Stories about: Panda

The frequency of attacks that distribute fake antivirus software, a long-time pillar of the underground economy, has decreased considerably in recent months. However, security researchers warn that the industry is not yet dead and new versions of attacks continue to be released.

Google appears to be getting ready to launch another offensive against website scrapers.

Apple says it has a fix in the works for the Mac Defender fake antivirus app that has plagued a surprising number of Mac users in recent weeks. The company recently posted a Mac Defender support page explaining how you can remove the malware from your system. Apple also says it will roll out an OS X software update to protect Mac users from future attacks.

A new round of antivirus testing found some products fail to detect malware that tries to infect a computer via a different attack vector, such as through a local network fileshare or a USB drive.

If you haven't bought a new version of your antivirus software in a couple of years, now may be a good time to do so. Malware is evolving faster than ever, and the latest generation of antivirus software is better equipped to handle this rapid pace of change. If your antivirus software is a few years old, it may not be able to defend against this on­­slaught effectively, even if you faithfully download new virus definitions. In recent years, the technology that powers antivirus software has changed dramatically: An antivirus package you purchased a few years ago may be able to stop known viruses and other known malware, but brand-new, as-yet unknown viruses can be more dangerous, and newer products do a much better job of stopping them.

Let's start with the good news: Panda Internet Security 2011 ($81.99 for one year, one PC; $91.99 for one year, three PCs, as of 12/2/2010) has some of the best protection going. Its and 99.8 percent detection of samples of known malware was tops among the 13 applications we tested. It completely blocked 21 of 25 attacks in real-world malware blocking tests (that help determine how well it can block brand new malware), and partially blocked three more, which, while not a top score, is still a solid performance. It's also no slouch in fixing downed machines, removing 80 percent of active malware components.

The Chinese man jailed for writing the 'Fujacks' worm in 2006 appears to be trying to rehabilitate his public image, reportedly making made a donation to a panda research centre in the country.

Norton Antivirus has been a strong performer in recent years, and this year is no exception. Norton Antivirus 2011 comes in first in our roundup of 2011 paid antivirus products. It does a very good job at detecting and removing malware, and it has a smooth interface.

Panda Cloud Antivirus is a unique entry in the free antivirus race. Most free antivirus products still rely on signature updates to detect new malware, but Panda's program instead uses fresh data about malware direct from Panda's servers. As a result, Cloud Antivirus put up some excellent results in some malware detection tests, but its scan speeds were slower than we would have liked to see.

Depending on whom you ask, paying for antivirus software is either a good investment or a total ripoff. In reality, neither viewpoint is accurate. You can find plenty of good reasons to choose a paid antivirus product, and plenty of good reasons to go with a freebie.