Panda Internet Security 2015 15.0.3

Panda Internet Security is a full-blown security suite which becomes the next step after you get a taste of free Panda products. It combines an antivirus and firewall with several additional features that make it stand out among other programs of the same kind.

It pleasantly surprises you right at the start, since installation is incredibly simple and fast, taking less than 4 minutes in my case. This is due to the fact that Panda's antivirus system is now cloud-based, which reduces the size of the program itself and makes installing it easier.

When Panda Internet Security launches, performance begins, and it lives up to the reputation of one of the best antiviruses in existence. It catches any potential hazards before they can start, blocks malware, speedily reports to the user - all the features I've come to associate with Panda antivirus software. The same goes for Internet protection with standard features having been slightly improved over Panda Free Antivirus to show even better results.

There's also the firewall protection included, a thing not typical of stand-alone antiviruses. Unfortunately, I found it's performance to be satisfactory at best. It provides some degree of protection, but has proven to be vulnerable to dangerous code, has limited control of processes and applications. Still, given the abundant and nearly perfect performance of other elements of the program, complaining about a throw-in bonus is almost petty.

Panda Internet Security has a feature called Application Control that, if activated, runs a database check every time a new application is launched on your computer. Only the programs that are known as safe can launch automatically, those marked as suspicious need a user's confirmation, and those that launch by themselves and get stopped by Application Control are most likely malware.

There's also some additional features like a virtual keyboard allowing entering passwords safely, a Wi-Fi monitor controlling transactions and traffic, Rescue kit is present as well, dealing with the toughest malicious programs. I really liked the USB Vaccine, an extension securing USB drives against virus infections.

But there are features more prominent than those. They are Data Shield, Parental Control and Online Backup. Data Shield works similarly to Application Control: it prevents programs from making changes to vital system files, like encrypting them and denying you access. Shielded files include MS Office documents, images, audio and video.

Parental Control works like any other such feature. It lets you block specific sites sorted by categories. There's really nothing special, but it gets the basic job done.

Online Backup is a feature that gives you 2 gigabytes of free online backup space. However, it requires registering on a hosting platform and installing its applications. I personally found it annoying and thought that 2GB is not that much to bother.

Another little drawback I noticed is, surprisingly, a little slowing down of my system performance. It's rather strange considering the program's lightness and stability, but it's there. My processes runs slower just by a couple of seconds, so I forgave Panda for that. It's still better than most.

If you're looking for an upgraded Panda antivirus program with several very handy features and the means to let you comfortably use your computer, you should check Panda Internet Security out. It has some features that feel like they were not optimized, but the setbacks are minor and do not impact the full performance. All in all, Panda Internet Security is my second favorite antivirus now.