Panda Security Advances Leadership in Cloud Antivirus With Launch of New Pro Version and Improved Free Edition

ORLANDO, Fla., June 3 /PRNewswire/ -- Panda Cloud Antivirus, the first and only cloud-based anti-malware service to protect home computer users both on- and off-line, has been upgraded and expanded. The upgrade of Panda Cloud Antivirus Free Edition improves and extends the protection provided by the original free product, and Panda Cloud Antivirus Pro is a brand new commercial version of the product that delivers expanded support services and automation capabilities for greater convenience. Both products, available for download at http://www.cloudantivirus.com, set the standard in malware detection while consuming minimal PC resources.

"Since the debut of Panda Cloud Antivirus last year, nearly 10 million home users have selected the free service as their antivirus of choice," said Pedro Bustamante, senior research advisor at Panda Security. "With today's launch, we've created two options for users, both featuring major enhancements that make safeguarding your PC even easier and more transparent. The Free Edition gives users the best basic no-cost protection available on the market thanks to Panda's cloud-based Collective Intelligence malware analysis technology, while the new Pro Edition offers more robust automated security capabilities and support at a very affordable price."

Acknowledged as the first free "in the cloud" security service for home users, Panda Cloud Antivirus delivers instantaneous protection against real-world threats with next to no impact on computer performance. This minimal resource usage is a major benefit of Collective Intelligence, Panda's proprietary technology for automatically collecting and processing millions of malware samples in the cloud instead of locally on the user's PC. The result is efficient, accurate malware protection that consumes only 15MB of RAM, compared with 60MB for traditional signature-based antivirus products.

Collective Intelligence is proven to deliver superior detection against both known and unknown malware, or zero day threats. In a recent comparative test of leading free antivirus programs conducted by AV-Test.org for c't Magazine, Panda Cloud Antivirus outperformed the average zero day detection score of the other products tested by 42.5 percent. Please see below for a table of Panda's recent on-demand detection comparative scores:

Panda Cloud Antivirus, now available in 20 languages, has been lauded by PCMag.com, PC World and CNET as the first free anti-virus product completely built on a cloud infrastructure. Panda's innovative reverse signature analysis approach, which feeds information about goodware and malware characteristics to the Collective Intelligence database, ensures rapid scanning for the newest and most dangerous malware.

According to Neil Rubenking, security analyst at PCMag.com, "Panda Cloud Antivirus 1.0 is the best free antivirus software available…and is our Editors' Choice for free antivirus." (1)

New functionality in Panda Cloud Antivirus Free Edition includes:

• Advanced configuration and exclusions allow users to customize certain features, such as behavioral blocking and analysis, to suit their individual needs and system requirements.
• Behavioral blocker provides instantaneous protection against new malware and targeted attacks.
• Self-protection of antivirus files and configurations ensures protection can't be disabled by targeted malware attacks.

Additional features in Cloud Antivirus Pro Edition include:

• Automatic, transparent upgrades provide completely "hands-free" protection by eliminating the need for reinstalling the antivirus each time a new version is released.
• Automatic vaccination of USB and hard drives ensures neither drive type can transmit an infection while users are offline.
• Dynamic behavioral analysis provides an added layer of protection by analyzing running processes and blocking any found to be malicious.
• 24/7 multilingual technical support online at http://www.cloudantivirus.com/forum.

Panda Cloud Antivirus has received numerous awards, including:

• Editors' Choice Award, PCMag.com, USA
• Best Tech of the Year, LAPTOP Magazine, USA
• Excellent, 5/5 stars, Rosoft Download, USA
• 5 Stars, Downloads Café, USA
• Editor's Pick, Up to Down, Spain
• 5-Star Rating, Soft Tester, UK

Click to Tweet: "Panda Security released a Pro Edition of Cloud Antivirus and a new version of the Free Edition today."

Pricing and Availability

Panda Cloud Antivirus Pro Edition is priced at $29.95. Both products are available now and can be downloaded at http://www.cloudantivirus.com.

About Panda Security

Founded in 1990, Panda Security is the world's leading provider of cloud-based security solutions with products available in more than 23 languages and millions of users located in 195 countries around the world. Panda Security was the first IT security company to harness the power of cloud computing with its Collective Intelligence technology. This innovative security model can automatically analyze and classify thousands of new malware samples per day, guaranteeing corporate customers and home users the most effective protection against Internet threats with minimum impact on PC performance. Panda Security has 56 offices throughout the globe with US headquarters in Florida and European headquarters in Spain.

For more information, visit http://www.pandasecurity.com/.

Reprinted from www.pcmag.com, November 13, 2009, with permission. © 2009 Ziff Davis Publishing Holdings Inc. All Rights Reserved.

SOURCE Panda Security