Panda Antivirus Pro 2012 Review

Martin Brinkmann
Dec 3, 2011
Updated • Apr 27, 2015
Software
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98

The security software market is flooded with products. Consumers not only have to cope with dozens of companies, but also with multiple products offered by the same company. The majority of companies offer two or three different security programs that are updated every year.

With different security products available, consumers face the problem that they have to evaluate what type of protections their computer actually needs. Even worse, picking the wrong program can leave the computer open for attacks.

Most vendors produce a basic antivirus protection product that protects and removes malicious software from the computer. The programs usually are bare-bones otherwise with little or even no extra features or protections.

Panda Antivirus Pro 2012 Review

If you look at the feature set of Panda Antivirus Pro 2012 you will notice that it comes equipped with a set of tools usually not found in antivirus software. A quick look at the product page over on the Panda Security website reveals that it ships with a personal firewall, a browser sandbox and several other tools usually not found in antivirus products.

Adding a firewall to the product makes sense from a customer perspective considering that many install only one security product on their system. For Panda, it is a way to distinguish their product from other vendors.

Panda Antivirus Pro 2012 users can install the firewall during installation, or later in the program interface. The program furthermore warns during installation if incompatible software is found on the system. This was the case with a Microsoft Security Essentials installation on the test system.

panda antivirus pro 2012

The program opens up in a dark, functional theme that displays the most important status information right there. Users see if the protections are working correctly, the last time of update as well as scan and detection information. A click on a security module, like firewall, leads directly to the preferences of the selected module.

The main screen links to additional modules near the bottom of the screen. This includes built-in tools like network management or the virtual keyboard, and programs that need to be installed first like the sandboxing component Safe Browser or USB Vaccine.

Protection

It is difficulty to assess the efficiency of antivirus protection. While it is without doubt possible to assess a program's handling of known threats, it becomes virtually impossible to see how it fares with unknown threats. Still test results can act as indicators of a program's efficiency in this regard.

AV-Comparatives Retroperspective Test of May 2011 saw Panda Antivirus Pro 2011 (the program's direct successor) complete the test in fifth place with an advanced certification rating (the second highest). Only two programs, Avira Antivir Premium 10 and Kaspersky Anti-Virus 2011 received the highest rating of Advanced Plus.

AV-Test did not test Panda Antivirus Pro, only Panda Internet Security 2012. The program scored 15.5 out of 18 points, only topped by Bitdefender with a score of 16.5 out of 18.

Other reviewers, like Pc Mag's Neil J. Rubenking came to the conclusion that Panda's detection rate was better than its malware removal rate.

Reports

Reports are one of the strengths of Panda Antivirus Pro 2012. A click on the reports tab opens a menu with options to display event reports, and to display statistics and advanced statistics.

The event report is the program's history log. Updates, malware detections and actions are displayed here in a table. Options to find, filter, print, export and delete entries are available. Panda users can use the information presented here to find out at first glance what happened security wise on their computer at a specific data and time.

event report

The statistics and advanced statistics module display information about a certain time frame. Information include the program's scanners but also network attacks blocked by the firewall.

statistics

Tips

First thing that new Panda users should do is to download Panda Safe CD from the official website. This is a recovery CD that the computer can be booted from when malware has damaged the system.

Another interesting find is that Panda Antivirus Pro 2012 can be installed and run in Safe Mode. Safe Mode is a bare bones mode of the operating system that prevents the majority of installed software and even some system components from being started with the operating system.

Safe Browser, included as a download link in the interface, is actually a standalone program that everyone can download and run. It consists of a version of the Firefox web browser running inside VirtualBox. The sandboxed environment ensures that attacks against the browser are blocked from reaching the operating system. The solution concentrates on one browser, products by other vendors allow the user to sandbox any program.

Warnings can be configured in the program preferences. Here you can enable or disable warnings for specific events.

Cpu load management can be enabled in the preferences as well. That's especially interesting for slower systems that notice slow downs during scans. Enabling the option reduces the product's cpu usage during scans.

Verdict

Panda Antivirus Pro 2012 ships with a lot of extras, like the aforementioned firewall component. Some components, Safe Browser and USB Vaccine, are standalone programs and not integrated into the product. More important than the module a security software ships with is how well it protects the operating system from threats and attacks. For Panda that ranged from top results to average results at best.

Summary
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Software Name
Panda Antivirus Pro 2012
Operating System
Windows
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Tutorials & Tips


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Comments

  1. Gabriel Fernandez said on January 18, 2012 at 4:18 am
    Reply

    I have installes Panda Cloud Free version and I have no complaints. Panda Cloud Pro must be even better.

  2. David said on December 23, 2011 at 8:36 am
    Reply

    Thanks for the chance and happy holidays!

  3. Pijus said on December 19, 2011 at 8:05 pm
    Reply

    i’m using MSE now, I’m in.

  4. Belga said on December 4, 2011 at 1:07 pm
    Reply

    I use Avast Internet Security at the moment.
    Never used Panda.

  5. Jaibee Joseph said on December 4, 2011 at 11:45 am
    Reply

    I would like to have one license…

  6. David Hagan said on December 4, 2011 at 11:29 am
    Reply

    Hey I joined you on facebook. Its late will post again tomorrow. Please include me in giveaway .

  7. Tal said on December 4, 2011 at 10:28 am
    Reply

    I wish to…
    My AV is Avast..
    Thanks

  8. Avinash said on December 4, 2011 at 9:37 am
    Reply

    Panda Internet Security is much better than before but i expect them to improve more with hardwork for better results.But when it comes to commenting on Panda Internet Security.Here is the comment…..

    Way to go guys!

  9. Mskhurana said on December 4, 2011 at 8:45 am
    Reply

    I am using avast and fully satisfied with it.
    I would like to try panda to compare it.

  10. public image said on December 4, 2011 at 8:06 am
    Reply

    Panda seems to be interesting AV, like the sandbox function

  11. Jaibee Joseph said on December 4, 2011 at 7:40 am
    Reply

    I would like to have one of those…

  12. Dinesh said on December 4, 2011 at 6:48 am
    Reply

    I like to get your giveaway.
    I’m using MS security essential and AVG free anti virus in same computer. Currently I’m having an issue with high CPU and memory usage by svchost.exe in same windows 7 computer. I tried everything to fix it, but no succeeded,
    After checking several forums, I came to know that could be a virus and few people managed to remove it with Panda Antivirus.
    So, I will be happy to have and try this software.

  13. @Rafael said on December 4, 2011 at 5:18 am
    Reply

    please count me in, panda is a powerful antivirus, thank you!!!

    PS, im currently using bitdefender free edition

  14. Andrewyne said on December 4, 2011 at 4:59 am
    Reply

    Current Setup:
    Avast 6 free and comodo firewall.
    I need panda antivirus pro for my another PCs.
    Panda Antivirus best for prevention and I likes it. light on system also.
    and, CLOUD technology impressed me.
    Overall, I NEED this software license. hopefully i can win this.
    count me in. thanks ghacks.

  15. Aleksandar Dzartov said on December 4, 2011 at 4:28 am
    Reply

    Panda is nice av solution

    currently using avast free edtion.

  16. rob said on December 4, 2011 at 3:00 am
    Reply

    Had to uninstall the likes of M.S.E,AVG etcbecause of limited
    hard drive space and have been using Panda free version
    for some months now and find it a lot lighter on my system.
    if i was to get the pro version of this great software it would be
    the icing on the christmas cake.!
    i also use keyscrambler and zemana(giveaway)

  17. Black_Bart said on December 4, 2011 at 2:31 am
    Reply

    It’ll be interesting to see how well Panda shapes up these days. Early versions simply didn’t compete with the likes of Kaspersky and Norton 360, or even AV.

  18. Furuchi said on December 4, 2011 at 2:02 am
    Reply

    Thanks for the giveaway, currently I use the following:

    PC 1 – bitdefender internet security
    PC 2 – Avast + Comodo Firewall

  19. apithafiz said on December 4, 2011 at 1:55 am
    Reply

    giveaway that so good from ghacks

    currently using Microsoft security essential

  20. BadLuckLuke said on December 4, 2011 at 1:44 am
    Reply

    Currently using PC Tools AV on XP

  21. nam_nguyen said on December 4, 2011 at 1:23 am
    Reply

    It would be wonderful if I can win one for my desktop, I am using panda cloud antivirus free and window firewall

    Pls include me
    Thanks

  22. rubi said on December 4, 2011 at 12:30 am
    Reply

    I’ve been relying on Microsoft Security Essentials since I switched to Windows 7.

  23. ncountrygrl said on December 3, 2011 at 11:59 pm
    Reply

    I’ve got Norton 360 about to expire. I’m not happy enough with it to renew.

    I would love this program, so count me in the giveaway!

  24. Michael said on December 3, 2011 at 10:38 pm
    Reply

    Currently using Microsoft Security Essentials.

  25. Telk said on December 3, 2011 at 10:21 pm
    Reply

    Panda Antivirus is a pretty awesome name imo.
    It is also worth noting they have a 50% discount until Dec. 25
    I wish it wasn’t a yearly subscription though
    I am currently running MSE an Spybot Search and Destroy

  26. Anatoly said on December 3, 2011 at 10:10 pm
    Reply

    I very much want to get a great product! I should BullGuard.

  27. mike veltre said on December 3, 2011 at 10:10 pm
    Reply

    I’ve used panda cloud since day one and make every sffort to get my customers to do likewise.I’ve been in computers since 1973 and seen virus checkers come and go but since version 191 beta this is the tops with me and i;m really looking forward to the newest version try outs.

  28. jimy said on December 3, 2011 at 9:50 pm
    Reply

    I’ve been using Norton 360 which I really like. I used Panda a long time ago but it looks like they’ve added some nice features. Looks like they’ve added some nice improvements.

  29. toppi said on December 3, 2011 at 9:27 pm
    Reply

    Thank you very much. Now I’m using Vipre Internet Security. I would like to take a part in this contest and try Panda in future.

  30. Kate said on December 3, 2011 at 9:18 pm
    Reply

    I like the giveaway and with my Avast license expiring this is perfect timing.

  31. lello.siddi said on December 3, 2011 at 9:17 pm
    Reply

    Please… count me in! I’ll love to use Panda AV for the first time!

  32. Anson said on December 3, 2011 at 7:42 pm
    Reply

    currently with avast free on my laptop. wish to have better protection for laptop^^

  33. Anson said on December 3, 2011 at 7:41 pm
    Reply

    currently with avast free on my laptop. Wish to have q better protection from panda^^

  34. Andreas said on December 3, 2011 at 7:37 pm
    Reply

    BitDefender AV
    Pls count me in!

  35. Dalv Kade said on December 3, 2011 at 7:30 pm
    Reply

    I like the sandbox part… I’d love to try it for sure and their firewall..
    Count me in

  36. Anthony said on December 3, 2011 at 6:51 pm
    Reply

    Great giveaway. I love Panda IS and would like to a get license please. Thanks for the giveaway.

  37. Frank said on December 3, 2011 at 6:22 pm
    Reply

    This would be my first Panda product.
    Currently using MS Security Essentials, Comodo Firewall

  38. Stis said on December 3, 2011 at 6:13 pm
    Reply

    Almost one year i don’t know which software will replace my old Avira Antivir 9. (yes… v9… :s)

    That could be a good occasion.

    Thank you for all the work you put on this site ;)

  39. lello.siddi said on December 3, 2011 at 5:45 pm
    Reply

    ;)
    I hope to win! Thank you for this giveaway…
    Lello.

  40. MrMBerman said on December 3, 2011 at 5:44 pm
    Reply

    Norton Internet Security 2012

    Scotty The Dog Pro

    Common Sense 2011

  41. Ararobotic said on December 3, 2011 at 5:04 pm
    Reply

    Please count me in.
    Very interesting Giveaway.
    I am using trustport to protect my windows.

    Best Regards!

  42. Johan Gustavsson said on December 3, 2011 at 5:03 pm
    Reply

    I’m currently using Eset Nod 32, but my license will end at 12/31-2011, so I would be very happy if I win a license for Panda…

  43. Asriel Rusdyawan said on December 3, 2011 at 5:02 pm
    Reply

    Please consider me in Dude for this Giveaway. Currently I’m using Microsoft Security Essential..
    Hope to win this one!

    THX, LJBU!

  44. Jay said on December 3, 2011 at 4:59 pm
    Reply

    I’m currently using free AVG with basic protection. I want to take part in this giveaway. Thank you.

  45. bala said on December 3, 2011 at 4:28 pm
    Reply

    Ooops my current software is Comodo InternetSecurity Free. Pls count me in forgot to mention it in the previous post. Thnx.

  46. Sudip Kumar Das said on December 3, 2011 at 4:28 pm
    Reply

    Please include me for the giveaway. I have used Panda 2010 for a year (got it free when Win 7 launched). It was very good, unfortunately cannot spend for an AV as I am a student. Would like to win a free license here.

    My current setup is as follows:

    Avast Free + Emsisoft Antimalware Free + Outpost Firewall Free

  47. bala said on December 3, 2011 at 4:27 pm
    Reply

    Count me in please. This is a very good antivirus good review.

  48. franko said on December 3, 2011 at 4:23 pm
    Reply

    Very nice

  49. Laptop57 said on December 3, 2011 at 4:20 pm
    Reply

    I would be very grateful to get a Panda License, as my Kaspersky has just expired. I have delete the programm and lost all my programs on virtual shared ,,,,
    Please let me have a new AV license, before a chaos accurs !!!.v Thanks!

  50. Lee said on December 3, 2011 at 4:20 pm
    Reply

    I use Comodo Firewall, MSE, Superantispyware Pro, Zemana Antilogger, and Win Patrol Plus, and Immunet – a formidable combination! Please count me in the draw!!

  51. Yoel Barkan said on December 3, 2011 at 3:58 pm
    Reply

    Never used Panda.
    I would like to compare with other software

  52. Ademas Z3MN said on December 3, 2011 at 3:53 pm
    Reply

    I’m currently using NOD32 Antivirus for my desktop now.
    Looking forward for trying Panda AV :)

  53. Jordan Humberto de Souza said on December 3, 2011 at 3:40 pm
    Reply

    It’s always good to have some other options to security setting these days, count me in =]

  54. Prakash Pathak said on December 3, 2011 at 3:38 pm
    Reply

    Thanks a lot Martin, I have used Panda Internet Security 2010-11 for almost a year, and I was very found of it.Its light on my system even on 2 gb of ram and blocked several attacks on my system.
    Currently using Avast Internet security+ SAS+Hitman pro

  55. Cecil Britton said on December 3, 2011 at 3:36 pm
    Reply

    My current security is the Mcafee Security Suite that I get from my ISP who is Cox Cable. I haven’t had too many problems with it. My main complaint with it is that if I need to turn it off so that I can run a malware detection program like Combo FiX, I must first essentially uninstall the whole thing by turning off services and renaming executable files. I would like to try something new that is simpler to configure and work with.

  56. Andi said on December 3, 2011 at 3:35 pm
    Reply

    I use Panda free AV + Comodo firewall and I like to try Panda AV Pro 2012!
    Thanks ;)

  57. Kite Pan said on December 3, 2011 at 3:34 pm
    Reply

    Thank you for this giveaway. I use actually Avast Internet Security, but the license is ending…
    I use also Superantispyware Free and Spyware Terminator.

  58. Bobby Roughton said on December 3, 2011 at 3:30 pm
    Reply

    I certainly interested in giving Panda a try. I use Microsoft Security Essentials at the moment.

  59. Lazarus Long said on December 3, 2011 at 3:23 pm
    Reply

    Great antivirus!!

  60. essz said on December 3, 2011 at 3:03 pm
    Reply

    I’m currently using AVIRA Antivirus Premium.

  61. Swapnil said on December 3, 2011 at 2:58 pm
    Reply

    Thanks for the giveaway.

    With the screenshots it looks awesome. Never tried Panda AntiVirus – only tried it’s Cloud version but it seems to be interesting. From what I have heard Panda looks like a solid product and seems to be better than Norton and McAfee.
    I have tried both Norton and McAfee. With McAfee it was a huge frustating problem – it deleted almost every third executable on my computer claiming it to be a virus – ofcourse a false-positive. With Norton, every thing is fine but problems start when you update to a newer version.
    I also had a chance to try out BitDefender – although I was really impressed by it’s protection and almost neglegible false-positive count – it ate my system resources.

    So I think Panda products might be perfect for me.

  62. Heikwith said on December 3, 2011 at 2:48 pm
    Reply

    Nice giveaway !

  63. Jun Isumi said on December 3, 2011 at 2:24 pm
    Reply

    Thanks for this Giveaway.Please count me in.
    I ‘m using Avira AntiVirus Premium,now.

  64. Matrix said on December 3, 2011 at 2:20 pm
    Reply

    I pray to God, and Martin to get Kaspersky Internet Security 2012!
    I think Kaspersky is the best gift for Christmas!

  65. Ahsan said on December 3, 2011 at 2:10 pm
    Reply

    Well I am using Microsoft security essential right now, but I hope to use Panda. So please Count me in.

  66. kalind said on December 3, 2011 at 2:06 pm
    Reply

    I use Panda cloud antivirus. It is lightweight and unobstrusive and serves my purpose but a full Panda Antivirus Pro license would be something!

  67. Josh2 said on December 3, 2011 at 2:05 pm
    Reply

    Panda Antivirus Pro 2012 seems to be a very interesting security software. At the moment I am only using Microsoft Security Essentials. Because I already had some problems with this setup (2 virus infections), a additional virus scanner would be very helpful…

  68. Alex said on December 3, 2011 at 2:00 pm
    Reply
  69. Dan said on December 3, 2011 at 1:54 pm
    Reply

    Hey, I’m still using the Kaspersky Pure that I won last year! But it only has exactly 30 days left in its license. It would be great to replace it with Panda AV. :-)

  70. Paul(us) said on December 3, 2011 at 1:37 pm
    Reply

    Great giveaway this renewed and improved Panda antivilrus product. Hopefully I win.

  71. gmgkag said on December 3, 2011 at 1:29 pm
    Reply

    Thanks for the review. Currently I’m using Microsoft Security Essentials, but that’s mainly because of the many options out there and not really sure which of the paid options would be better.

    I tried Kaspersky Internet Security, which worked well, but found the tweaking for some games was more difficult than expected. (in the end some games had to have firewall completely turned off). Bit Defender was another I tried and chose because of the game mode, which was great – but some of the free games that have their one anit-hack programs appeared to conflict with BitDefender – and it seemed to always display that it was disabled and if it did not come back to reboot with the second option to reinstall. (version 2009, 2011 seemed to conflict with more of the games). I’ve come to the conclusion that there is no one perfect AV / Internet security application, the trick is to find one that fills most of your security needs and be aware of areas where you may be exposed.

    Thanks again for the write up. You’ve now added another potential AV solution to my list to consider. MSE works, but I do want to get back to a paid AV product.

  72. k19s said on December 3, 2011 at 1:19 pm
    Reply

    Great giveaway, count me in. My current setup is McAfee IS with Emsisoft

    Thanks

  73. Michał said on December 3, 2011 at 1:08 pm
    Reply

    The best AV! Please…

  74. niroop said on December 3, 2011 at 1:03 pm
    Reply

    Thanks for this Giveaway.Please count me in.
    I am currently using Kaspersky Internet Security +SAS pro.

  75. MerleOne said on December 3, 2011 at 12:55 pm
    Reply

    Hi,
    I currently use the free Avast 2011 solution with minimal settings, just basic AV. Count me in for the Giveaway. Thanks.

  76. mpig said on December 3, 2011 at 11:50 am
    Reply

    I’m using windows XP. I don’t have any security software on my computer. No antivirus. No firewall.

  77. Dacko said on December 3, 2011 at 12:39 pm
    Reply

    Panda AV Pro 2012 is a very good security software. Currently I use the following:

    PC 1 – Emsisoft Anti-Malware 6 + Emsisoft Online Armor Firewall Premium 5
    PC 2 – Eset NOD 32 AV 5 + Comodo Firewall 5 ( firewall, Defense +, sandbox )

    Thanks for this giveaway

  78. Maestro said on December 3, 2011 at 12:36 pm
    Reply

    Panda antivirus is a good security program. Panda improve each year. Act quickly and effectively. It also has a cool appearance. Useful to me. Now I use Comodo Antivirus.

  79. Tarses said on December 3, 2011 at 12:34 pm
    Reply

    At this time I have Clam AV. I didn’t tought Panda would make such a good score.

  80. Mahdi Najafi said on December 3, 2011 at 12:32 pm
    Reply

    well,I think it`s usefull!

  81. Pandora said on December 3, 2011 at 12:30 pm
    Reply

    I’ve been relying on Microsoft Security Essentials since I switched to Windows 7.

  82. NKS said on December 3, 2011 at 12:23 pm
    Reply

    I am using “Microsoft Security Essentials” at present. Had panda 1 year license which expired some time back.

  83. Ke Wang said on December 3, 2011 at 12:18 pm
    Reply

    I am using MSE at the moment. really want to try Panda Antivirus Pro 2012

  84. niko said on December 3, 2011 at 12:18 pm
    Reply

    Thanks for the giveaway, I’ve used mostly kaspersky and bitdefender, but i tried the free edition “Panda Cloud” and it was really nice and simple,
    Panda Antivirus Pro 2012 seems robust, please count me in.

  85. RW said on December 3, 2011 at 12:12 pm
    Reply

    Looks really good, always wanted to try panda out, pretty good reputation. I’m using avast free.

  86. amon said on December 3, 2011 at 12:11 pm
    Reply

    Another great chance to win a license. I used the 3 months license I was very impressed with what it does. I hope to win a full license this time from you.

    Thanks

  87. Mushaf said on December 3, 2011 at 12:04 pm
    Reply

    Currently using ESET NOD32 Antivirus 5. Panda looks promising.

  88. Jake said on December 3, 2011 at 11:58 am
    Reply

    Thank you for having chance to get a new version of this product ;)

    I’m currently using AVIRA Antivirus now.

  89. Chandra said on December 3, 2011 at 11:51 am
    Reply

    My current security setup is ESET NOD32 4, I’m curious about Panda capability if compared to ESET.

  90. MAMBRO said on December 3, 2011 at 11:48 am
    Reply

    Good chanche to try a new version of this product ;)

    I’m currently using AVIRA Antivirus for my desktop now.

  91. hlm said on December 3, 2011 at 11:46 am
    Reply

    My current setup

    Antivirus + Antimalware : Avast Free Edition & Malwarebytes Antimalware Free Edition

    Malicious Website Blocker : Custom hosts file + Avast Web Advisor

    Anti Keylogger : Key Scrambler Personal Free Edition (Firefox only)…. :(

  92. Terry P. said on December 3, 2011 at 11:26 am
    Reply

    Wow, it seems Panda has been improved vastly from last time. Really want to give it a go againg. I’m currently using NOD32 Antivirus for my desktop now.

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