Webroot Spy Sweeper

Microsoft AntiSpyware said my machine was clean.

AdAware said my machine was clean.

Spybot said my machine was clean.

Spy Sweeper found 19 spyware items and 29 traces.

'nuff said. I'm sold.

This product has one of the most comprehensive spyware scanning systems of any other Spyware removal product. Norton and Mcaffee are of course beat hands down, since they are virus programs, that act more as firewalls and anti Virus programs than spyware removers. Even specialized programs like Spyware Doctor and Trend Micro cannot compete, as the definitions of this product include some of the most obscure malware. The reason behind the succes of this product, is it's ability to remove Root kits (files encoded to hide from windows). No other program on themarket can do this at this time.

That said, the removal power of this product comes at the cost of almost everything else. Interface is annoying clunky and slow. Browser guards, are comprehensive, but ONLY support inernet explorer. The realt time protection offered is decent, but is insatiably RAM hungry, and will slow down your computer so much that you're better off disabling them. Even if you decide to bite the bullet and have a slow PC, this program is incredibly unstable, often will not respond, and will from time to time prevent windows from shutting down. Even the scanning engine is terrible, even if it's deffinitions are comprehensive. It took my 3.4ghz with 512mb RAM 45min to do a spyware scan with Rootkit checking enabled. After findiding an Apropos media infection it took nearly 2hrs to remove it. At the end of the day, unless you have a terrible infection, you;'re better off with quicker more basic programs like Spyware Doctor, or Trend micro.

Pros
-Comprehensive deffinition file
-Rootkit detection
-And "end of the road" option for serrious infections

Cons
-Slow scaning speed
-Unstable
-Only supports Real Time protection for Internet Explorer
-Clunky interface
-Large File size

By far the greatest dangers lurking on the internet are not viruses but trojans, browser highjackers and cookies. While Norton is arguably the best anti-virus software and the best firewall it has flaws. Long before Norton will notice a problem, Spy Sweeper will bag it and tag it. Hackers have learned to hide viruses in cookies and trojans instead of sending them out on their own. With Spy Sweeper you have very good protection against trojans and cookies and excellent protection against highjackers; these are the nasty bugs that cause your browser to lock onto their web page.

Here's some comments on Spy Sweepers operational behavior. It is slow to start up so give it some time. The first thing it will do is load a fresh copy of instructions from their website every morning. This will delay browser operation but it's necessary to keep you out of trouble. I just grab a cup of coffee and let it finish, which takes about 2 minutes. Spy Sweep is a little intrusive when it knows there is a program update scheduled so my advice is go with the flow.

As I pointed out, Spy Sweeper provides only fair protection against trojans, cookies and adware. There is free software that will cover this vulnerability but like everything free there is a price: poor updating. When you buy software, or subscribe might be a better word, they guarantee that they will support you. I've tried four softwares to cover this vulnerability, i.e., software I've purchased or freeware, including ZonePro's product (a purchase), spykiller (a purchase) and spybot. I settled on Spyware Doctor and one made by Sun. Spyware Doctor does an excellent job, often catching bugs before Spy Sweeper. Between the two of them, I seldom fall back on Norton for protection. The only problem with Spy Sweeper,initially, is that it did not like other protection software and would frequently alarm during start-up. It's nothing serious, just close the window properly and all will be well. Apparently, Webroot became aware of this problem and Spy Doctor has run fine for several months without interference.

As pointed out, the trojans, adware and cookies are the worst danger to your system. If your browser is highjacked, you can sometimes reload it.

In all fairness to Spy Sweeper, there are just too many hackers out there. All it takes is one twist in their software and they have invented a new bug. It is best to have at least one other bug-killer running. I often let one run first, then the other and then I reverse it. Shut down after a bug hunt to clear the damage.

If you can afford only one other protection, besides an anti-virus program, then spend your money on Spy Sweeper.

I hope this review was helpful. If so, please add your vote. I write these reviews at a considerable expense of time and money as a public service. I believe that Amazon provides the best reviews and often serves as the best means of efficiently buying products.

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PS 1.
I find the value of software firewall, such as Norton and ZonePros, to be limited. The same can be said of hardware firewalls, though the later are more effective.

Hardware firewalls work on the principle of creating one or more false targets for the hacker's software to attack. Unfortunately, being hardwired, it is easier to develop a work-around with software than with hardware. This could change with a new generation of software on the horizon; if they ever get it off the drawing board.

By the way, I spent a lot of money and time figuring out what works and what does not. The hackers got my blood up one day when I was plugged into the company's high security system and somebody shutdown my computer in less than a minute from South America. I was looking for a novel scrubber design presented in a paper from a university. After that, I spent about a year, at night, testing software. Eventually, I settled on some proven principles. I have not lost a computer in several years.

PS 2.

BE CAREFUL WITH 64-BIT VISTA! MOST DRIVERS, INCLUDING SPYSWEEPER WILL LIST THAT THEY WORK WITH VISTA --- THAT'S VISTA 32 BIT, NOT 64!

I recently upgraded to 64-bit Vista because with the way things are going, and they always do, we (the computer owning public) will be dragged into a new world, claw marks in the concrete behind us. With 64-bit Vista you get a slightly faster response. I remember we saw this when we went from 16-bit to 32-bit in the 1990s. Then, a lot of software became obsolete. Some of it could be salvaged, some could not. If you ran 16-bit it slowed down your computer when you ran with the software.

Here's the bottom line. When you convert to 64-bit, you will need new printer drivers, new audio drivers, and you will need a 64-bit compatible version of Spy Sweeper regardless of whether it says Vista compatible on the box in the store. My advice is to buy it on-line from Webroot.

I still think Spy Sweeper is great protection. Others may find it clunky (It is) but it generally does the job better, and cheaper, than others out there. I hope they eventually upgrade their drivers to allow for faster capture of bugs.

Personally, I liked what Hauri antivirus came up with: a monitoring system that looks for bugs doing things in your computer they're not supposed to and killing them. That was a unique idea. Someone else even suggested creating a fake operating system in your system and testing new files to see what they do.

PS., July 25, 2010

I gave up on Webroot. I am now using Comodo, although it is a less than satisfactory firewall and antivirus program. The Win-7 browser firewall is a substantial improvement over the XP and Vista firewalls. I strongly recommend using an additional firewall with Advanced System Optimizer to fill in the gaps: defrag., cookie-elimination, etc.. I also gave up on Norton based on poor performance in these utility functions.

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