Panda Security for Business 4.05 is software-based and offers endpoint security protection for desktops and servers. It is packaged as a centralised console that manages configuration and deployment of client agents. This can be installed on virtually any Windows-based host, while the client agents can be deployed to protect a wide range of host operating systems including Linux, Mac, Windows and mobile devices.
Installation of the administrative console was straightforward. The interface is fairly easy to navigate and all of the agents are managed using policy inheritance via nested folders. This is a simple way to visualise the different groups and policy requirements within an organisation.
Deployment of the agent was also easy, although it requires two steps: a communications agent and then the actual client agent itself. Both of these appear as separate system tray icons on the client machine.
There are lots of administrative features, such as reporting and notifications. We would have preferred it if the administrative console was web-based instead of a locally installed management application, but that might not be much of a hassle for some organisations.
The endpoint protection features are abundant and include malware protection, a client firewall, application control, host-based IPS, removable media protection and integration with Cisco NAC.
Panda Security helps protect its customers with an additional protection mechanism called Malware Radar. It is an on-demand auditing service for an added layer of proactive protection and is included with the product, but is a separate agent to install. Although the added protection would be a benefit, it may not be worth having to manage two separate agents in most environments.
During our testing we encountered an intrusion detection alert that turned out to be a false positive. The prompt was not very informative, so it took some time and effort to determine the cause and find what policy item we needed to deactivate.
Documentation is superb. The help files include examples of different subject areas and how you might use or manage the product.
Basic no-cost support on an 8/5 basis is included via phone and email. No additional support packages are offered. The website includes a support section, FAQs and a knowledgebase.