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Panda Platinum 2006 Internet Security
Price: £45 inc VAT

Features
Performance
Ease of use
Value for money
Overall

Reviewed By: Andy Shaw

This review updated: 08/12/2005
Featured in magazine:
Issue 124
Manufacturer Contacts:
Supplier: Panda Software
Tel: 0870 444 5640
Web Address: www.pandasoftware.com


There's nothing more important for web users to think about than securing their computer from internet threats. The latest version of Panda Platinum 2006 Internet Security aims to roll all your security needs into one handy bundle.

Features
As well as the security stalwarts of firewall and anti-virus software, this suite includes a raft of utilities to protect you from the web's more recent threats, including spyware, phishing and spam. It's also got privacy and internet-filtering software onboard, to make sure impressionable users of your PC aren't tricked into doing something they might regret.

Performance
On the virus side of things it's certified by ICSA Labs (www.icsalabs.com), while its firewall protected us against the deliberate threat tests we threw at it. It happily scanned our emails for viruses and warned us when something odd was happening, such as new software trying to connect to the net. As well as the usual protection, it also has a background scanner to halt any new viruses that it might not know about yet, and it promises to update at least once a day, though this seems a bit extreme if there are no new outbreaks.

Ease of use
Platinum 2006 Internet Security is organised slightly differently to most suites, hiding the software's various functions behind a single interface. This is designed to keep everything simple but actually confuses things. When you want to tweak a setting in a particular section, such as the firewall or anti-virus controls, you have to click on options, pull down windows and find links to the right place. Elsewhere there's little coherence, and the nice blue interface changes to more standard Windows-like boxes. We also found we were exposed to a few alarming pop-up warnings that weren't explained clearly – on connecting another computer to our Wi-Fi network, for example, the software responded only by warning of a high-level threat rather than giving useful options.

Value for money
Perhaps the most interesting thing about Panda is that your out-of-the-box experience only nets you six-months' worth of updates – half the subscription time you get with most other commercial services. Also, one of the other reasons why you might go for a paid-for suite like this over the free downloadable security software available on the web is support. With Panda, email support is free but you have to pay 60p a minute to get through to its telephone helpline.

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