You may not spot them immediately but there are some interesting changes to Panda Internet Security 2008 from last year's model. This edition adds Wi-Fi security and provides backup and performance tuning, similarly to BitDefender Total Security 2008 and Norton 360.

A significant and not so obvious change is the on-demand scanner which now uses the same technology as Panda's Internet-based TotalScan, and is plainly great. Yet, there are some things not necessarily changed for the better.

With Panda Internet Security 2008 there are four panes in which the main screen displays program status: security protection, undesired content filters, optimization and backup, and updates and subscription. Each pane can be expanded as to see detailed status and changes can be made by clicking on a link.

Should anything go wrong, the pane pulls off a red tint and an "Attention" message. One option missing from Panda Internet Security 2008 is the Fix Now button (present in Norton Internet Security 2007 or BitDefender Total Security 2008) but the major problem is dealt with by product's regular self-diagnosis.

Viruses and Spyware in trouble !
TruPrevent technology which according to PCmagazine has proved itself reliable, has been a trademark of Panda’s security concept for some years now and is meant to protect against threats too new to be identified by signature.

You have to be careful, however, as having less than 500MB of memory available guarantees the installer will leave out TruPrevent without warning. Signature-based scanning represents the other half of Panda's enhanced protection concept which now uses the technology from Panda's TotalScan online scanner “baptized” as "megadetection".

Panda claims total confidence in its megadetection and indeed it does an excellent job at both removing malware and keeping a constantly clean system. The previous record of 9.8, scored by Spyware Doctor with AntiVirus 5.0 in the spyware blocking test was beaten by Panda with a successful 10.

 Still, there are some features less satisfactory: antispam failed to spot over half the unquestionable spam; in what concerns parental control, it is limited just as the new phishing protection is kind of redundant. The Panda Internet Security 2008 suite did great against hand-modified threats although missed one of them entirely and could not stop another from installing.