Customer Reviews

Webroot Spy Sweeper

5 star:		(18)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(10)

 

 

I had a major problem with spyware parasites on my computer. So bad that I could barely log on to my web provider and either my computer would freeze , I'd recieve an "open windows limit" sign , or my web provider would just crash and disappear. That is very fustrating and annoying and also scary because it may be some crook trying to steal information from you. You never know.

I purchased Spy Sweeper , placed the disc in the cd-rom (Windows ME) , it popped up on the screen by itself , I followed the instruction , downloaded it on my computer , and then started cleaning these things out easily! I had over 60 parasites on my computer. Now I have zero!

I was so happy. It also defines the spyware and it gives you an option to either quarintine it or delete it completely from your computer. IT ALSO WORKS AS A SHIELD THAT KEEPS NEW SPYWARE PARASITES FROM ATTACKING AS YOU SURF THE WEB! THEN SHOWS YOU WHAT SPYWARE ATTEMPTED TO ATTACK YOUR COMPUTER!

This is an excellent product because not only does it get rid of the spyware it also can keep your computer spyware free! Now my computer works as good as new and I don't have those problems that I described earlier.

Its a great investment because it really works!

Well, I thought my Internet troubles were over getting an anti-virus program with a firewall. Guess again, because my program doesn't take care of adware or spyware. And being hit by spyware is no fun, especially as it plays havoc on surfing. Why? Because spyware can cause one's computer to slow down, making the system unstable, and making one have to reboot. It can also make one's computer prone to hijacking programs that can remotely control your computer while you surf. Scary, right? Yes, Virginia...it's not safe to surf on the Internet anymore.

Of the anti-spyware packages available, I went with Webroot's Spysweeper, as it was ranked #1 in the Top Ten anti-spyware programs, outdoing others such as Spybot and AdAware. The main feature I like is how Spysweeper not only quarantines and deletes spyware but also the traces, which if left undetected can cause any malware to be reactivated. Not to worry-as options on automatically removing spyware that consistently gets loaded on visiting a certain site is present. Anyone wanting to keep spyware is like someone with gangrene who wants it left there because of that lovely green colour. Think again, guys!

Another thing that some may consider a bit annoying, but shows that the program is paying attention is if one adds a website as a favourite. If enabled, a pop-up window at the bottom right corner pops up, alerting the user. It then tells the user, "Hey, something just got added on to your favourites. Is it something you added, or did someone else do it?' If the former, check the box to keep it. If the latter, oh dear...! Hey, at least it's paying attention, so I like this feature. Along those lines was a pesky piece of malware which persistently changed my home page. Fortunately, an option in Spysweeper allowed it to keep my home page and never change it.

Users who have Windows ME or XP will have those pesky Restore directories containing all those 1 byte temporary files, which can add an extra ten minutes in scanning. Not to worry-an option there allows it to ignore those files.

Everytime I end my surfing and run it, it also removes tracking cookies, an option I enabled. Nowadays, weeks have gone by and I haven't had a piece of spyware or adware infiltrate my system, although interestingly enough, it's my anti-virus software that's been finding adware. It's also darned user-friendly too, like that someone who's on guard whenever I'm online. Recommended by this constant surfer. The Net was never more safer than with Spysweeper.

At first I was rather skeptical about purchasing Webroot Spy Sweeper. I knew it was good, since I had the trial version, but didn't think $30 could make the difference.

I was proved wrong. Spy Sweeper, the full version, eliminates spyware quickly and offers memory shields and cookie shields to supplement its excellent sweeping capabilities.

It unfortunately does not get the full five (4.7, rounded up) because it can not seem to get rid of the nasty spyware known as ClientMan. Spy Sweeper detects and removes it, but does not keep the annoying ClientMan away. With all else, Spy Sweeper is the way to go. Hopefully there will be an update to the ClientMan problem.

I would also recommend that you download the free anti spyware program known as SpywareBlaster to assist Spy Sweeper. SpywareBlaster blocks certain spyware from ever entering your computer. The combination of both Spy Sweeper and Spyware Blaster is absolutely amazing in this new war against spyware.

So far this product has worked very well and seems to have done it's job for the most part. After buying PC Cillin Internet Security 2004(very good also), I still had some issues that remained unresolved. A trojan horse virus and tons of spy and adware along with a host of other "trash" was still comandeering my machine. The PC Cillin removed the lot of and still protects my machine, however Spy Sweeper was the icing on the cake. This program, once installed detected just about every removable piece of "ware" on my machine and only hiccuped once. I've ran it several times and each time it finds at least one more hidden item.
The only two scares I had were 1) on initial install, it seemed to want to install itself twice. Either way, the program was successful in doing that. 2) I had that nasty Gain/Gator spy/ad ware on my machine and it attached itself to my clock. Sweeper got extremely bogged down and appeared to lock up my machine when it located this one. Rather than freak out and slam the product, I waited about 15 minutes while it worked it's way through that mess. The initial scan took over 1 1/2, however when it was complete, Sweeper found over 2500 pieces of internet garbage and quarantined them. My machine is now running around 95% of it's original efficiency after the installation of these two products and the net is also much faster. I'm no guru, but I do my homework before buying anything. Many hours were spent researching this product and it's compatibility with PC Cillin and other programs I've installed. Thumbs up guys. If you can ever find us the person responsible for the spy/ad garbage, let me know...I want his head for a door knocker.

My identity was stolen. I purchased this software because someone told me I may have spyware on my computer. I have Norton Anti-Virus on my computer but after I ran Spysweeper, it caught a trojan horse Norton missed. This is how they stole my identity using a key stroke copier trojan horse. If I had run this program (Spysweeper) it never would have happened.
Randy T.

Great product and so easy to use even for beginners in spyware removal from your computer. Upon scanning it will show you a list of all the spyware you have picked up while surfing the net. It may be cookies or programs that you have picked up that contains the spyware then you simply click to send it on it's way. You need more than just antivirus and a firewall to keep these third-party clowns from getting into your computer, so bust them up, spy sweeper is so cool !!!

My Top Five Rated Anti-spywares:

1) Spy Sweeper v2.6 or 3.0 by Webroot Software *
2) Ad-Aware by Lavasoft v6.0 (paid full versions) *
3) Ad-Aware by Lavasoft v6.0 (free version)
4) Spybot Search & Destroy v1.3 (free, donation-ware) by Safer-Networking-org
5) McAfee Antispyware 2005 v1.0 * ( newly released but already highly rated and moving up fast)

* - These antispywares use real time scanning of system memory to detect spyware before it invades your system.

I have used all the above Antispyware and at this point in time Spy Sweeper seems to do the best job at detecting and removing Spyware/Adware/Tracking cookies and it has the most extensive set of options. The interface is simple and effective and allows you to customize it exactly to your needs. Choose to protect your Internet Explorer 6 browser homepage from adware changes, block tracking cookies, schedule system scans, enable automatic detections updates, allow it to ignore detecting friendly softwares or automatically delete malware. You can even highlight the discovered spyware and click on an information link which connects to Webroot's spyware database to tell you more details about each of the bad software pests that were detected on your computer. I have found Spy Sweeper to detect more spyware and more spyware traces left on your system than any of the others I have tried. After running Ad-Aware and Spybot S&D and even deleting the spyware they found from my computer Spy Sweeper still was able to detect numerous pests and traces of them left behind that the others missed. The only drawback is that Spy Sweeper takes much longer to do a complete scan of your entire system than the others but it does to do a better job scanning and detecting.

I found Spy Sweeper to have very little negative impact on my overall system speed or performance. On my a Pentium 3, 1Ghz notebook computer I am using a combination of Spybot S&D, Ad-Aware (free version), SpySweeper, and McAfee Antispyware 2005, McAfee Antivirus 2004, and Zone Alarm Pro 4.5 firewall all at the same time with the McAfee Antispyware and Spy Sweeper programs both scanning system memory and executable programs in real-time for spyware. The McAfee Antispyware program is brand new and with its current release version 1.0 does not detect tracking cookies. However, I really like the McAfee program's simple interface, its auto-updating features and its seamless integration with McAfee Antivirus 2004 and the McAfee Security Center. The McAfee Antispyware also works great as a stand alone antispyware product when coupled with any other company's antivirus software. Although at the time of this review the other antispyware programs do in fact seem to have somewhat better detection rates for the more common spywares, adwares & tracking cookies, during a recent scan of my notebook computer the McAfee Antispyware 2005 was able to detect and completely remove one very bad piece of spyware/adware that all of the other programs had completely missed.

Spybot S&D is an excellent free program (donation-ware). It is in fact rated #1 by many top security software experts and it has some very nice customizable features such as its "immunize" and "teatimer" settings which protect spyware from making changes to your computer registry or system settings. You could disagree about which is the best of the free spyware programs. Spybot S&D has an edge in preventing spyware infestations with its array of customizable features and its ability to warn you of potential weaknesses in your system security but Ad-Aware provides more frequent updates and seems to do a slightly better job at detecting spyware and adware during its full system scans. Since both Spybot and Ad-Aware (free version) are completely free you should download and use both of them. If you really like the free version of Ad-Aware you might consider purchasing one of the more complete Ad-Aware paid for full featured versions (Ad-Aware Plus or the most advanced Ad-Aware Pro) which include automatic updating and real time scanning.

This was a very close race among the top five and each one of these highly rated antispyware programs can be very effective in preventing various forms of spyware from infecting your computer but at this point in time I have to give five stars and the winning trophy for the best stand alone antispyware program to Webroot's Spy Sweeper.

My computer was a disaster riddled with spyware. Probably because of Kazaa. I thought it was a simple virus which I found with Norton, and until now I had never heard of spyware. My computer still was slow as heck and barely moving on the internet after the virus was quarantined. I thought the computer was toast.

But I did some research and decided to take a chance on Spy Sweeper. For $30 it was a lot cheaper than a new computer or an expensive tech repair. To my astonishment, the program found 103 cookies? in about 10 minutes, and in another 15 minutes, and after rebooting, my PC was good as new.

As long as it continues to sweep, Spy Sweeper rules!

I've been using Spy Sweeper for nearly two months. The program claims to find and remove adware from your computer. For the past two months, Spy Sweeper finds the same three software traces and claims to remove them. The problem is the same three software traces reappear each time I start my web browser. There is a feature with the program that allows you to contact Webroot if you are experiencing problems. I contacted Webroot and they wrote back asking me to run a program called Hackthis and send them the results. In the meantime, I am not supported to reboot my computer until they get back with me. That was two months ago! I've sent two other emails to them describing the problem, but they have failed to answer them at all. None of us need to buy programs from companies that do not support their own products. I'm not sure where to send you, but do not waste your money on Webroot products. They are not willing to support them.

I installed SpySweeper on my Windows XP machine after I read a good review that discussed SpySweeper's thoughness. I have also used other Webroot software that works well.

Indeed I found SpySweeper is thorough, handling pests and situations not covered by eg Pest Patrol, and doing it better. The home page hijack shield is very effective. SpySweeper also found 7 pest nests where Pest Patrol only found 4 after a minor infection. Startup protection is also excellent.

But, SpySweeper is unstable, causes some erratic behaviors and technical support is not as effective nor polite as at Pest Patrol. Unstability: Spy Sweeper tends to crash a few times a day. Therefore I cannot really rely on it to be always there guarding my machine unattended. In contrast, through 18 months of use, Pest Patrol has never crashed. Erratic behaviors: A live SpySweeper on the machine causes some perfectly solid, established applications to terminate abnormally. Eg an ATT internet dialer won't run if SpySweeper is running. SpySweeper technical support first gave a "canned" response to the problem and after the problem was explained to them again, they have not responded any more.

I continue to use SpySweeper and I would buy it again, as it truly is throrough and effective especially against page hijackings and also when you run a manual sweep. It is a great "addition" to Pest Patrol, a pop-up blocker, a firewall and an antivirus for anyone wants to have strong and multi-layered protection. But at the moment I would not rely on it as a stand alone anti spyware solution due to its habit of terminating itself so often.

My comments refer to Spy Sweeper version 3.0.0 (Build 103) as of August 2004. I would expect a later version to correct the above mentioned issues. That would make SpySweeper a truly strong buy.