antivirus (opens in new tab) hosts its personal downloads, as an example. Panda redirected us to a CNET obtain web site, presumably a useful method to generate some money.
The third-party promoting continued throughout setup, when the installer displayed the phone variety of a help firm, and beneficial we name with any PC issues.
Setup full, the installer requested us to register with an e-mail tackle. The excellent news is Panda takes an unusually relaxed strategy to registration, although, and allowed us to make use of the app with out confirming the tackle was real.
The unhealthy information is after we did affirm our e-mail tackle and select a password, the location additionally requested for our identify, date of start, cellphone quantity and tackle. Thankfully, we might dismiss that kind with a faucet of the ‘Not Now’ button. Our guess is it’s going to return, although, sometimes. And even when it would not, the actual fact Panda asks customers for that a lot knowledge makes a poor impression with us.
Interface
Panda’s interface stands out instantly for its desktop-style wallpaper background. This appears good, however creates a direct usability situation. The app has two rows of buttons for varied features, however Panda leaves a lot free area to the picture, that the second row of buttons is out of view. You have to scroll right down to entry every part.
There’s one other small annoyance in a frequently up to date banner on the backside of the dashboard, with hyperlinks to varied weblog posts on the Panda web site. We discovered a ‘Present Panda Information’ swap in Settings, and turned off, hoping this could assist; however no, it did not make any distinction in any respect. (We checked Panda’s Assist web site to seek out out what ‘Present Panda Information’ was speculated to do, however could not discover it talked about wherever. Not an encouraging begin.)
The primary interface works properly, at the least. Capabilities are grouped into ten buttons (Scan, VPN, Assist and so forth); hovering your mouse cursor over a button shows a caption, reminding you what it does; clicking a button takes you to that space, the place a Again button returns you to the principle dashboard whenever you’re accomplished. It is not excellent – too many buttons simply open a browser tab, relatively than do something regionally – however we discovered it moderately straightforward to make use of.
Self-protection
Malware typically makes an attempt to disable an antivirus earlier than launching a full an infection try, so it is vital any safety app can defend itself.
Testing Panda’s self-protection revealed a few vulnerabilities. One assault efficiently disabled a part of Panda’s real-time file scanning system, permitting us to obtain malicious information with out detection. The second successfully eliminated all Panda’s protecting layers, enabling malware to do no matter it preferred.
These exploits required an attacker persuading you to run a malicious script or macro in your system, with Administrator rights. A standard instance could be through a spam e-mail, with textual content which persuaded you to open an connected Workplace doc, after which run an embedded macro.
We reported our findings to Panda. The corporate stated these safety flaws: ‘might solely be exploited by malware that has escalated admin rights and has not been detected by any of our applied sciences (signatures, Cloud, heuristics, contextual routines, behavioral safety,…).’ Panda additionally stated it had ‘taken notice’ of our suggestion for a repair, although did not decide to making use of it.
Whereas it is true this assault might not succeed fairly often, the fact is a lot of the antivirus competitors does a much better job of defending itself. 90% and extra merely block our assaults, guaranteeing they don’t have any impact. Kaspersky and Development Micro go additional, recognizing the assaults as malicious actions and killing our testing device instantly, stopping it attempting anything. Panda appears weak, by comparability.
Antivirus
Panda Free Antivirus has a number of scanning choices. A Essential Space scan checks probably the most generally contaminated areas of a PC in round 5 minutes; the Customized scan solely inspects the information or folders you specify; and the Full System scan, after all, checks every part.
If that is not sufficient, you may as well set a number of scheduled scans. These begin with a Essential Areas, Full System or Customized scan, however you may as well exclude specific folders or file sorts (useful for dashing up scans.)
We observed one uncommon omission. Panda Free Antivirus would not combine with Explorer, so proper clicking a file or folder would not get you a ‘Scan with Panda’ choice. The one method to examine a selected merchandise is to manually open the app, select the Customized scan and choose a folder manually. That is a trouble we do not see elsewhere.
Scan occasions had been affordable throughout testing. Panda Free Antivirus checked our 50GB of take a look at executables in 39 minutes for the primary scan, inside the 15–50-minute vary we sometimes see. There’s some optimization for subsequent scans, and Panda took 24 minutes for scan #2. Others go additional, although: Bitdefender checks solely new and adjusted information, and in a current evaluation its second scan accomplished in lower than a minute.
Safety
AV-Comparatives’ Actual-World Safety Take a look at is a complete benchmark which pits 17 high antivirus engines towards the newest malware.
Panda scored properly within the July-October 2021 report (opens in new tab), reaching second place as certainly one of solely three distributors to dam 100% of take a look at threats (Development Micro and Norton had been the others.)
There is a potential situation in Panda’s comparatively excessive variety of false positives: 25, the second highest within the report. That is vital, as a result of it is a lot simpler to dam all threats should you cease each course of which appears faintly suspicious. Most firms are rather more exact of their focusing on; Kaspersky reached 4th place, blocking 99.9% of threats, however with no false positives; Avast additionally blocked 99.9%, and had solely two.
Panda is not presently examined at SE-Labs or AV Take a look at, so we weren’t capable of get affirmation of AV-Comparatives’ scores.
Ransomware and anti-phishing
We sometimes take a look at antivirus by checking the way it handles our personal customized ransomware (opens in new tab). That is much less vital right here, as Panda says its free software program would not have full ransomware safety. We put it to the take a look at, anyway, and the corporate turned out to be completely proper: Panda Free paid no consideration to our risk, and allowed it to efficiently encrypt hundreds of paperwork.
This doesn’t suggest Panda is unable to dam any ransomware – as we talked about above, the engine blocked 100% of threats in a current AV-Comparatives report – however it would not have as a lot safety because the paid editions. And that is no nice shock. Though industrial merchandise from Bitdefender, Kaspersky and Development Micro all detected and blocked our take a look at ransomware, Avast’s and Avira’s free merchandise additionally missed it.
We tried accessing a variety of malicious URLs, too, with blended outcomes. Panda as soon as once more did job of recognizing harmful downloads after they hit our laborious drive. It did not block threats on the URL degree, although, leaving us uncovered to phishing websites or different browser-based risks.
VPN
Panda Free Antivirus features a easy free VPN (opens in new tab). It is powered by the wonderful Hotspot Defend (opens in new tab), which is sweet; however it would not assist you to select a location (it at all times connects to your nearest server), and also you’re restricted to 150MB of knowledge a day, which is fairly unhealthy.
Panda’s VPN app has virtually no performance. Neglect altering protocols, cut up tunneling, ‘auto-connect when accessing insecure Wi-Fi’ or something related: all Panda can do is optionally join when Home windows begins, then join or disconnect whenever you hit the button. That actually is it.
At the very least it will be rather well engineered beneath, we thought, dependable and protected to make use of? Uh, no. We present in some excessive conditions it was attainable for Panda’s VPN connection to be down, and your site visitors unprotected, whereas that app nonetheless displayed a reassuring ‘Related’ message, as if every part was protected.
Put all of it collectively, and though it could be useful to have a VPN round should you’re putting in Panda Free Antivirus regardless, it isn’t a lot use to anybody else.
In case you’re searching for antivirus with a free VPN, Avast One Important (opens in new tab) additionally helps just one location, however this time provides you a beneficiant 5GB knowledge per week. Alternatively, ProtonVPN’s free plan provides you areas within the US, Netherlands and Japan, and has no knowledge limits in any respect.
Options
Panda Free Antivirus features a handful of bonus privateness and safety features.
A Darkish Net Scanner checks to see in case your e-mail tackle is included in any knowledge breaches. That is price realizing, however the service is restricted to checking emails, and it could actually solely use the tackle you entered when registering your Panda account. In the meantime, anybody can examine a number of e-mail addresses and cellphone numbers at Have I Been Pwned (opens in new tab) at no cost.
The Course of Monitor is extra fascinating, particularly for skilled customers. It displays what Home windows processes do on-line, and might show all of the URLs they’ve accessed lately. If an app appears suspicious, otherwise you’re curious what any course of is doing on-line, you may examine its net actions in a few clicks. And if the method appears a priority, you may even ask Panda to dam its future web connections.
Lastly, a USB Safety device permits ‘vaccinating’ USB keys to cut back the possibility of an infection by autorun malware. USB keys aren’t the most definitely vector for a virus assault, today, and these ‘vaccinations’ do not assure safety, anyway. Nonetheless, that is an uncommon characteristic which ought to enhance your security, just a bit, and we’re glad to see it bundled with the bundle.
Remaining verdict
Panda Free Antivirus handles the fundamentals properly, detecting and eradicating malware with ease. However it’s additionally quick on options, with no safety from harmful URLs, and has vulnerabilities which can enable some options to be disabled by an attacker. Maintain wanting – there are significantly better free antivirus round.
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