When Panda detects a threat the program removes it and requests a reboot, with no option to do anything else. The most significant issue we found was the difficulty in recovering falsely-flagged files. Other features include a virtual keyboard to protect against keyloggers, automatic USB drive scanning, and an option to ‘vaccinate’ USB keys to reduce the chance of infection by autorun viruses. There's a welcome bonus to create a bootable USB rescue drive, which may help remove malware that the regular package can't reach. It didn't protect us from other links, though, and doesn't compete well with the best of the rest. It worked with some of our test URLs, oddly displaying a warning web page which suggested we download Panda Antivirus Free. Panda's URL filtering is relatively basic. It's still not a substitute for a specialist firewall, but does help to improve your network security. But if you know what you're doing, heading off to Settings > Firewall enables defining its operating rules, and provides no less than 18 expert-level Intrusion Protection settings. A novice-friendly opening screen asks you to choose your current Wi-Fi location, from Home, Work and Public Place – and that’s it. The firewall takes the same kind of approach. You can quickly find potentially risky processes, identify the web addresses they accessed, and print or save this information for easier access later. A Full Report option displays much more complete and detailed information on your internet history. There is also some power here, however, for anyone interested. The initial display lists running processes only, highlighting any that are accessing the internet, and warning you of possible threats. This sounds like it might present you with lengthy lists of technical geekery – but no. It's a similar story with the Process Monitor. Scans were marginally slower than usual on our test PC, though not enough to be a concern, and we could continue to use the system as they ran. Even total beginners will figure out what they need to do immediately. Clicking Scan displays only three options – Full, Critical and Custom – with text explanations of what they mean, and Critical sensibly selected by default. The same focus on simplicity continues elsewhere. There's no need to decipher tiny icons, and key features aren't buried away in menus or dialogs: every module is visible and accessible in a couple of clicks. This initially looks a little chaotic, but once you're used to it, the UI works well. Panda Antivirus Pro presents its functions in a straightforward Windows 10-like interface, organising them across a series of flat tiles. These aren't a direct security risk, but they look odd, and the idea that the product might be relying on some legacy code – or alternatively that the files aren't used, and have just been forgotten – is a concern either way. Several of the third-party files were unsigned and more than a decade old (atl80.dll, borlndmm.dll,cc3290mt.dll, msvcm80.dll, msvcp80.dll, msvcr80.dll). We did notice one oddity with Panda's installed program files. In terms of getting up and running, the closest we can get to a complaint is the omission of any form of first-launch setup wizard, something to say ‘this function is here, that function is there, go here for help.’ But experienced users will probably figure that out quickly enough on their own, and overall Panda's simplicity is probably the best approach. Panda's cloud-based scanning technology doesn't need regular bulky signature downloads, so once installed you can simply leave the program to do its work. Panda Antivirus Pro isn't one of those annoying tools which installs and then immediately demands to be updated, either. It was much more of a ‘point, click, read and accept the default settings’ process, and the program was set up and working within a couple of minutes. Setup was straightforward, with no complaints about ‘incompatible’ software, no complicated options to consider, no lengthy downloads or compulsory scans. Although it asks for your email address to create an account, this isn't compulsory, and we were able to download and launch the installer with no hassles at all. Panda Antivirus Pro has a 30-day trial available.
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