Panda Security, a provider of IT security solutions, announced Tuesday the launch of a beta version of Panda Internet Security 2009. This solution utilizes Panda Security’s Collective Intelligence technology to offer consumers maximum protection against malware and identity theft, with minimal impact on PC performance compared to traditional anti-virus products.

Beta users who test the solution and send incidents to Panda Security will get a 50 percent discount when buying the final version of the product, available later this summer, according to the company.

Panda Security is an IT security provider, with clients around the globe and products available in over twenty languages. Its aim is to keep customers' information and IT assets safe from security threats, giving them effective protection with the minimum resource consumption. Based in Madrid with U.S. headquarters in Glendale, California, Panda Security has more than 1,000 employees and offices in 50 countries around the world.

Every day, thousands of new malicious codes are created. To combat this threat, Panda Security has developed a security model which can automatically analyze and classify thousands of new malware samples. This model is collective intelligence and ensures that Panda Security solutions can protect against more threats. The detection capacity of collective intelligence can be put to the test at the Infected or Not website.

Panda Internet Security 2009 leverages Collective Intelligence, a security model that collects malware information from the Internet community at large and automates processing of these detections in new data centers. Panda's new consumer security software also includes a version of the "Identity Protect" technology, which uses heuristic analysis to proactively detect any attempt to steal confidential information.

Another new key feature is the increased detection of malware with TruPrevent 2.0, designed to protect against unknown malware and attacks exploiting vulnerabilities on a consumer's PC.

"Traditional security solutions are no longer enough to protect users' computers from the increasing number of malware samples that are created every day," said Pedro Bustamante, Product Marketing Director for Panda Security. "The reality is that many users could be infected without even knowing. In response to this new situation, our 2009 retail solutions utilize collective intelligence, allowing us to protect users against malware and identity theft in the most efficient and straightforward way possible."

Panda Internet Security 2009 is oriented towards more experienced Internet users and includes a new anti-spam engine and parental control module. It also allows users to make backup copies of important files and information.