Webroot Spy Sweeper - Windows

by Webroot Software Inc

Product Features

• Keep Your PC Safe from Spyware
• Browse Where You Want, When You Want - real-time protection by blocking known and emerging spyware threats as you browse - before they ever reach your computer and personal information
• If your PC is already infected, Webroot Spy Sweeper's advanced discovery methods locate and completely destroy malicious spyware that hides within your PC - even spyware that hides using rootkit technology
• Download Your Favorite Music, Pictures and Videos Without Spyware Intruders - identify slight changes in new spyware threats or variants to prevent spyware threats from ever installing on your PC
• Stay Ahead of New Spyware Threats with FREE Defense Updates - To ensure you have the most advanced spyware detection available, we constantly expand Webroot Spy Sweeper's definition database. As a Spy Sweeper subscriber, we pass this powerful spyware detection arsenal on to you through regular automatic updates.

Product Details

• Product Dimensions: 7.5 x 5.3 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.4 ounces
• Shipping: This item is also available for shipping to select countries outside the U.S.
• ASIN: B0016PV4NA
• Item model number: 43410
• Date first available at Amazon.com: March 29, 2008
• Average Customer Review: 2.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (20 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,075 in Software (See Top 100 in Software)
  • #1 in Software > Computer Security > Anti-Spyware
• Discontinued by manufacturer: Yes

Product Description

The #1 best-selling protection against spyware.Spyware is not just a threat to personal privacy it s also a leading cause of fraud and identity theft. Webroot® Spy Sweeper® gives you 360 degrees of protection. Powerful Smart Shields block known and emerging threats to ensure that your system and personal information remains safe as you browse the Internet. If your PC is already infected Webroot s advanced discovery methods will find and destroy malicious spyware hiding within your system including spyware that hides using advanced rootkit technology. With multiple awards and millions of users Webroot Spy Sweeper is the best-selling and most effective antispyware protection on the market. Award-winning technology trusted by over 7 million customers FREE U.S.-based phone support Smart Shields stop spyware before it attacks Automatic daily defense updates ensure safety from the latest threats Gamer Mode provides continuous protection without interrupting games and movies Compatible with Windows® XP and Vista® 64-bit SP1 operating systemsSystem Requirements:Windows 2000 Vista (32 bit versions of Home Basic Premium Business or Ultimate) or XP (32 bit versions of Professional Home Media Center or XP Tablet) 300 Mhz processor 100 MB hard drive space 256 MB RAM Internet Explorer 5.5 or higher or FireFox 2.0 or higher for connecting to the Webroot web site. Download Size: 12.4 MB Format: WIN XPVISTA Genre:UTILITIES Age:667208434107 UPC:667208434107 Manufacturer No:43410

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Potential diminished by cookie reporting deficiencies, installation of 3rd party toolbar w/o approval, ill-advised sales nags., December 1, 2008

By 

Reader - See all my reviews

This review is from: Webroot Spy Sweeper - Windows (CD-ROM)

This version of Spysweeper is somewhat improved over version 5.X. In particular, the availability of a "no extra charge" firewall, i.e., the Webroot Desktop Firewall, is a nice advance. It means that the chances of incompatibility between your anti-malware, anti-virus, and software firewall are now significantly reduced.

As noted in my earlier review of version 5.x, Spysweeper was one of the first quality anti-malware programs available. Although there are now a number of free products with similar or, arguably, enhanced capabilities. So an important question is how does this version stack up.

The software has not changed greatly. The interface is essentially identical. Full sweeps are still quite long, even on a quad core system with four gigabytes of RAM. Although one reviewer for an earlier version mentioned sweeps completed in 5-6 minutes, I've never had sweep times even approach those results for the earlier version or this later one. With this version my sweep times have been reduced below an hour, while they exceeded an hour with the earlier 5.X version. It's uncertain if inherent sweep speed has actually gone down or not, as my CPU, memory, and disk speeds are better than with the original system. Of course, it's also not clear if the relatively long sweep times are due to thoroughness or to inefficient algorithm designs. Faster sweeps can be achieved using the "quick sweep" option. However, if you're going to check you system for malware, it seems a "full sweep" is most appropriate.

Spysweeper continues to have implementation deficiencies. It still specifies the number of cookies it finds. However, unless it determines a cookie is a problem, e.g., a tracking cookie, it provides no further information. A clearly better approach would be for Spysweeper to list all cookies it finds with their location and allow users to decide which, if any, cookies to keep. However, Spysweeper has not advanced in this area from their previous versions.

Some of my disappointment with Spysweeper relates to the company's intrusive sales "nags" after purchase, while making it difficult to avoid or eliminate them. For example, when you select "Check for Updates" manually from the Spysweeper "Home" page, your browser is opened and you are taken to one of the company's web pages (nag screens) -- even if your product is up-to-date. There you'll find the option to add (buy) "Webroot Internet Security Essentials". This is an unnecessary, and time-wasting annoyance. Other competitor's products, some available for free, simply download program updates automatically if needed, without requiring your browser to be opened, and presenting you with nag ads each time you request a manual update. Spysweeper should certainly consider removing this "feature" in the near future.

During a Spysweeper installation, Spysweeper may not be the only software you will be installing. The default during the Spysweeper installation process is to also install the "Ask" search bar in your browser without requiring your specific approval. If you are not alert this will be done automatically. Clearly an "op-in" for a possibly undesired feature would be more appropriate than Webroot's "op-out" requirement. As the Ask toolbar is available for free download from Ask at anytime, the current default installation is not a service to Webroot customers. If you do not want the Ask toolbar added to your browser, carefully check your options as you install Spysweeper

Spysweeper is still a quite competent product, at least at the time of this review, although with some technical issues. However, in rating it I considered not only its technical features, but also how user-friendly I felt it was for a purchased product. In this comparison, Spysweeper's unnecessary sales pitch each time you manually check for an update, and its ill-advised tactic of opting you in for the installation of a browser toolbar without your explicit approval, were significant negatives. Hopefully, the decrease in user friendliness from early versions will not continue, but the future may prove otherwise. The value difference and user-friendliness between Spysweeper and free competitors appears to be diminishing.

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Avoid this product, decent customer service available only for a fee, June 25, 2009

By 

J. Olsen (Chicago, IL) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Webroot Spy Sweeper - Windows (CD-ROM)

I have been using Spy Sweeper for a number of years. I guess that it worked, because it said so. However, a few weeks ago I had a problem in that it wouldn't update. The first email response to my email request for a fix was in the form of a massive amount of FAQs.

Free telephone support is available, but apparently there are so many problems with Webroot's products, that their telephone support is overwhelmed. I have called countless times, and the announced hold time has never been less than thirty minutes. In one instance, after the announced hold time was thirty minutes, I waited for forty minutes, and still nobody had picked up.

Webroot's response to my second request for assistance merely instructed me to uninstall and reinstall the program. I followed the instructions, which included restarting my computer after the uninstall. However, I could not reinstall the program, and I kept getting an error message stating that the program was still installed. According to what I have read on the Internet, there are many other people who have not been able to completely uninstall this program.

The response to my third email, which was a request for a pro-rated refund (Spy Sweeper is a subscription, a pre-paid expense) advised me that I was out of luck as far as a refund is concerned. On top of that, it just advised me to...uninstall and reinstall the program. It appears that their repsonses are indeed form letters. However, they are really hustling their premium customer support! All I have to do is spend another $[...], and I allegedly will have access to decent support. It is as if they are bugging their programs to extort the support fee.

I am not alone in advising people to stay away from Webroot. (I had similar customer service issues with their Window Washer program too.)

UPDATE 7/2/2009

I just noticed that Webroot is advertising $[...] for installation support and $[...] for general tech support. I guess that they think that they are giving some customers a break by only charging $[...] for tech support. I wonder if they will soon charge a fee for processing orders in the first place. I have sent several more requests for a refund with an explanation as to why (cannot reinstall) since June 25, but those requests have gone unanswered.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Improved, April 12, 2009

By 

J. Welter - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Webroot Spy Sweeper - Windows (CD-ROM)

I've run Spysweeper for years on a computer running Windows XP. But, for me, Spysweeper went wrong after version 5.5. I had to stick with older versions until version 5.8 came out and even then not every version of 5.8 was usable, and installing new versions often entailed a good bit of work. Through out this time Webroot tech support was less than helpful, constantly blaming me for problems of their creation. Webroot really likes to tell users of Spysweeper after a user has installed a newer version of Spysweeper that the user must uninstall Spysweeper, then run a special piece of software called Spysweeper Cleanup, and only then reinstall a version of Spysweeper, which still may or may not function properly.


Now that version 6.1 is out (March 2009), most of the really big problems have disappeared for me. I run Spysweeper 6.1 on an old Dell laptop with with only a 600 megahertz processor and 512 megabytes of RAM, with XP Home as the operating system.

That said, the process of renewing the software is a joke. One has to opt out of many silly things before making the purchase, the most difficult thing to opt out of is the auto renewal feature. Webroot really needs to fix the renewal process. In the past, Webroot simply sent out an email saying that your subscription was about to expire, and anyway the main software window still clearly states the expiration date for Spysweeper updates.


Forgot to mention when I wrote the above a month ago: When 6.1 installs it also installs a program called WBCustomerSer. Even though, this is apparently separate Webroot update software, don't close it in the system tray and think that will save RAM, closing this background program causes problems that can't be fixed without a system restart. It is irresponsible of Webroot to have designed the software this way.

**************


updated in early September 2009:

Webroot now forces the download and installation of their Antivirus Software. It is impossible to get spyware definitions updated and avoid this new software.

AVOID Spysweeper unless you want to have to use Webroot AV software. Webroot started this forced "upgrade" about a week ago. I complained to customer service immediately but never got a response, and haven't been able to update spyware defs in that time.