Panda Security
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Panda Security SA | |
|---|---|
 |
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| Type | Public company |
| Founded | Durango, Spain (1990) |
| Headquarters | Bilbao, Spain |
| Key people | Juan Santana (CEO) |
| Industry | Computer software |
| Products | Antivirus, firewall Spam and spyware detection Security and management tools |
| Website | PandaSecurity.com |
Panda Security SA, formerly Panda Software, is a computer security company founded in 1990 by Panda's former CEO, Mikel Urizarbarrena, in the city of Bilbao, Spain. Initially centered on the production of antivirus software, the company has expanded its line of applications to include firewall application, spam and spyware detection applications, cybercrime prevention technology, and other system management and security tools for businesses and home users.
Panda's products include security tools for home users and enterprises, including protection against cybercrime and kinds of malware that can damage IT systems, such as spam, hackers, spyware, dialers and undesirable web content, as well as detection of WiFi intrusions. Its trademark technology, branded TruPrevent, is a set of proactive capabilities aimed at blocking unknown viruses and intruders. Panda has also created a new security model called Mega Detection that they claim offers a higher level of protection than traditional antivirus applications.
Contents |
[edit] About the company
[edit] Overview
Panda Security is the 4th largest antivirus vendor worldwide.[1] The company, whose shares were previously 100% held by Urizarbarrena, announced on 24 April 2007 the sale of 75% of its shares to Southern European investment group Investindustrial and private equity firm Gala Capital.[2] On 30 July 2007 the company changed its name from Panda Software to Panda Security and Urizarbarrena was replaced by Jorge Dinares. Almost one year later, on 3 June 2008, amidst flagging sales, The board of directors voted to remove Dinares and replace him with Juan Santana, the CFO.[3][4]
The company has been ranked among the 500 fastest growing European companies since 1997. Panda Software is a market leader in Spain and in 1998, the company became Europe's leading antivirus software developer. In 2003, Panda Software has experienced 1,000% growth in revenues worldwide.
Panda Software has clients across 230 countries and offices in 50, including the USA, Canada, Germany, China, the United Kingdom, France, Thailand, Greece, Finland, Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Peru, Bulgaria, Pakistan, Poland, Turkey, Slovakia, Slovenia and Switzerland. In 2003, Panda Software reached Japan, Argentina, Korea and Australia.
Panda Software competes in the antivirus industry against Symantec Corp., Kaspersky, McAfee Inc. and Trend Micro Inc., among others.
[edit] Church of Scientology & Panda Software
As Panda Software was founded by a scientologist, The Ministry of Education has advised schools in France not to contract with Panda and to stop using its software. On May 3rd, 2001, an official of the Rectorat of Montpellier, a Ministry of National Education entity for the city of Montpellier, sent a letter to Colleges under the Rectorat’s jurisdiction in France. It instructs colleges to cease using it.
In the United States, Panda’s Chief Financial Officer testified on July 11, 2001, before the International Operations and Human Rights Subcommittee of the U.S. House of Representatives that since Panda became the target of religious and economic discrimination in France, the company’s third largest market after the United States and Great Britain, his French subsidiary operation suffered a devastating drop in revenue. This financial contraction has continued since, with the French company losing hundreds of thousands of dollars in the government sector alone in non-renewals of contracts and loss of deals.[5]
[edit] Criticism
Some users have complained of regularly receiving unsolicited e-mail from Panda,[6][7] and have said that efforts to unsubscribe from the mailings or contact the company have been unsuccessful.[8][9] Panda Antivirus 2008 on April 7 detected the wininet.dll of Windows Vista, causing that many users remained without Internet. on the following day it was solved.
[edit] Products
[edit] Retail products
- Panda Antivirus 2008 (includes:antivirus,antispyware,antiphishing, antirootkit)
- Panda Titanium/Panda Antivirus + Firewall 2008 (includes:antivirus,antispyware,antiphishing, antirootkit,firewall)
- Panda Platinum/Panda Internet Security 2008 (includes:antivirus,antispyware,antiphishing, antirootkit,firewall,parental control, backup)
- Panda ActiveScan Pro
- Panda TotalScan Pro
- Panda DesktopSecure for Linux
[edit] Corporate products
- Panda EnterpriSecure
- Panda BusinesSecure
- Panda ClientShield
- Panda FileSecure
- Panda AdminSecure
- Panda SambaSecure Antivirus
- Panda ExchangeSecure Antivirus
- Panda DominoSecure Antivirus
- Panda CVPSecure Antivirus
- Panda ISASecure Antivirus
- Panda SendmailSecure Antivirus
- Panda QmailSecure Antivirus
- Panda PostfixSecure Antivirus
- Panda CommandlineSecure Antivirus
- Panda WebAdmin Antivirus
- Panda TruPrevent Corporate
- Panda DesktopSecure for Linux
- Panda Malware Radar
[edit] Hardware combined with software
- Gatedefender Performa
- Gatedefender Integra
[edit] TruPrevent Technologies
TruPrevent, which was introduced in 2003, is a set of technologies developed by Panda Security for proactive protection in home and corporate computers, as opposed to traditional antivirus products, which provide reactive protection.
Truprevent Technologies offers generic protection against many of the techniques most commonly used by new malware, and policies and rules are developed based on the new vulnerabilities that appear every day.
[edit] References
- ^ Gartner Says Worldwide Antivirus Software Market Increased 13.6 Percent in 2005
- ^ Investindustrial and Gala Capital invest in Panda Software to undertake an important expansion plan and launch new IT security solutions globally
- ^ Panda Security
- ^ Jorge Dinares: new CEO of the Panda Software Group
- ^ Church of Scientology official statement on Panda Software
- ^ SPAM Email From Panda Software?
- ^ Panda Spam Warning
- ^ SPAM from Panda Soft
- ^ AntiSpam Software Maker the Worst Spammer
