Panda Titanium Antivirus 2006
By Parrish Reinoehl, Pathfinder Networks
December 2005
Panda Software has been a leader in the antivirus software market since 1990. Not yet as well known as Norton or McAfee, Panda has a very strong (and growing) reputation for being a top-notch antivirus vendor. Panda products have always been at the top of the list when it comes to the detection and elimination of viruses- both known and unknown. I have been using Panda Software products for more than 7 years now- and have been extremely satisfied with their products and support- so much so that we are an authorized Panda Software reseller.
Panda Software has recently released an updated version of their personal antivirus product, Panda Titanium 2006. We have spent some time testing this new version and now have it available for sale at our storefront. This new version includes many improvements and new features- most notable is the addition of an anti-spyware/anti-adware module. That’s right, in addition to protecting your PC from viruses; Panda now also protects your PC from spyware and adware! From the tests we have performed we have concluded that Panda Titanium 2006 offers superb detection and elimination of spyware, adware, and viruses. It’s difficult to find a product that offers better or more comprehensive protection.
Another much needed addition is the anti-phishing technology. Phishing is a term used to describe methods a hacker uses to try and steal your personal information, such as your bank account details. Phishing normally involves sending forged emails purporting to be from your banking institution or other firms such as PayPal. These emails will always try to fool you in to thinking that your account has been suspended or that your information needs to be updated. The email will provide what appears to be a link to a valid web page where you are asked to logon and update or verify your account information. When you visit these web pages and enter your account information that hacker now has everything they need to steal your identity or access your bank account. The new anti-phishing technology in Panda Titanium 2006 is able to recognize these fraudulent emails and web pages and alert you to this before you make a critical mistake.
Panda software has also updated and improved the personal firewall module, providing for an even safer Internet environment for your PC. One of the new features of the firewall module is the WiFi networking module. If your PC or laptop is equipped with a WiFi network card the firewall in Panda Titanium will now not only protect that connection but it will also alert you to any intruders trying to gain access to your PC or network through your wireless connection.
A feature that we are grateful to see is how Panda Titanium handles the situations where you may already have an antivirus product on your PC. As many users know, you cannot have more than one antivirus or firewall product active on your PC at a time. If you do your PC will normally perform extremely slowly or fail to boot. Panda, when first installed, will now detect these other programs and offer to uninstall them for you. Panda Titanium will not install if these other antivirus products remain present on your PC. This may seem extreme but trust me; this is how it should be. We have worked on many PC’s that would either not boot or would run extremely slowly (or exhibit other very odd behavior) all because the PC owner had more than one antivirus product on their PC.
The minimum requirements to run Panda Titanium 2006 are a 150 MHz Processor, 96 MB RAM, 110 MB free space on the hard disk, Windows XP 32 bits/ Windows 2000 Pro/ Windows Millennium/ Windows 98, and Internet Explorer 5.01 or later. These specs are taken directly from Panda Software’s documentation. Note, however, for the optimum experience you will want to make sure your PC has at least 256mb RAM before you install Panda Titanium. All antivirus products consume PC resources. If your PC is already on the lower end of the scale then you will notice a rather significant slow down in performance. Also note that Panda (and most all other antivirus products) will not run on PC’s using Windows 95.
If you’d like more information about this great new product please stop in to see us at our Belle Plaza location in Niles, MI. We have Panda Titanium 2006 now in stock and ready to install. 1 year of Panda Titanium service is $39. We can install the software for you at a modest cost (this is recommended as your PC needs to be clean of all viruses and spyware/adware before attempting to install any antivirus product).
We wish everyone a safe a joyous Holiday Season! Merry Christmas and Happy New Year. J
About the Author:
Parrish Reinoehl is President of Pathfinder Networks; a Niles based technology consulting firm specializing in providing affordable computer services to small businesses and home users including networks, PC support, sales, and service. Pathfinder Networks can be reached at 269-684-7696 or via email at parrish@pathfindernetworks.us
Pathfinder Networks website is http://www.PathfinderNetworks.us
Visit our retail location at 1920 S. 11th St., Niles, MI (in Belle Plaza).
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