panda

Editor's note: Panda Security is offering free license keys for Cloud Antivirus Pro 1.3 to users who register using this download link. You'll be required to enter your name and e-mail address to receive the license key, which is good for one year. Also note that during the registration process, the checkout cart will state at some point, "Your card hasn't been charged yet." This is apparently a cart template and does not affect users who are taking part in the license key giveaway.

Panda Security continues to build better features into the company'… Read more

Panda Security has launched its latest product, this one geared specifically for Mac users.

The security firm today unveiled Panda Antivirus for the Mac, designed to defend Mac OS and OS X users against viruses, spyware, adware, and other forms of malware. In addition to scanning e-mail and local files on the Mac, the new software will prevent Mac users from unknowingly sending malware-infected documents to friends and colleagues running Windows or Linux, Panda said.

Moving beyond the computer, the software will also scan iPhones, iPads, and iPods to make sure those portable gadgets aren't delivering malware to other … Read more

Denial of service attacks launched by the group Anonymous took down the Web sites of U.K. record label Ministry of Sound and its legal firm Gallant Macmillian on Sunday.

The Anonymous group targeted the two sites as part of its battle against organizations that it believes are using strong-arm tactics to deal with those who share files on the Internet. The Ministry of Sound specifically hired Gallant Macmillian to identify and sue individuals who allegedly uploaded songs from its music catalog, according to The Register. Macmillian has reportedly sent out letters to those suspected of illegal file sharing.

As … Read more

Spam accounted for 95 percent of all e-mail sent worldwide during the third quarter, according to a report released today.

Panda Security's third-quarter report (PDF) also found that 50 percent of all spam came from 10 countries, with India, Brazil, and Russia as the top three sources. The U.S. came in No. 8, while the U.K. dropped off the list. Much of the spam that invades in-boxes comes from botnets that hijack computers whose owners don't realize their PCs have been infected, the report noted.

Trojans now are responsible for 55 percent of all malware threats, … Read more

A third of small and medium businesses surveyed by Panda Security have been hit by malware from social networks, according to a study released on Wednesday.

Panda's "Social Media Risk Index for Small to Medium Sized Businesses" (PDF) also found that 35 percent of the companies hurt by social-media malware suffered financial losses, with more than a third losing in excess of $5,000. Further, a quarter of the businesses said they lost sensitive data due to employees who violated company policy by revealing certain information via a social network.

The report was based on surveys Panda … Read more

Cybercriminals are cranking out fake Web sites branded as eBay, banks, and other financial companies to the tune of tens of thousands every week, according to new research.

During a three-month study of its global malware database, Panda Security found on average 57,000 new Web sites created each week with the aim of exploiting a brand name in order to steal information that can be used to drain peoples' bank accounts.

About 80 percent of those were phishing sites designed to trick people into entering their login credentials or other … Read more

We've all received e-mails from deposed Nigerian princes asking for help in getting lots of money out of their country. But that's just one of several scams that made Panda Security's list of the most frequent online cons of a decade.

As 2010 starts to wind down, the security vendor on Thursday unveiled its rankings of the most widespread Internet scams from the past 10 years. Though the cons themselves may vary, the pattern is typically the same, according to Panda. Cybercriminals initially contact their victims through e-mail or a social network, asking them to respond back … Read more

Though juggernaut Microsoft and smaller security suite maker Panda both introduced new cloud-based antivirus solutions for Windows last year, today's upgrade from Panda swiftly moves Cloud Antivirus back into the public eye by adding features without sacrificing snappy performance levels. Exclusively available today from CNET Download.com, Cloud Antivirus 1.1 now more closely resembles a traditional antivirus program, at least in features offered, and includes a behavioral blocking engine that can protect users against generic nonbrowser exploits, new configuration options, and default deactivation of autorun in Windows.

In a conversation at CNET's San Francisco offices yesterday, Panda … Read more

When Panda Security found malware on a brand new Android-based Vodafone HTC Magic earlier this month, Vodafone said it was an "isolated local incident." Now, a second phone has been found harboring malware, including a program that turns infected machines into zombies as part of the Mariposa credit card and bank log-in-stealing botnet, according to Spain-based PandaLabs.

After hearing about PandaLabs' discovery, an employee at another Spanish security company, S21Sec, checked his recently acquired HTC Magic and found the Mariposa malware lurking on it, according to a PandaLabs blog post on Wednesday.

"This guy had also purchased … Read more