Like most people, you probably read customer reviews before you buy something online. In fact, 95% of people say that reviews are helpful when making purchasing decisions.

Realizing this, some sellers (and even major brands) have begun writing fake reviews – either to make their own products look better or to discredit their competitors. In fact, one study found that 31% of reviews left on Amazon, Walmart and BestBuy were fake.

So how can you spot these fake reviews?

Use a review checking service

Websites like ReviewMeta and FakeSpot use advanced language analysis to assess whether reviews are real or fake. Simply paste the URL for a product and click ‘Analyze’. Both of these sites provide a score indicating how many ‘suspicious’ reviews have been written. You will also see a warning if the product has received a high proportion of fake reviews.

ReviewMeta and FakeSpot are optimized for use with Amazon, but they can also grade many other popular shopping sites. Unfortunately this does mean that not every site or product can be analyzed in this way.

Don’t just rely on stars

You’ll notice that many products have been rated 4.5 stars or higher. Sometimes this indicates a truly great product – other times it is evidence of fakery. Take time to read some of the reviews, particularly those of average or lower scores to try and get a balanced cross-section of what people are saying.

Use your common sense

Very short reviews (‘Great!!’, ‘Excellent product’, ‘Love this item’) aren’t very helpful. There is also a high chance that these reviews are fake, used to boost the star rating of the product.

Again, take some time to read other, longer reviews that provide more information about the product and the customer’s experience.

Read professional reviews

Customer reviews can sometimes be limited by the writer’s lack of experience. Say you want to buy a camera; the customer reviews are usually written by someone with very limited experience of cameras – in fact they may have only ever used that one device. A camera expert will have worked with many cameras however, allowing them to give a more detailed description and to compare between devices to help you make a smarter choice.

Because of this, expert reviews are particularly important when making high value purchases.

Check the reviewer

When considering reviews, take a moment to check out the reviewer themselves. Have they written many reviews? Have they written a lot of reviews in a very short period of time? Always be wary of accounts that have only ever written a single review. And reviewers who write lots of evaluations in a short period are very likely to be fake.

If you can’t trust the person writing the review, you can’t trust what they have written.

Just like when dealing with malware, your best protection against fake reviews is to keep your wits about you. These five tips will help you spot a fake review – and avoid falling victim to scammers.

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Panda Free Antivirus was submitted to SE Labs’ independent testing for the first time in 2022 and scored the award for Best New Endpoint solution.

SE Labs is renowned for its endpoint and anti-malware testing. Every year they test anti-malware products using a range of detection and response tests, providing valuable information for security vendors and the general public alike. In the case of Panda Free Antivirus, we are proud to see that the independent tests conducted by SE Labs ratify the effort we put into delivering the best product, which in this case can be used free of charge by users.

“To properly test a security product, you have to behave like a real attacker,” the British firm explains in its report. That’s why they scrutinise the software being tested with the most sophisticated hacking techniques available to ordinary users.

The British company also points out that submitting software to be tested by SE Labs “should not be taken lightly” as it follows a rigorous process based on internal SE Labs lab results, as well as feedback from testers and customers.

At Panda Security, we highly value the opinion of experts and are proud of the continued recognition we receive for our work, which only goes to further our efforts in providing the best cybersecurity software to all users.

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We have done it again. The AV-Comparatives performance tests consolidate Panda Free Antivirus as the top-performing program in its category.

As usual, the Austrian laboratory has analysed the 18 most relevant cybersecurity solutions on the market in its performance test. This test measures the impact of different cyber security software on the PC. In this case, to be as close as possible to a common user case, a low-end PC running Windows 10 with an i3 processor, 4GB of RAM and a solid-state hard drive was used.

The results, with Panda Free Antivirus in the lead, are as good as they are unsurprising. Because it is not the first time that our reliable free antivirus has proven to be the best performer.

These good results make us proud and encourage us to continue researching and developing our technology to bring you the latest in the world of online security. We are also happy to be helping to end the stigma that antivirus software slows down computers. As Panda Free has once again proven, performance and security are perfectly compatible. Even better: you can have both for free.

What AV-Comparatives’ Performance Tests measure

• File copying

Files are copied from one physical hard drive to another. Anti-virus software checks these files, but also uses the fingerprint to ignore files that have been scanned before.

• Archiving and unarchiving

This is of particular interest to those who work with the PC, as the archiving of work files is often slowed down when an antivirus scans their contents.

• Application installation

The programs that take part in this test are commonly used, and the time it takes to install them is measured.

• Application start-up

This test mainly involves common applications that users work with on their PCs. New Office documents (Word, Excel, PowerPoint) as well as PDFs in Adobe Acrobat Reade are opened and created. Reopening of these documents is also considered in this test, as users generally perform these operations repeatedly.

• File downloads

Common downloaded files hosted on an Internet server.

• Browsing websites

This test measures the time it takes to open, fully load and view top websites using the Google Chrome browser.

• PC Mark

Lastly, PC Mark, a benchmark that measures overall PC performance, is opened.

At Panda Security, we appreciate the trust our customers place in us every day. We continue our efforts to develop the best technology to protect your security with the best cybersecurity solution on the market.

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Panda Dome antivirus has proven to be the best in the Performance Test carried out by AV-Comparatives

Good news continues to come in for Panda Security and our customers. Our Panda Dome antivirus has once again proven to be the best in the Performance Test carried out by AV-Comparatives.

This test by the renowned Austrian laboratory evaluates the impact that the 17 major antivirus software programs have on system speed and performance. This is done by measuring the extent to which processes are slowed down on a PC while the security program is in action. The results have left no doubts about the advantage that Panda holds over its rivals:

At Panda Security we are proud that such recognition validates our efforts to continually improve and deliver the best products available on the market. “Our mission is to constantly improve our solutions to provide the highest level of security with an optimum experience,” explains Alberto Añón, Consumer Product Manager at Panda Security. “It is fantastic to be rated as the product that has least impact on system performance and it helps to bust the myth that antivirus solutions slow down computers. We encourage users to try our software on their devices and to see the performance for themselves,” adds Añón.

The actions that are evaluated in the test are:

File copying

Files are copied from one hard disk to another. The antivirus programs check these files, but also use the digital fingerprint to pass over those that have been previously scanned.

Archiving / unarchiving

This is particularly of interest for those who work on their computer, as the archiving of a file typically slows down when an antivirus scans its content.

Installing applications

This part of the test measures the installation time of common applications.

Launching applications

This test also looks at applications that most users have on their systems. It involves opening and creating new Office documents (Word, Excel, PowerPoint), as well as PDFs in Adobe Acrobat Reader. Subsequent openings of documents are examined, as normally this is a frequent operation for users.

Downloading files

Common files are downloaded from a web server on the Internet.

Browsing websites

Here times are measured for the opening, complete loading, and displaying of websites with Google Chrome.

PCMark

Finally, PCMark, a computer benchmark tool, is used to measure the global performance of the system.

The AV-Comparatives Performance Test is therefore a genuinely useful test that verifies the outstanding performance of our software on the computers of typical users.

At Panda, we are proud to see our work validated in this way and we undertake to continue in this way, striving to improve and keep offering the best and most effective cybersecurity solution on the market.

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On the Internet, malware is as dangerous as lies. We often talk about viruses and cyber attacks, but the overly aggressive and deceptive tactics of software monetisers are often more direct risks to users.

This is the philosophy of AppEsteem, the organisation that scans software applications aiming to clean up the net. Their filtering not only removes programs that put viruses on your computer, but also eliminates those that they consider to be deceptors. In other words, liars. From this filtering comes their lists of potentially unwanted applications (PUA) and unwanted software (UwS).

This is where Panda Security comes in. In our quest to protect Internet users and to promote the development of a safe network, we help in this search and removal of deceptive apps. And we are not bad at it: according to the results of the latest AppEsteem test, Panda Dome achieves a conclusive 100% risk blocking rate.
“No peace for the wicked”. Panda Dome, 2021

Panda Dome is thus confirmed as a benchmark Deceptor Fighter according to AppEsteem. We are delighted to share this achievement, which we add to our 100% detection rate in AV-Comparatives tests, confirming our perseverance at the forefront of cybersecurity.

• Panda Security does it again: 100% detection in AV-C’s Real-World Test

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AV- Comparatives, the independent research institute for IT security, has been guaranteeing the execution of individual and comparative tests for years, which ensure the quality of all internationally relevant IT security products. Obtaining some of its official seals and certifications, such as those obtained by Panda Security, is a guarantee of being a cyber security solution that meets current market demands.

Now the independent laboratory AV-Comparatives has published the results of the Real-World Protection Test -a test that examines the best cyber security solutions for individuals– carried out between July and October. In this exercise they examine the security suites of the 17 most renowned brands on the market.

The Real-World Prection Test, as its name indicates, tries to be as close as possible to a real scenario. To do this, their test-cases are malicious URLs such as those that any user can find. In addition, AV-Comparatives puts the focus on the entire security suite instead of its individual features separately. It does so because it is the most realistic way to see the product’s performance, since all the components of the suite can protect the computer.

As usual in the Austrian AV lab tests, Panda Security has achieved outstanding results, blocking 100% of threats.

Panda Security is already a regular standout in the AV-Comparatives tests, which have earned it numerous acknowledgements from the Austrian intependent organisation. After this last exam, Panda once again brings back home a new medal, and stands out among its competitors with the Advanced seal in Real-World Protection.

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Panda Free Antivirus detects 100% of threats in the latest AV-Comparatives test. Our cyber security solution once again achieved the highest level of protection in the Austrian independent laboratory’s performance test.

The Real-World Protection Test simulates a real scenario that would affect the average user. For this purpose, AV-Comparatives uses a test set of 380 live cases that come from malicious addresses consisting of hidden (drive-by) downloads and URLs that lead directly to malware. Panda Free Antivirus proves once again that it is perfectly adapted to the ever-changing environment of threats on the internet and offers excellent defence against the main attack vectors used by malware in real life.

This is not the first time that Panda Security has obtained excellent scores in this type of test. Endpoint Protection Plus stood out in the Business Security Test, achieving 99.9% detection and blocking of threats with 0 false positives. In addition, the free antivirus we develop has been awarded the Advanced+ seal since 2018 in recognition of its high performance.

With its results in the July-August test, Panda Free Antivirus once again demonstrates that it stays strong against the rapidly changing challenges of cyber security.  The independent AV-Antivirus organisation continues to endorse our commitment to offer you the most sophisticated protection free of charge.

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AV- TEST, the independent IT security research institute, has been testing international IT security products for many years. Its rigorous individual and comparative tests serve to ensure the quality of tested security products. Obtaining its official seals of approval and certifications, such as those earned by Panda Security, is a guarantee that the cyber-security solution is able to meet the current demands of the security market.

Now, the AV-Comparatives independent laboratory has released the results of a test carried out between March and July this year of 19 market-leading products for businesses with Windows desktops and servers. The security experts at AV- Comparatives put the products to the test against a battery of 1,192 recent malware samples and real-world threats.

The Business Security Test report contains the results of the Real-World Protection Test, the Performance Test, and the Business Malware Protection Test for corporate solutions, in which Panda Security once again scored top results, blocking 99.9 per cent of threats and no false positives with the solution Endpoint Protection Plus on Aether. 

Download here the Report

Malware Protection Test

The malware protection test evaluates the ability of a program to protect a system against malicious files before, during, or after their execution. As such, it measures effective protection against real threats, in this case, threats targeted at corporate environments. The aim in such a test is to obtain the best possible results without returning false positives. Panda Endpoint Protection Plus blocked 99.9 percent of the test samples, with zero false alarms, a result which set Panda among the top slots in the table.

Real-World Protection Test

The following results are based on a series of tests consisting of 767 cases (such as malicious URLs), tested between early March 2020 and the end of June 2020. Thanks to the innovative technologies that have adapted to the evolution of malware over recent years, Panda Security delivers a highly effective response to threats such as ransomware and is a key ally in preventing, protecting against, and responding to today’s attacks.

Verdict

“Panda Endpoint Protection Plus on Aether is a very strong product. It is powerful enough for larger organizations, but simple enough for smaller businesses too. It is very easy to set up, as it requires no on-site server. We were particularly impressed with the clean and obvious design of the user interface, and the speed at which it could be mastered”.

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Panda Security regularly participates in tests to evaluate the protection levels and performance of our security solutions. The latest test in which we have participated is AV-Comparatives’ Business Security Test for August to November. The independent laboratory has discovered that Panda Security’s solution has achieved maximum levels of protection.

Between August and November, Av-Comparatives carried out an analysis of 17 leading brand’s security solutions for Windows workstations and servers. The experts at AV-Comparatives tested different vendors against real-world threats.

Real-World Protection Test

To measure how effective protections are against real threats, AV-Comparatives launched 844 real cases (such as malicious URLs). Panda Endpoint Protection Plus detected and blocked 100% of the samples it was subjected to, earning its place at the top of the table.

Malware Protection Test

The Malware Protection Test evaluates a security program’s capacity to protect a system against infection from malicious files before, during or after their execution. 1,278 recent malware samples were used for this test.

In the test, Panda managed to block 99.9% of threats, and didn’t return a single false positive.

Performance

AV-Comparatives also carried out tests to check the impact of security products of the performance of the computers they are installed on. To test this, AV-Comparatives performs several actions on the computer with the solution installed, including copying a file, installing/uninstalling an application and downloading a file.

In this test, Panda was the vendor with the third best performance.

Review

In its review of Panda Endpoint Protection Plus on Aether, AV-Comparatives writes that “Panda Endpoint Protection Plus on Aether is a very strong product.

It is powerful enough for larger organisations, but simple enough for smaller businesses too. It is very easy to set up, as it requires no on-site server.  We were particularly impressed with the clean and obvious design of the user interface, and the speed at which it could be mastered. “

You can read the full review and all the results here:

https://www.av-comparatives.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/avc_biz_2019_12_en.pdf

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Panda Security has achieved the award Advanced+ in the performance test in which 18 security suites were tested by AV-Comparatives, gaining a score of 97.7.

Thus, in this test of the impact of security suites on a PC’s performance, carried out by the independent laboratory AV-Comparatives, the solution Panda Security Free Antivirus 18.6, obtains the highest award possible. The results of this test attest Panda Security’s commitment to offering private users the highest level of protection with the lowest consumption of resources.

For this test, carried out in October, several tasks were carried out, such as copying files, installing and uninstalling applications, launching applications, and downloading files , in order to check the time needed for each when the cybersecurity solution was running.

Descárgate el Whitepaper

Not just performance: 100% protection too

At the same time, AV-Comparatives carried out their well-known Real World Protection Test, where Panda Security also achieved the maximum score, being able to detect and block 100% of threats.

The threat landscape changes constantly. This means that the environment that protects against these threats also needs to evolve in order to face up to them.

In this sense, in order to adapt as much as possible to a real-life scenario, AV-Comparatives used a test set of 192 real cases from malicious URLs. These cases consist of real exploits that perform drive-by downloads and URLs pointing directly to malware. These are exactly the same infection vectors that are presented to users in real situations. The best method for testing different cybersecurity solutions: trying them out against real threats.

Descárgate el Whitepaper

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