Cloud Antivirus uses a so called thin-client architecture offering several advantages over conventional antivirus solutions. Only the core files are installed on the system and local detection technologies are combined with cloud-based scanning to reduce PC resource usage.

One of the main pillars of Panda Cloud Antivirus is its real-time use of Panda Collective Intelligence, which is an online from-the-cloud system that automates the entire malware protection cycle; collecting new samples, analyzing, categorizing, creating detection and disinfection routines and delivering the protection to each node.

Thanks to this approach users do not need to worry about updating signature files anymore. In fact, detection of millions and millions of different malware variants is no longer limited by the size of a signature database, as Collective Intelligence can hold literally unlimited number of detections without consuming any memory on the users’ PC.

The interface of Panda Cloud Antivirus is best described as minimalistic which is a welcome change to the often overladen interfaces of comparable antivirus solutions.

The cloud based approach takes much of the usual updating process out of the user’s hand. The virus definitions are updated in the cloud taking that off the user’s back. When Panda Cloud Antivirus is started it will always make use of the latest definitions and data providing an Internet connection is available.

The antivirus software displays the status screen on startup which gives the user information about security problems if found on the PC. The button bar at the top leads to the scan menu, report window and recycle bin which contains previously neutralized files.

The only other option is the settings button at the lower left corner which leads to connection settings, autorun and USB vaccination and advanced settings for expert users.

It is possible to scan the whole system, an optimized scan that only looks at core files of the operating system and a custom scan that scans a specified local directory or drive of the computer.

Panda Cloud Antivirus runs in the background all the time protecting the PC with behavioral analysis. Files that are currently analyzed in the cloud are automatically blocked on the system for a maximum of 30 seconds. That’s ample time to receive the information from the cloud. The advanced settings offer to change that limit and other settings.

It is here for instance possible to add file exclusions which are then ignored by the antivirus software. Other options include the generation of an advanced log and disabling behavioral analysis and blocking.

Panda Cloud Antivirus Pro disables autorun on the computer by default which some users may want to change. The setting is available in the options. The same menu holds the option to automatically vaccinate USB drives which protects them when they are connected to other PCs and computers.

Interested users can download Panda Cloud Antivirus from the official website. Panda Security gave us 29 keys (30 actually but I used one) and we would like to give them to you in this giveaway. If you want one leave a comment below. Make sure you add an existing email address as it will be used to contact you if you have won a license in the draw.

But resource efficiency is only one benefit of cloud based antivirus solutions. Panda Cloud Antivirus uses a technology that Panda calls Collective Intelligence which collects and processes malware samples in the cloud to generate updates and signatures against threats.

Today Panda announced the availability of Panda Cloud Antivirus Pro which will be offered next to the free edition. Both the free and pro version have been updated with new features:

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.

Panda Cloud Antivirus Free users get the new behavioral blocking feature which is a “proactive, signature-less, protection against malicious actions typically used by malware which for instance includes generic blocking of malicious pdf, doc, xls and ppt droppers. Additional configuration options have been added to the free version as well to tweak settings and features such as advanced logging, recycle bin settings and exclusions.

It is now also possible to run Cloud Antivirus next to other antivirus solutions which is great for testing and for increased security. The small additional footprint of the cloud based solution makes this option feasible.

The pro version gets on top of that USB vaccination and behavioral analysis of running processes. Both the pro and free edition of Panda Cloud Antivirus are available at the official homepage of the security software. The software is now available in 20 different languages (plus nine in this release) and compatible with both 32-bit and 64-bit editions of the Windows operating system.

Panda Cloud Antivirus Beta 1.1 has been made publicly available in the Panda forums where everyone can download and test this new version of the cloud based antivirus software.

The only information about new features are posted in the same forum announcement.

• Advanced configuration
• Behavioral analysis
• Exclusions of files and folders
• USB Vaccine
• Shield to avoid killing the processes or delete the Panda Cloud Antivirus files
  New behavior of the recycle bin: if you takes out a file from the recycle bin, it is possible to undo the action an put it again in.

The new beta version of Panda Cloud Antivirus 1.1 can be downloaded from here. Users are encouraged to try out the new beta version and send Panda comments, suggestions and problems reports.

Experienced testers can take a look at the recommended tests spreadsheet that is offered in another forum post by Carlos Santa Coloma, the beta center supervisor.

Panda Cloud Antivirus is a free virus software. It is likely that version 1.1 will remain free once it is released to the public.

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)