Panda Titanium Antivirus 2004

Cons
Haven't found any.

I do warn you however, I've heard quite a few reports of this crashing systems and doing other unwanted things to peoples systems, so try it at your own risk. For me it worked perfectly.

12 of 13 found the following review helpful:

Sucked the life out of my pc(s). Very unforgiving IMHO  Sep 21, 2004
By DISenchanted
Your pc's AV program is one program that NEEDS to work 100% of the time. Plus, in today's world; and has to do it's updates smoothly.

Everyone WANTS it to install and WORK right on the first installation attempt. It can take **30 minutes or more, under ideal situations. When everything works CORRECTLY, to install an AV program
(**an estimate: depends on CPU and age of pc).

(I doubt many folks would have endured the re-installation attempts I did, just to be able to save face and not admit they
wasted the software money on something that wouldn't work on any of their pc's).

In my tests, Panda never made it past the first issue (that of WORKING)!

I've used most every vendor's program over the years, as I own several pc's and have observed many vendor's software by working on friend's pc's too.

For whatever reason, this program consistently crapped up whatever pc I tried to load it on. Different vendor motherboards, different processors, it made no difference.
In retrospect, it was the code/software that was the problem.

We could split hairs over which AV program is best;
- Norton vs Mcafee vs pc-cillin vs F-prot vs xyz brand.
- Or paid version vs free versions.
The problem is, the next PC review that comes out will have the top 10 listing in a slightly different order. No vendor ever remains the number 1 AV software all of the time.

But regardless of which of the other vendor's AV programs I used, Norton or Mcafee or Trend-micro. Paid or free, at least the rest of them (except Panda) would INSTALL and work.
some were faster than others, or found more virus' than others,
or had better tech support, etc.

Sure, some had more overhead or "bloat" than others. (Norton)
Or one used more cpu time than a competitor's. (Mcafee)
But they did work, without KILLING off my pc.
Not Panda.
(Honestly, I would have liked to really test it, but the install attempts never finished).
Installations take enough time already (including reboots needed).
You can only invest so many hours before you have to write off your losses of both time and money; and move on to something that works.

One version of Panda AV, came as part of the SYSTEM MECHANIC PRO by Iolo.

Plus, I have tried more than just that version of Panda.
I got lots of diffedrent motherboards over the years and many
CD's with AV programs included.
Add to that, I have tested Panda on more than just one make/model of pc. So any problems that re-occur are narrowed down to coincidence(?) or code problems. [Hint: it's the code].

Sidenote: when I mentioned trying to load this on various pc's, there were no issues here with licensing,as I owned more than one copy of it.
Not to worry though; End result is that I'm doubly safe, as I don't have it (panda) installed on ANY of my systems.
(anyone need a free license or two) :^|

During several installation attempts, the software took control of my cpu processing time and I could not do anything with the pc, except power down. CTRL-ALT-DELETE wouldn't help me regain control either.

This occurred right after the initial installation [first reboot thereafter].

Since I had the luxury of extra resources available, I simply:
1. took the drive that had panda on it out [so it was no longer my boot drive].
2. installed another HD with an OS on it, making it the boot drive.
3. booted up on the 2nd drive, then used explorer to search my original hard drive for panda software.
4. removed all of the panda software I could find.
5. put configuration back to normal.
6. booted up on original hard drive and surprise, a panda process was STILL hanging around, using up a lot of cpu time.
7. used regedit to remove the references in the registry.
8. ran a registry tool to clean things up.

From what I have gathered in chatting with others, one person said that if there are ANY drive problems [errors?], then it can hangup the initial virus scan that panda does.
Since the first system AV scan is a full system scan, if you hang up the scan, you hang up the system!

I didn't note ANY drive errors, nor did I see chkdsk ever have to fix anything.
Overall, my experiences with panda have turned into a TIME PIT.
I just can't afford to make any more donations to any time pit.
Life is too short.

My tried and true favorites are:
1. Norton AV [either alone, or as a suite]
2. Trend micro [came in the System suite 4 and 5 package, by VCOM]. PC-cillin.
3. Mcafee.
4. Bit defender
5. AVG - free

I work on pc's day in and day out, [for over the past 10+ years], so I need software that WORKS.
Virus problems are painful enough. I don't want to fight with an ANTI-virus program also.
Maybe it does work fine for others, but it's been less than satisfactory in my experiences.
My favorite suite for security is norton internet security, with both the anti virus program and the firewall.
It has truly saved my pc on several occasions [when it's alert screens pop up and warn against attacks].

Just my 2 cents.

My recommendation: Almost ever vendor gives free demo's. Download and TEST a DEMO version first.
BACK UP YOUR REGISTRY FIRST, in case you have to endure an OS repair (regardless of which software you want to test).
Always good to have a working registry point to restore to.

If a demo works for you, great.
If not, then you'll find out BEFORE you spend any money of your own.

Don't know what choices are out there?
Try visiting a website that reviews software and provides their opinion of a TOP TEN. (like toptenreviews.com)

10 of 11 found the following review helpful:

Simply Put - BETTER than the Big Two (McAfee and Norton)  Sep 12, 2004
By L.A. Scene
Here is the scenario. I had been having some serious quality issues with McAfee's Internet Security 5.0. Everytime it was updating my virus definitions - it was crashing my PC. In fact, even after reformatting the hard drive - I still had still a problem. I had decided to replace McAfee with its biggest competitor - Norton AntiVirus 2004. I had other firewall and security solutions that worked for me, so I didn't need a full Internet Security Suite. As I am going to pay for the Norton software, the salesperson informs me of Panda's Antivirus Titanium Solution. He was raving about it. I wasn't too thrilled about going with Norton to begin with, so I figured - why not give it a try? I made the purchase and the rest was history. This is by far the best anti-virus solution I have seen today. McAfee and Norton need to take notice - there is a new player in town with Panda Software and they should take notice.

Panda's Virus Solution is a subscription-based service. When you purchase the software you get one year's worth of virus definitions. There is an activation step as part of the registration process. Basically as part of the step, you will setup an account with Panda. They will in turn give you a userid and password that will be used in your software. This userid and password will then give you access to your subscription for the next year. If you don't register and activate, you will only have limited use of the software. They only let you activate once, so once you setup your account - you are locked into your subscription (i.e. you can reformat your hard-drive, it won't matter). This is fine with me, and I applaud Panda for their anti-piracy policies.

Panda's AntiVirus Solution has a very enticing GUI. In your system tray, the icon is - a panda bear (naturally). When you open the console, it is a simple GUI to navigate. I had little problem finding what I needed to do - whether it was a System Scan, Adminstrative Task, or Update My Virus Definitions. Panda recommends setting the automatic protection settings to be enabled to give you the best security. This will allow you to receive automated updates. I have found enabling this has been a real benefit thus far.

When you boot your system, Panda performs a "Self-Diagnosis" to be sure the system is properly protected (i.e. latest virus updates). A pop-up window (GUI based, not browser based) will be displayed each time you boot your system. I have found this to be extremely helpful and non-intrusive. It gives me peace of mind to know that the software is working right. When I had installed Panda, I had my userid and password inproperly configured and this helped me realize that by telling me I wasn't getting the latest virus updates. A pop-up will also inform you when the Anti-Virus definitions have been updated. Again, this was non-intrusive.

In terms of the functionality of the software - again this has been terrific. The two main functions I look for with Anti-Virus Software are: 1) The Scan Capabilities; 2) Catching the Virus. High marks to Panda in both of these areas. For the scan capabiltiies, I have found this to be comprehensive and not have much of an impact on the performance of my PC (running a Celeron 700 MHz processor) as compared to the "Big Two". Other Anti-Virus solutions have not nearly performed as well or completed the scan as quick and I would say this one is the best. As for as Virus entrapment and eradication - high marks again! I am finding that Panda is constantly updating the virus definitions - much more so than I see the "Big Two" brands. I have also found Panda to be better at catching viruses. Panda immediately warns you of Virus entrapment and eradication through the non-instrusive pop-up window. Since I've installed Panda, I have found that it has caught more viruses than my McAfee solution ever caught. It seems like Panda is much better at catching the "small things". I haven't been hit with a big virus since installing Panda, so I'm still not sure how it performs under these conditions - so time will tell (but I'm confident). Panda also has some nice reporting options so you can review what the scan has found.

Panda's Documentation is web-based and web-site is terrific. There is a wealth of information available. I've found this web-site to be so much easier to navigate than the "Big Two" and I have been very pleased at what I have been able to find. They have comprehensive Virus information available. The site does a tremendous job at tracking what and where the most common viruses that are infecting PCs are (there are some great "infection maps" and a "Virusometer"). There even is a free two hour virus course available to learn all about computer viruses.

At first I was skeptical about getting another solution other than the "Big Two". But since I've installed and have been using Panda's Solution, I have had complete peace of mind that my system is protected. In addition, I feel have equal or better functionality in the product than I got with "The Big Two". Panda might not have snazzy rebates or discounts, but they deliver on the product. I found Panda's solution competitively priced and would easily buy it again even if it was more money. This is highly recommended.

6 of 6 found the following review helpful:

Finally, free from the tyranny of Norton!  Dec 05, 2004
By windwindteartear
Let's face it. One person's anecdote about having problems or not having problems with an antivirus program is not evidence of its quality. I work in a software store and we usually try and recommend Panda to customers simply because we use it personally AND in-store and it works great. No problems. Not only that, but we haven't had any complaints about Panda other then some installation problems on older operating systems.

Norton Systemworks and Antivirus are still somehow, inexplicably, popular with consumers (along with the horrible Zone Alarm). I have no idea why, it's generally a system hog and mostly redundant and sometimes ineffective. I used Norton SW for a few years and it always seemed to tell me 'hey, I found a virus! But I can't do anything about it! Sorry!' Great, what did I buy you for?!

The most serious problem with Norton is, as I mentioned, the fact that it slows your computer down dramatically, mostly with features that you don't want or need, or that are already available in Windows.

Panda follows the rules of good design by bypassing all the stupid "features" that other companies keep dumping on their programs every year to justify releasing a new version. Instead, Panda is intuitive, simple and does what it does very well.

Most importantly, it uses very little system resources. You don't even notice it's running most of the time. It scans very quickly and you can still run other programs at (what seems like) full capacity while you do so. THe other main benefit of Panda is that as soon as they discover a new virus definition, they give it to you instantly. THey don't wait for your 'scheduled update' which could be too late! These are the two biggest reasons why I recommend Panda.

The graphic interface also looks much nicer. Admit it, the way it looks does matter, you have to look at it everyday.

I use the firewall included with Windows XP, Panda antivirus and THAT'S IT. I have not had even the smallest problem with my computer, it runs flawlessly.

Of course, I don't use File Transfer programs to steal data so that could be a big factor.

See all 11 customer reviews on Amazon.com