Panda Cloud Antivirus is a hidden gem

When it comes to free PC security applications Panda Cloud Antivirus is hard to beat. I first wrote about it in August, since then it’s moved forward slightly, but the software is still relatively unknown. However, I suspect it will quickly gather momentum as people catch on to the software.

Unlike other security tools, Panda does most of its work in the cloud – that is, it is a software-as-a-service application. It sends data about dangerous looking files off to its servers for closer inspection.

Because your computer doesn’t have to do the hard work, Panda imposes almost no overhead. When I benchmarked my PC there was no performance difference between the system running the software and having the software switched off – there may however be a network overhead, but again, nothing I could measure.

Panda’s other big advantage is the malware checking database is always bang-up-to-date. There are no signature files to download.

One issue I have with Panda is the program is so trouble-free, it is easy to forget. You barely notice it. I previously described Microsoft’s Security Essentials as “barely there” – Panda Cloud is even more nebulous.

The program also appears to be better than the other free antivirus products at trapping malware. I previously ran it for a month without any issues and have run it for the past three or four days with no ill effects.

I’d say it is the most promising free anti-virus application on offer. Presumably at some point the developers will need to make some money. I’ll be interesting to see how that develops. For now, this is possibly the best free choice.

Of course, you may prefer not to leave your computer’s protection in the hands of free software makers.

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