What we do know:
Panda is a highly respected member of the PC security community
They've spent almost three years and a lot of money developing this software
What we don't know:
If it works
Well, having spread comments all over the web about there being no such thing as a "set-and-forget" security solution I now see that Panda have released one! So, I though I'd better try it out.
This is truly a minimalist's dream!
Installation was simple and straightforward. Configuration choices thereafter are zero unless you want to opt out of the automatic management feature or have a proxy. It isn't advisable to disable the auto management because this will also prevent information being transmitted and added to the "Collective Intelligence" network. No doubt Panda sift other information from your PC in the process but if the system works then I don't mind them having it.
One interesting feature on the GUI is the separation of any malware found into 9 groups. One of these is tracking cookies so a simple effectiveness test would be to scan with a-squared, clear out what you have, do a Panda scan after a few days then repeat with a-squared to see if there's any difference.
It does need an internet connection to be fully effective although a caching system provides a slightly lower protection level otherwise. For the majority of users this is never going to be an issue.
On this machine there was no noticeable impact on system performance of any kind. Scan time was 14 minutes and average memory use is running at just under 18MB.
My firewall informs me that Panda initiates several connections at seemingly random intervals but only one or maybe two are ever established at any one time.
Oh, and if you're really bursting to push a button, there is an events report feature.
Time as always will prove or not the effectiveness of Panda's new venture but if it works this could send the signature scanners as we know them to dinosaur land.