Canon Puts Efficiency On Press
Entered CNET Catalog: 10/31/2006
SKU: CNETSPYSWEEPER5.2/ANTIVIRUS
Manufacturer: Webroot Software
Manufacturer description
Get complete protection from the two most dangerous threats on the Internet - spyware and viruses - in a single, easy-to-use solution. Spy Sweeper with AntiVirus incorporates virus protection by Sophos to offer the most advanced detection, blocking and removal available to beat all types of dangerous viruses, spyware, worms and Trojans. When you install Spy Sweeper with AntiVirus software on your PC, you can go anywhere on the Internet without fear of infection. Spy Sweeper with AntiVirus gives you 360 degrees of protection. Powerful Smart Shields block threats as you browse - before they ever reach your computer. If your PC is already infected, your Spy Sweeper with AntiVirus software uses advanced discovery methods to find and completely destroy malicious programs hiding within your PC. Virus and spyware attacks can wreck your computer - making it impossible to use. Spy Sweeper with AntiVirus program quickly and effectively provides maximum protection with minimal interaction. The software is easy for users of all abilities to stay protected. With an easy-to-use console and customizable options, Spy Sweeper with AntiVirus makes maximum protection a snap.Product summary
The good: Spy Sweeper 5.2 now includes some (but not all) aspects of the Sophos antivirus engine.
The bad: Spy Sweeper 5.2 provides only on-demand antivirus protection, doesn't guard against active e-mail and IM viruses and worms until your system is infected, and makes rootkit detection an optional scan.
The bottom line: Webroot Spy Sweeper 5.2 is the first antispyware application to add antivirus protection, but that protection isn't complete. Upgrade to or buy the antispyware-only edition, not the antivirus edition.
Editors' review
- Editors' Choice: No
- Reviewed on: 11/01/2006
Setup
Spy Sweeper 5.2 is available for retail purchase or download with or without antivirus enabled. Current Spy Sweeper customers' apps will be automatically upgraded to version 5.2 (with an option to enable antivirus for $10 more). We recommend that current users upgrade to 5.2 but wait to buy into the additional antivirus protection in a later version. At $39, the combined Spy Sweeper 5.2 with Antivirus package runs roughly the same price as most other antivirus applications on the market today; however, Webroot's current integration leaves out some protection found in traditional antivirus applications. We experienced no difficulties installing Spy Sweeper 5.2 with Antivirus.
Should you decide to uninstall Spy Sweeper, Webroot includes an uninstall icon on the All Programs list. After rebooting, we found no trace of Spy Sweeper in the Program Files directory or the system registry.
Interface
The Spy Sweeper 5.2 with Antivirus interface remains unchanged from that of Spy Sweeper 5, with the exception of a tiny upper-right corner panel informing you whether antivirus protection has been enabled. Webroot's integration of Sophos is invisible; there's no separate configuration page for antivirus scans, which got us wondering how much antivirus protection exists within Spy Sweeper. To tweak scans for individual files or folders, simply use the Spy Sweeper configuration screen.
Spy Sweeper's redesigned interface is crisp and intuitive, the result of many hours of user-interface testing. For example, we like that during a scan, the color-coded tabs on the scan page mark your progress: Sweeping, Quarantine, and Summary. Behind the scenes, Webroot triages all identified malware, sending the viral components to the Sophos engine and handling the other spyware components within the Spy Sweeper engine. However, upon closer inspection it is clear there are no protective settings to block incoming viruses from e-mail or IM.
Features
Aside from antivirus protection, Spy Sweeper continues to provide first-class antispyware protection. Webroot uses protective shields to protect your hard drive, blocking spyware and adware as it attempts to download. Within the Spy Sweeper Sweep section there are three options. Full Sweep scans all the files on your computer's attached drives. Quick Sweep offers a fast and light pass of your main drive system. Custom Sweep allows you to select individual drives or folders or exclude extensions.
But we found that deep scans for rootkits, pernicious little malware packages that hide deep within the system kernel, are now optional. Webroot says that its advanced heuristic rootkit protection can be time (and possibly resource) intensive, so Spy Sweeper 5.2 makes it an optional feature. With traditional antivirus packages, full rootkit protection, when offered, is enabled by default.
As previously mentioned, we also found aspects of traditional antivirus technology missing. Presently, Webroot includes only the On Demand Sophos virus inspection engine to check for and remove file infections. Missing is the Realtime Sophos virus engine that looks for active infections from e-mail, IM, and other vectors. Webroot says that functionality will come later, but it's a tad misleading to suggest that Spy Sweeper 5.2 with Antivirus is a complete antivirus solution.
Performance
In addition to adding the antivirus engine, it appears Webroot has made significant code tweaks under the hood to improve overall performance. In some cases they elected to make some scans optional. Thus, we found that Spy Sweeper 5.2 used fewer system resources while scanning than Spy Sweeper 5.
Check back in December to see how Spy Sweeper ranks among other antispyware apps at removing active spyware threats.
As for Spy Sweeper's reputation for software conflicts, that's improved as well. We installed Spy Sweeper 5.2 with ZoneAlarm Security Suite 6.7.5 on the same test machine and experienced no difficulties or conflicts, even with two antivirus engines present. That's because the antivirus engine in Spy Sweeper is passive, invoked only when actively scanning your PC. In general, you should never have two antivirus applications running on the same PC.
Support
Webroot supports Spy Sweeper by providing online FAQs, a 24/7 e-mail trouble ticket, and toll-free live telephone support located within the country of the caller (Webroot is particularly proud of this fact).
Conclusion
While we applaud Webroot's decision to partner with a premier antivirus vendor, we question the decision to rush the incomplete Spy Sweeper 5.2 product to market. Missing is proactive protection from virus infections from e-mail or IM.
User opinions
Select a User Opinion to view: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11out of 11 user reviews
Don't waste your money
Pros: None. Buy something else.
Cons: Once you buy the product they try to sell you an upgrade to get total protection. They keep warning you that you are not totally protected. It seems like a scam. Thanks for kinda protecting me Webroot.
out of 11 user reviews
Well, to say not a good product is an under statement.
Pros: None that I can speak of.
Cons: I just found 2 and belive that they are part of the program it self!
I then uninstalled webroot and installed NOD32 and it picked up another virus.
Really very bad for a product you need to pay for.
A shocked level 3 IT technician
out of 11 user reviews
Performance Hit & updates contain bugs
Pros: Very good scanning and detection
Cons: Applying updates are risky & performance slows
out of 11 user reviews
Ver 5.5 Works pretty good
Pros: Intuitive, fairly fast
Cons: Missed some malware
I have read this is a resource hog. It seemed to use a reasonable amount of resources to me. I am running with 1.5 Gig of ram, and perhaps those with less ram see more of a drain.
Other than having to read up on, and figure out all the shields, I thought the interface was well laid out once understood. I went to the web site to update the product I had bought, and it instantly recognised my serial number and new purchase lisence and upgraded me to the new 5.5 version.
I think Windows should include a high end sweeper with windows, as it sucks to have to buy one.
out of 11 user reviews
Excellent Results ,have been running it for 12 months,tried and paid for others!!
Pros: Found more spyware than any other software that I;ve tried
Cons: Slightly heavy on CPU,can be altered with settings,tricky email settings
out of 11 user reviews
I've used it for years, seems to work fine
Pros: Nice UI, easy to work with, seems effective
Cons: Maybe a little slow to load when you logon
out of 11 user reviews
Overall Great but....
Pros: Very good at latest and greatest spyware bugs
Cons: Very MEMORY intenstive which is why we have to change.
out of 11 user reviews
I use my PC to earn a living. Keeping it virus-free and spyware-free is imperative.
Pros: If you believe that Norton or McAfee must be the best simply because many computers have these programs pre-installed, you are probably in for an expensive awakening.
Cons: A Full Sweep with Webroot's Spy Sweeper with Anti-Virus can take a couple hours, and should be scheduled while you're sleeping.
out of 11 user reviews
terrible product, do not buy!
Pros: fast scan speed, nice interface, easy to use
Cons: slows computer, crashes frequently, causes drive conflicts, slows internet to slower than dial up
out of 11 user reviews
so so product
Pros: proactive shield
Cons: consuming too much cpu & too many bug
out of 11 user reviews
Ver 5.2 ABSOLUTELY POSITIVELY NOT READY FOR PRIME TIME !
Pros: Prevents malware.
Cons: Confiscates all available RAM and prevents efficient web browsing.
Earlier versions seemed slow especially when opening and closing CNET web pages but V5.2 slowed things down even further. Adding to that it also sucked up all RAM resources leaving me routinely between 1-10% physical RAM. After uninstalling SpySweeper 5.2 and installing SpyBot S&D, it shows 40-60% available RAM and pages load much much faster.
How such a product gets top ratings is a total mystery ..perhaps defective or insufficient testing.
VAPCMD
Ultimately I uninstalled the Webroots althogether and will wait to hear from theirn tech support before reinstalling or filing for a refund.
