Security software developer Panda announced a new antivirus software solution that is based on the so called cloud computing concept. Cloud computing refers to dynamically scalable services that are provided over the Internet. Panda promises lighter resource usage and better performance by moving the data analysis from the local computer system to the cloud servers on the Internet. Users can currently download the latest beta version of Panda Cloud Antivirus freely at the official website. Other benefits include the always up to date virus signature and scanning engines as all updates are handled on the server side.
While a resource reduction and automatic updates might appeal to many users it should be noted that an Internet connection is required to make use of the cloud antivirus service. Users without an Internet connection will not be able to test programs and files on their local computer system for malicious code. This can be problematic even for broadband users who are usually online 24/7 if the Internet connection dies because of technical problems.
The real question therefor is if users want to (or can) rely solely on the cloud antivirus concept. The answer should be in most cases “no”. What good is an antivirus software that might stop working during usage because of a dead network card or Internet provider network difficulties.
Would you rely on a cloud antivirus solution?
Update:
Panda Cloud Antivirus stores the signatures and detection information in a local cache as well which means that the computer system is protected even if no Internet connection is available. (thanks Rain for clarifying this)
Enjoyed the article?: Then sign-up for our free newsletter or RSS feed to kick off your day with the latest technology news and tips, or share the article with your friends and contacts on Facebook or Twitter.Related Articles:
Panda Cloud Antivirus Released Still FreePanda Cloud Antivirus Beta 1.1 Download
Panda Announces Cloud Antivirus Pro
Panda Cloud Antivirus Pro Giveaway And Review
IObit Cloud, Online Antivirus File Analysis
I don’t think is a good idea for prevention, but maybe if the infection is already there this could help.
So far I don’t see advantage here. Even discarding connectivity issue what is exact benefit of antivirus being connected to the cloud?..
Updates? Every single antivirus does updates. Submitting samples? Same thing.
Less resource consumption? Local hardware resources are much cheaper and faster than sending data over network.
most threats come from the internet, so my main concern is being protected while i am actually online. the problem with the panda solution is, what happens if you actually get infected? will new viruses be able to block access to the cloud? if so, any traditional anti-virus programme with its definitions downloaded locally will have the edge over panda and a better chance to eradicate the threat.
however, in my experience, it’s all about prevention, if you get a nasty bug you’re cooked. so the real question is, will the cloud antivirus keep the bug out? if so, panda might have a chance.
i’m curious to try it
“Users without an Internet connection will not be able to test programs and files on their local computer system for malicious code.”
In fact Cloud AV saves the virus definitions to the users hard disk just like every other AV. Panda refers to this as “caching”. And realtime protection as well as on-demand scanning is possible without internet connection.
The whole “cloud”-thing is just a public relations strategy from Panda. Cloud Antivirus isn`t much lighter on system ressources than other AV-products. And scanning & protection are not done “in the cloud” – thats just dowloaded files on you local computer.
Hello, Sean-Paul from Panda Security here… figured I’d chime in and clear a few things up.
@Rarst
So far I don’t see advantage here. Even discarding connectivity issue what is exact benefit of antivirus being connected to the cloud?..
>>PandaLabs receives around ~35,000 samples per day. Processing these samples the old way requires a lab technician to manually analyze and then create a signature for that specific malware. Cloud Antivirus is beneficial because it harnesses the automation technology (Collective Intelligence) that Panda developed 3 years ago. (Basically, the internal Panda Cloud technology automatically herds, analyzes, and correlates against the past 24 million samples in the database in near real time. Approximately 99% of the samples their lab receives. The goal is to get your computer protected against newer malware faster…. each sample going through collective intelligence is processed and analyzed within 6 minutes as opposed to 24, 48, or even 72 hours…
Updates? Every single antivirus does updates. Submitting samples? Same thing
>>Updates are too far apart. Back in the day it was every other week, then daily, then every 30 minutes… the truth is that there are too many malware samples out there and we now require real time protection against new threats.
Less resource consumption? Local hardware resources are much cheaper and faster than sending data over network.
>>The actual binaries aren’t passed through the cloud. (It’s just metadata)
32 bits only … it’s 2009 :/ I sure hope the next beta phase will be 64bits too.
@Pier-Oliver P.C.: x64 and Windows 7 builds are currently in QA.
I’m waiting on the 64bit version as well.. Interested in trying it out even though I haven’t had a need to keep any AV software running in the background for a few years now