Panda Antivirus 2008
Manufacturer: Panda Software Part number: B12L08MB
- More product information:
- Editors' review
- User reviews
- Specifications
- Product series
- Manufacturer info
- Bottom Line:
- Panda Antivirus 2008 is slower than the competition and lacks independent, third-party antivirus test results, and thus doesn't receive our recommendation.
Read more
Where to buy
| store | customer rating | inventory | tax & shipping | price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 |  | In stock Get free shipping on orders over $25! | Enter zip code to get total price: Price +Tax +Shipping =Total price | as of 05/21/2012 |
CNET editors' review
Panda Antivirus 2008 price range: $9.99
- Reviewed by: Robert Vamosi
- Reviewed on: 10/11/2007
- Released on: 08/01/2007
The good: Panda Antivirus 2008 includes antispyware protection.
The bad: Panda Antivirus 2008 has not been reviewed by many independent antivirus test sites, making it hard to say how effective it is; it tends to be slower than the competition; support is light, with almost no documentation and a requirement that Panda own any personal information sent via e-mail technical support.
The bottom line: Panda Antivirus 2008 is slower than the competition and lacks independent, third-party antivirus test results, and thus doesn't receive our recommendation.
Setup
Panda Antivirus 2008 includes three PC licenses for $39.95. By comparison, BitDefender Antivirus offers its three-user license for $29.95. Kaspersky offers a single license at $49.95 and charges $59.95 for its three-user license. Panda Antivirus 2008 runs on Windows 2000, XP, and Vista, while Norton AntiVirus 2008 works only on XP and Vista.
After downloading the 35MB file, Panda performs an initial scan of your system, and in our case, found eight different examples of spyware. Unfortunately, Panda didn't tell us precisely what spyware it found; only that it deleted it. Later, we could find no record of this scan for reference, although we did find subsequent log files of spyware that had been removed. We prefer to have control over what is quarantined or removed from our machine, and wish Panda had provided us with more information.
Should you want to remove Panda Antivirus 2008, there is an uninstall wizard available. Upon reboot, we did not find any traces of Panda left on our machine.
Interface
Compared to the interfaces found with other antivirus products, Panda Antivirus 2008 is simple, even cartoonish: bright, contrasting colors, with basic graphics; as though Fisher-Price made antivirus interfaces for kids. We were, however, pleased to find configuration options within easy reach.
During a manual scan, we were unable to open other features of the program, something we could do in other antivirus apps.
Features
Panda Antivirus 2008 includes TruPrevent, Panda's heuristic engine that proactively blocks viruses. However, it blocks only viruses. The full version of TruPrevent, which blocks other forms of malware as well, is available in the Panda Antivirus and Firewall and Panda Internet Security products.
Antiphishing protection is included with Panda Antivirus, but Panda Antivirus and Firewall and Panda Internet Security products include additional protection from malware lurking on Web pages.
Performance
Panda scored near the middle of the antivirus products in CNET Labs' performance tests. On our iTunes test, Panda was fast at 270 seconds, just 2 seconds more than our test system. On our Microsoft Office test, Panda was solidly in the middle at 1,355 seconds. In a test scanning a single folder with compressed and media files, Panda scored a fast 135 seconds, however, the default setting excludes many of the compressed files used in our test. And in terms of boot speed, Panda came in dead last at 39 seconds. To find out how we test antivirus software, see CNET Labs' How we test: Antivirus software page.
In terms of protecting your PC, we cite results from two leading independent antivirus testing organizations. Panda was not tested by AV-Comparatives.org. CheckVir.com tested Panda Internet Security 2006 and awarded it a Standard rating, meaning it was evaluated only on its ability to search for viruses, but not the removal of them.
Support
Support is extremely light for Panda Antivirus 2008. The built-in Help file lacks significant detail. The Panda Web site includes an interactive troubleshooter, which seems promising until it takes you to the weak knowledgebase section. Other antivirus apps have interactive self-diagnostics, so be careful of this terminology; Panda uses something else. On the Panda knowledgebase page, when you type in a query, the site spits back an FAQ in response. If you want to cut to the chase and see all the preanswered questions in advance, simply click Hot Topics. There is a secondary PDF document; it, too, was light on technical details. Nor could we find a user forum, chat, or telephone support section.
E-mail technical support includes a curious box that says any personal information you send to Panda becomes property of Panda and its business partners. We could not advance our query unless we agreed. When we asked our Panda representatives, they explained that users within the United States should not have seen that box, that it is a requirement only within Europe. After waiting six weeks for Panda to remove this check box, we downloaded a fresh copy of the program and found that it still included the checkbox.
Conclusion
We do not recommend Panda Antivirus 2008. For the price, we think that BitDefender Antivirus 2008 is a better deal in both protection and features. Overall, we recommend Kaspersky Anti-Virus 2008 as the best antivirus product for 2008.
User reviews
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Panda NoService Department
by CharlestonMichael on June 16, 2008
Pros: My friend recommended Panda
Cons: Difficult to install with Vista; darn near impossible to remove the error messages
Summary: The installation on my XP machine went well; The install on my Vista laptop was a 5 hour fiasco... Never worked; 4 emails to customer service... (there is zero live ...
Summary: The installation on my XP machine went well; The install on my Vista laptop was a 5 hour fiasco... Never worked; 4 emails to customer service... (there is zero live support... not even from India.) All I ever received was auto-responses saying they woulde look into it... a week and 5 man-hours later, I gave up... and then needed a significant effort just to remove the error messages telling me to "configure the system". 2 Geek friends and I could not break through... so just for grins, we loaded it on another Vista laptop and had an identical experience... Panda AntiVirus was a complete waste of my money.
1 out of 1 users found this user opinion helpful.
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Terrible!!!!!!
by hwjjr on November 24, 2007
Pros: None!!!!!!!
Cons: Doesn't work
Summary: I had 2005 a number of years ago and was quite satisfied so I upgraded to 3 years of 2006. I had problems with it but managed to solve them ...
Summary: I had 2005 a number of years ago and was quite satisfied so I upgraded to 3 years of 2006. I had problems with it but managed to solve them with no help from Panda. I just upgraded to one year of 2008 and can't even install it because it kills winsock/lsp and disconnect my LAN connection. I installed and uninstalled several times with no luck. I just tried again and get an error message that a failed installation was detected and it won't even install now.
They have no customer service. I am going to file a complaint with the Consumer Affairs Division of our Attorney General's and see if I can get some help.
Bill Henderson (Yes, my real name)1 out of 1 users found this user opinion helpful.
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NO TECHINICAL SUPPORT
by wendydonn on May 16, 2010
Pros: No SUPPORT FROM TECH- ALL LINKS ON SITE JUST SEND YOU BACK TO THEIR HOME PAGE!
Cons: NO TECH SUPPORT! I download the program and a week later this pop up keeps occuring in the lower left of my screen asking to activate it, saying it wouldn't provide the protection (I paid for) unless I registered!
Summary: Without "registering" after you download it, PAY for it....you cannot get tech support when you try to register the program....there are always "errors" that you cannot fix without ...
Summary: Without "registering" after you download it, PAY for it....you cannot get tech support when you try to register the program....there are always "errors" that you cannot fix without help, because the activation codes provided NEVER work....so you wait for DAYS to get someone to help you and then they just send generic messages from their FAQ page....I AM SO MAD ABOUT THIS PRODUCT. I have given them 24 hours, (I have spent THREE DAYS TRYING TO GET IT REGISTERED SO THE POP UP WILL STOP HAPPENING!!!!!- If they don't reply with REAL informatin and help-I am reporting them to whoever I can. ALL THEIR LINKS ON THEIR HOME PAGE..i.e. contact us, legal notice, etc. all lead you right back to the HOME PAGE......it's so infuritating to pay for protection.....and NOT GET IT. I am disgusted with this product and would NEVER recommend it to ANYONE. If you can't give a phone number to your customer's in case of need....then you are doing something WRONG.
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Make sure you have a phone number into support!
by rduspindrift on April 24, 2010
Pros: Nice GUI / interface
As a software analyst, I would say that this anti virus is one of the poorest. In all fairness; my operating environment: Windows Vista 4 GB RAM, AMD Duo Core Turion 1.80 GHz.Cons: O/S came to a crawl, known for poor advance detection,. NOTE: When you remove beware, it leaves menacing remnants in your registry and in my case disabled my IPV 6 internet connectivity.
Summary: Don't bother.
Summary: Don't bother.
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Paid for 2009 & Activation code didn't work -no support
by sjcommish on December 9, 2009
Pros: have not used it long enough to know a pro
Cons: Bought 2009 and the activation code they sent me doesn't work, so I get an annoying popup every 5 minutes. No phone number to call for help. I'll stick with AVG from now on.
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Poor protection
by drk1954 on August 20, 2009
Pros: Easy to use
Cons: Doesn't stop many trojans and other malware. Often find problems when using other scans when things seem wrong.
Summary: Get something else unles you just want to get your computer iinfected.
Summary: Get something else unles you just want to get your computer iinfected.
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hima_gogo5@hotmail.com
by ibrahem_magdy92 on August 4, 2009
Pros: like about this product
Cons: don't like about this product
Summary: detail why you like or dislike the product, focusing your comments on the product's features and functionality, and your experience
you've already submitted ...
Updated on Aug 4, 2009Summary: detail why you like or dislike the product, focusing your comments on the product's features and functionality, and your experience
you've already submitted a review for this product, this submission will be added as an update to your original
Updated on Aug 4, 2009 -
Used to be a good product
by Rick in Green Harbor on May 17, 2009
Pros: self-updating, doesn't screw up email like Norton.
Cons: SERVICE! My Panda IS 2008 stopped working 5-12, despite renewal date of 5-27. Emails are unanswered.Been spamming me for months with renewal offers. Finally responded, $70 to renew a product I used for 5+ yrs. Bought retail disk from Newegg for $20.
Summary: Lousy attitude. When this was the house generic AV of Staples, it worked fine. Since then, the service has gone down as fast as the price has gone up. I ...
Summary: Lousy attitude. When this was the house generic AV of Staples, it worked fine. Since then, the service has gone down as fast as the price has gone up. I emailed them and got an automated response telling me to use login info I already had. They tell me my service ends 5-27-09 but it hasn't worked since 5-12. Bought a new retail disk from Newegg for $20. (They wanted $70 to renew online. Interesting way to reward customer loyalty, eh?) If I could find an alternative with decent service, I would buy it. The more I think about these rodeo clowns, the angrier I get.
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Good for the price
by micaylah on February 13, 2009
Pros: Comes with 3 licenses. AND it caught Conflicker.
Cons: It is slow, but with Spybot resident on same puter it works well in conjunction.
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Works good
by beartraprr on November 4, 2008
Pros: Works great, never missed a virus.
Cons: Annoying Pop ups, no way to turn off. Their customer support is terrible, and their email support if they respond usually does not answer your concern.
Summary: I uses it because it works, not for their support. Plus they have three licenses included, exactly what I need. It is a boot hog.
Summary: I uses it because it works, not for their support. Plus they have three licenses included, exactly what I need. It is a boot hog.
Specifications
- Manufacturer: Panda Software
- Part number: B12L08MB
- Description: The new Panda Antivirus 2008 is the easiest-to-use protection for your computer. Just install it and forget about all viruses, spyware and online fraud. And you hardly have to lift a finger, so you can chat, share photos and videos with friends, read your favorite blogs or simply surf the Web, with complete peace of mind. And it's so light, you won't even notice it.
General
- Category Security applications
- Subcategory Security - desktop antivirus
- Language(s) English
- License pricing Standard
- Localization English
Software
- License Type Complete package
- Bundled Support 1 Year Services
- License Qty 3 PCs
- License Pricing Standard
- Platform Windows
- Distribution Media CD-ROM ( Mini-box )
- Package Type Retail
System Requirements
- OS Required Microsoft Windows XP,
Microsoft Windows Vista (64-bit versions),
Microsoft Windows Vista,
Microsoft Windows 2000,
Microsoft Windows XP 64-bit Edition - Software Requirements Internet Explorer 6.0
- Min Processor Type 150 MHz
- Peripheral / Interface Devices CD-ROM
- System Requirements Details Pentium - RAM 64 MB - HD 170 MB
Service & Support
- Service & Support New releases update
- Service & Support Details New releases update - 1 year,
Phone consulting - 1 year - availability: 24 hours a day / Monday-Sunday,
E-mail consulting - 1 year - availability: 24 hours a day / Monday-Sunday,
Web support - 1 year - availability: 24 hours a day / Monday-Sunday,
Security alert notification - 1 year
Product series
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Manufacturer: Panda Software
Specs: 3 PCs,
Complete package,
Microsoft Windows XP,
Microsoft Windows Vista (64-bit versions),
Microsoft Windows Vista,
Microsoft Windows 2000,
Microsoft Windows XP 64-bit Edition,
CD-ROM,
150 MHz,
Windows,
Internet Explorer 6.0
Manufacturer info
- Manufacturer profile
- Browse Panda Software products on Shopper.com
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- Manufacturer:Panda Software
- Address:
230 N. Maryland, Glendale, CA - Phone: 818/553-0599
- Email: webmaster@pandasecurity.com
