Panda Cloud Antivirus

Today we are releasing a new version of Panda Cloud Antivirus, version 1.0.1. This version is basically a cumulative-fix release which incorporates Hotfix-1, Hotfix-2 and some small additional improvements.

The most notable improvement is that we have gotten rid of the initial account registration which used to be mandatory for first-time installs. Panda Cloud Antivirus will not ask for account during install anymore. Only if you want to participate in the Cloud Antivirus Support Forums will you need to create an account.

I have Cloud Antivirus 1.0 already installed. Do I need to download & install this version?
Not really. This new version incorporates hotfixes which you probably already have installed anyway. To check if you have them installed, simply browse to “C:\Documents and Settings\All Users” (XP) and you should see a subdirectory called “HF_PCA_somenumber”.

I have the hotfixes installed but I still have some problems with Panda Cloud Antivirus. Should I install this version?
Yes you might want to give it a try. Below you can find some more detail of what this version fixes which is not included in the existing hotfixes. In order to install this version on top of the one you already have, first uninstall your current version, then reboot and finally download & install the new version from http://acs.pandasoftware.com/cloud/CloudAntivirus.exe.

What’s the changelog of this version 1.0.1?

1. Preactivated version does not require account creation during install
2. Fix for certain conditions of stuck quick & full scan
3. Improved cloud-heuristic detection for unknown malware – From HF_2
4. Improved prevalence algorithms for priorization of new malware – From HF_2
5. Fix of problems scanning certain files in system directories – From HF_1
6. Fix for loss of connectivity after malware disinfection involving LSP – From HF_1
7. Improved cloud-heuristic detection – From HF_1

    
We have been getting some reports from users that after running a manual on-demand scan it seems to be stuck or stopped at x%. The error code that is returned is different than “1″.

In order to help us troubleshoot this problem please follow these steps:

1.- Download and extract the Scan-Dump.zip file into a new folder, for example C:Test.
2.- Browse to the C:Test directory and execute the file called “Start.bat“.
3.- Run a manual on-demand scan from Panda Cloud Antivirus to try to reproduce the problem.
4.- If the problem is successfully reproduced, execute the file “Stop.bat“.
5.- There will be a file called “Session01.etl” in the C:Test directory.

If you can reproduce this problem please post the Session01.etl file to http://www.cloudantivirus.com/forum.

Many thanks for all your help & support !!
   

We have received some comments and reports from Beta2 users of version 0.08.82 of slowness of their PCs and lots of hard drive I/O activity from PSANHost.exe.

We are tracing this problem back to an interaction of the new synchronous OnAccess cloud-scan with the BackgroundScan. This interaction seems as it could be the source of the slowness of the system even though we continue investigating it. Basically this occurs under certain circumstances when both scans are consuming the same resource. We’re in the process of redesigning these two scan tasks so they are optimized in the use of critical system resources to avoid simultaneous accesses to common resources.

As a workaround you can disable the BackgroundScan altogether. Disabling this task does not compromise the security level of the PC as the OnAccess scan guarantess the protection of the machine. If you apply this workaround simply make sure to run an OnDemand scan periodically to ensure there are no inactive & latent malicious files in the drive.

To disable the BackgroundScan simply create the following registry entry and reboot the PC:

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESOFTWAREPanda SecurityPanda Service Host]
"BackgroundDisabled"="-"

If you are not used to playing around with the registry, simply download and execute the .REG file in the following file:
http://blog.cloudantivirus.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/07/background_disabled.zip

As we continue investigating this problem, if you are affected by this problem and are able to send us debug information please get in touch with us. Thanks again to everybody for your help

We’ve received quite a lot of reports lately from people who have managed to install Panda Cloud Antivirus Beta2 under Windows 7 based on a post from the DownloadSquad.

Basically the method used to install Cloud Antivirus Beta2 under Windows 7 consists of uncompressing the CloudAntivirus.exe installer file using WinRAR, 7-zip or any other capable un-compressor and setting the compatibility mode of the SETUP.EXE to Vista.

You may then run the installer by double-clicking on SETUP.EXE and this will install Cloud Antivirus Beta2 happily on a Windows 7 system.

During some quick testing both the on-access and the on-demand scanner seem to work normally.

However please be advised that Cloud Antivirus Beta2 has not yet been certified by our QA team and therefore is not fully Windows 7 compatible. We’re still working on Beta3 which will be fully compatible on both 32 and 64 bits Windows 7.

 

The following issues have been detected by our beta testers which should be taken into consideration.

Installation / Uninstallation Issues

• During an incomplete uninstall, after reboot, the uninstall process cannot be finished. SOLUTION: We’re creating an uninstaller, but in the meantime please send us the log that is shown in the warning message.
• Cannot install after an incomplete install. SOLUTION: We’re creating an uninstaller, but in the meantime please send us the log that is shown in the warning message.
• Error while re-installing as a file cache is in use. SOLUTION: click “Retry” and allow the installation process to finish. It will complete successfully in spite of the warning message.

 

Application Issues

• Report takes a long time to show over 10.000 detections. WORKAROUND: as the Panda Cloud Antivirus Log is saved in the Windows Event Viewer, delete the corresponding Event Viewer Log before launching an on-demand scan over many files to help improve the responsiveness of the report viewer.
• The Recycle Bin (quarantine) takes a long time to show when there are many items in it.
• In the Event Report the name of the detected malware is shown as “Not available”. This means that either Internet connectivity was lost during the synchronization with Collective Intelligence or the malware naming webservice is not responding correctly.

 

Detection & Disinfection Issues

• Boot scan not performing correctly.
• Infected PE files which are not file-infectors and which are downloaded via HTTP, the product prompts for reboot disinfection even though it’s not really necessary.
• In infected compressed or packed containers which hold multiple elements, where at least one is infected, the product prompts for reboot disinfection even though it’s not really necessary.
• In some cases after disinfecting a file-infector virus the product notifies as “not neutralized” even though it was disinfected correctly and vice versa (in the case where the virus is in memory or the user does not have write-access to the directory respectively).
• Does not intercept nested Office file formats.
• When launching and on-demand scan over a very large number of malware samples the scan may be stuck at 99% of completion. SOLUTION: Disable BackgroundScan (will post details soon on how to do this).

 

As always we appreciate and welcome testing feedback so please keep them coming at beta@pandasecurity.com or in the form of comments on this blog.