Panda Internet Security 2008 - OEM

Pros: Transparent, updates automatically. You don't know it's there unless it blocks something for you. (That is, if you even want to be notified!)

Cons: It slows your system down a wee bit, but with dial-up I am already moving at a frenetic snails pace.

Overall Review: I really like this software, I have tried 3 other top brands and I really was not satisfied. This is so easy to use even a knucklehead like me can use it!

Pros: Panda is still my choice of protection. I have used it since 2004 on my own systems and recommend it all my customers and friends. Any AV software will slow a system down, and each year it seems to get worse. It part of life of owning a computer and being protected. Updates daily and scanning is pretty fast. I have it on several Vista machines and it work great on there too. Before you purchase ANY software go to the products website and check out the minimum requirements.

Cons: Does not support MS Server 2003. The firewall will occasionally glitch and block your browser but it can easily be reset.

Overall Review: I have also ran into the same problem that "Buttermaker85" did on ONE computer (out of 150+) with Panda and ONE with Norton. I had to use a program called sporder.zip to rearrange the Winsock LSP chain order. Panda needs to have the first 3 lines above MSAFD TCP/IP, which means nothing above MSAFD TCP/IP before installing Panda. (DO NOT try this if you don't know what you are doing) Most common when other type of security software is also installed.

Pros: Inexpensive & Professional

Cons: Slow. It's click & wait when initializing.

Overall Review: I agree that it is a slow program, but it is easy to setup and seems thorough. Mainly it keeps my WinME going at a budget, which is the point of still using it as the second web browser in the house.

Pros: Price

Cons: none

Overall Review: This is the second one I have gotten for PC builds, it works great for a low price, you cant beat 13 bucks for protection.

Pros: Detection (and removal) ability of spyware and viruses is top notch and much better than more common competitors. Ability to run backups of system, run basic cleanups for Windows.

Cons: Firewall is a bit finicky sometimes. The backup system backs files up well enough but puts them in a proprietary Panda compress file that you have to use Panda to extract data from. Not a huge issue, but a bit annoying.

Overall Review: Panda has long had a great ability at finding and destroying infections. Their client has been buggy over the years, however, the 08 version seems to be pretty darn stable. Their firewall has always been finicky as it sometimes sets up illogical permissions and occasionally blocks things it's not supposed to and that's a bit annoying but if you're using NAT or a different firewall solution just disable this feature and the rest of the client is very useful.

Pros: Very inexpensive, blocks most everything.

Cons: Blocks a few things I don't want it to block, and slows things down horribly. While updating, you basically can't use your computer even with load handling turned on, and no I'm not using an old junky 500mhz system. The worst thing is you can't make it only update in the middle of the night, it insists on updating at seemingly random times.

Overall Review: Aside from the once-a-week 10-minute slowdowns, it's a very inexpensive way to keep your computer safer.

Pros: Good detection, nice feature set, low cost. One subscription covers 3 PC's. 2008 version cured the majority of issues from the 2007 version.

Cons: Any software has cons, but then the settings are changed to match your preferences, they are minor.

Overall Review: I have it installed on several dozen PC's and expereience relatively few problems. It simply saves me time over other security suites I have deployed.

Pros: Found problems that other programs didn't. Windows XP 64-bit support. Decent interface.

Cons: My internet connection would be cut every time I installed it. I spent hours messing with all the settings and trying to get it to connect. I would even turn the program off and the connection would still be dead. Uninstalled it, and I could access the internet again just fine. Customer support was terrible, with no actually helpful FAQs, and no forum.

Overall Review: It was probably a conflict with my Netgear hardware or software (which I am not fond of) or something of that sort. Or I may have just been doing something wrong. It shouldn't be this difficult to get it to work, though. I would just recommend downloading the trial first before buying. It seems like an excellent program if it doesn't conflict with your network setup.