Panda Security Launches New Version of Panda Cloud Office Protection

Panda Security, The Cloud Security Company, has launched version 5.04.50 of Panda Cloud Office Protection, its cloud-based security solution for business endpoints.

This new version includes several new features and improvements providing small and medium sized businesses as well as their service providers with an easier and more effective way to manage malware prevention, detection and remediation in distributed work environments.

One of the version's top features is the new heuristics technology it uses to prevent infections from unknown malware, allowing it to block threats even if the user is offline at the time of detection, or if the malware strain is new.

Panda Cloud Office Protection is also now compatible with Office 2010, as well as its capacity to scan email messages stored in Windows Live Mail. This new heuristic engine not only classifies files as suspicious, but also as malware or goodware, minimizing the risk of false positives.

It also contains a small signature file that includes data about active malware every day, making protection more efficient with less impact on the user's PC. In addition, signature file updates are truly automatic requiring no administrative intervention to deploy and implement them across every workstation on the network.

read more

Join Us: http://bit.ly/joincloud

Panda Security Launches Beta Version of Panda Global Protection 2011

Panda Security has announced the beta release of Panda Global Protection 2011, its comprehensive solution for protecting against new and unknown threats for advanced home computer users.

The company has also announced that the ten beta testers suggesting the most helpful improvements (see http://www.pandasecurity.com/promotions/betatest/) will each receive a $200 Amazon.com gift certificate.
Designed for active users - those who are most likely to encounter security threats and engage in risky behavior - Panda Global Protection 2011 offers valuable new functionality, including the ability to manage home network security, activate gaming/multimedia mode, which ensures no security-related interruptions for users, and a virtual keyboard and browser to keep confidential information secure from prying eyes.

The new release builds on the core functionality that has positioned Panda Global Protection as the preferred solution among PC power users and features integration with the most advanced cloud-based protection available, minimal resource consumption and highly effective anti-virus engine to protect against known and unknown malware. In addition, Panda Global Protection 2011 includes firewall with WiFi security to block intruders and hackers; Panda USB Vaccine to prevent USB devices from spreading infections; confidential information filters to keep personal data safe; backup and system recovery, and PC performance tuning.
Benefits of the new Panda Global Protection 2011 functionality include:

• Faster performance with intelligent updates
• Virtual browser for even safer web access
• Home network security management
• Interruption-free gaming and entertainment
• Remote PC access from any location
• Password Manager to keep access credentials safe
• File encryption system protects confidential information from unauthorized viewing
• File shredding for guaranteed information deletion
• Virtual keyboard to keep data entered safe from keyloggers and banking Trojans

Panda has also made significant improvements to the spam and phishing filters, detection of sophisticated malware like rootkits, and parental control options.

Panda Global Protection 2011 delivers high-speed, lightweight, real-time protection against known and unknown threats by leveraging the knowledge and experience of millions of users through Panda's unique cloud-based Collective Intelligence technology. More information about Collective Intelligence, including a live malware processing counter, may be found at http://www.cloud-distribution.com/pandacloud.

Join Us: http://bit.ly/joincloud

Panda Security Upgrades Cloud-Based Anti-Malware Service

Dubbed Panda Cloud Antivrus Pro, the new edition works to protect computer users online and offline by extending the protections in the free product launched last year. The Free Edition is still available and also offers enhanced functions.

As more computing functions continue to exploit cloud delivery models, security issues remain a key concern. But the cloud also continues to be the solution to its own problem. Extending it's cloud-based PC security and anti-malware services, Panda Security today moved to help further alleviate malware fears by expanding its free offerings to include a paid version that automates the updates and upgrades to the service. [Disclosure: Panda Security is a sponsor of BriefingsDirect podcasts.]

The Pro Edition sells for $29.95 and offers both automated updates as well as support benefits and other features.

Cloud Distribution are UK distribution partners of Panda Cloud Security.

read more

Join Us: http://bit.ly/joincloud

New Cloud Service Offers Antivirus Alternative

Security vendor Panda Software has announced a full cloud web security service which it claims frees smaller companies from the need to filter for malware using complicated gateway boxes.

Aimed primarily at laptops used outside a company's offices, but also branch offices, from the point of view of the user Panda Cloud Internet Protection is about as simple as security comes. There is no security software running on the PC, and the traffic is run through Panda's data centres by pointing the browser at a proxy server.

Traffic is then combed for the usual range of malware, attachment and botnet indicators. Admins set up the service using a web console to allow or disallow certain URLs, and access to named social networks, webmail, blog systems and other online applications. Control can be taken as far as the enforcement of specific browsers and versions.

The advantage for IT is that policies can be enforced quite quickly and easily for the one part of the PC population that tends to hit problems, namely laptops and smartphones. Doing this as a service frees them from having to specify and manage an appliance, integrating it into other infrastructure.

Performance is claimed to be 15 microseconds at worst from a global family of data centres What the service doesn't secure is email, for which the company has a separate offering.

"That is the beauty of having your own data centre," said Panda Software UK and Swedish product manager, Sebastian Zabala. "We make sure that latency is not an issue."

Cloud security services are fashionable on the back of rising disaffection with the established client model, but companies have been surprisingly slow to invest in the new infrastructure needed to being such services to fruition. Cloud is easy to talk up but expensive to build. Meanwhile, larger security companies make a lot of money from selling software licenses.

Cloud security is a bit pricier than conventional software antivirus. Panda is offering companies batches of 25 licenses for £67.55 ($103) per machine, per year, several times what it would cost to stick software on the same laptop, albeit that the security filtering on offer will in theory be more substantial. Free trials are being offered to try out the service first, however.

Panda Software also offers a free cloud antivirus system for consumers.

Cloud Distribution are UK distributors of Panda's Cloud Protection platform, please get in touch if you'd like to trial the solution.

Join Us: http://bit.ly/joincloud

Panda discovers malware on HTC Magic phone

A Panda Security employee discovered three malware programs on a recently purchased HTC Magic phone when it was plugged it into a Windows computer.

Upon further investigation, Panda found that the employee’s phone contained three malware programs: a client for the now-defunct Mariposa botnet, the Conficker worm as well as a password stealer for the Lineage game, said Pedro Bustamante, Panda’s senior research adviser.

The malware programs were on the phone’s 8GB microSD memory card, which mounts as an external drive when plugged into a PC, Bustamante said. When plugged into a Windows PC, the Mariposa botnet client would automatically run, Bustamante said.

Mariposa was at one time one of the largest botnets responsible for denial-of-service attacks and stealing banking credentials until it was shut down by security researchers in December after they disabled its command-and-control servers. Spanish police have since arrested three men affiliated with the botnet.

Mariposa’s autorun configuration may have overwritten Conficker’s autorun capability, Bustamante said. Conficker is a worm that still infects millions of machines worldwide despite an aggressive campaign by security experts to eradicate it. The password-stealing program would not run automatically unless someone double clicked on the file, Bustamante said.

A Vodafone spokesman said the company is looking into the situation but that it appears to be an isolated incident. “We will obviously fully investigate this and make sure that any necessary changes to our security policies are put in place,” he said.

The HTC Magic phone has been on the market for more than a year, so it’s unlikely that the malware programs were installed at the factory. “It would have popped up earlier,” Bustamante said.

What is more likely is that the phone was purchased by someone else, the microSD card became infected after the phone was plugged into an infected PC, and then the phone returned to Vodafone.

“It was probably returned to Vodafone and sent to another person without flashing it or restoring the memory of the phone,” Bustamante.

Many phones can be reset to their factory settings by pushing a couple of buttons, which would have erased the malware and reset the phone, something that should be standard procedure before selling a refurbished phone, Bustamante said.

“The question is why wasn’t it done,” he said.

Vodafone is tracing the phone, which was ordered in Spain, to see which warehouse it came from, Bustamante said. Vodafone distributes the phone in the U.K., Spain, Germany and France, he said.

Panda, which has published a blog post with screenshots, also plans on purchase two or three more HTC Magics for investigation.

Join Us: http://bit.ly/joincloud