Webroot Spy Sweeper Review

There are a huge amount of phony "security" programs in our world today, it seems like you can't trust many people at all, that is why it is good to use a product made be a respectable company that has proved itself through experience and reputation. Webroot is one of the few companies that you can trust.

The installer for this program is the same old affair, simple just like most applications. It allows you to select between typical and custom setups, custom obviously allows you to choose certain options that most may not want. I chose the custom setup so that I could disable and re-enable services to give a good idea of the interaction of the services. This is a must with a security suite as some applications conflict with firewalls, virus scanners etc, disabling some services can avoid this.

If you have used avast! anti-virus before you will feel right at home with Spy Sweeper - it uses the same "shield" based protection method. The applications comes with many different modules or "shields" to protect RAM, system startup et cetera. This is a nice direction because it identifies the different actions of the program into different areas where you can customize them without affecting others.

This program's interface is impressive, very simple, no problems here at all. In fact, that is one of the best parts of the program - it takes no time at all to start a scan or change your settings.

As with all good anti-malware products it includes a resident scanner which protects your computer from incoming vulnerabilities, and an auto-update feature. It is advised to check for updates after installation, there is an option to do this.

I would recommend you quick sweep your PC every few days - you can use the inbuilt scheduler to do this, and a full, system wide scan every 2 weeks, this, if you are using Mozilla Firefox as your browser, can make you nearly invincible on the internet. Remember, Firefox is important if you care about your privacy and security.

If you do a little research, you will find that Spy Sweeper's detection rates are on top of the pack, very good indeed. Ewido anti-malware usually tops out even further but Spy Sweeper is very good in this regard. Also, this program does not disappoint in the removal of spyware and other nasties, it can remove almost all spyware without a hiccup. Scanning speed for me was OK - I've seen better but its not too bad, this is one of the areas in which development needs to be focused on. If you are after speed I would recommend Spybot Search & Destroy, it is both extremely effective, free and very very fast.

If you have already purchased this program and are wondering if you have made a good decision, you are in luck, this program is very well made and has quality support/documentation. However, I do not believe you should be charged for software to protect yourself, it is like paying the mafia for protection. that said, this program hits the right notes and can be a stellar performer, therefore I would make an exemption for Spy Sweeper.