Nevermind that those big names were not qualified for the jobs they were given. Webroot took what money was left and started chasing big names from the security industry. Nevermind that the valuation the clueless venture capitalists put on the company basically ended any possibility of acquisition by anyone short of Google. Nevermind that the money was more of a buyout than an investment with the vast majority of the moola walking out the doors with the newly rich founders. It was the darling of the software world when it took a HUGE series A funding round ($108 MM) back in Feb 2005. Webroot Software makes a really popular anti-spyware application called Spy Sweeper. 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.This image was lost some time after publication. Missing is the Realtime Sophos virus engine that looks for active infections from e-mail, IM, and other vectors. Presently, Webroot includes only the On Demand Sophos virus inspection engine to check for and remove file infections. With traditional antivirus packages, full rootkit protection, when offered, is enabled by default.Īs previously mentioned, we also found aspects of traditional antivirus technology missing. 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. Custom Sweep allows you to select individual drives or folders or exclude extensions.īut we found that deep scans for rootkits, pernicious little malware packages that hide deep within the system kernel, are now optional. Quick Sweep offers a fast and light pass of your main drive system. Full Sweep scans all the files on your computer's attached drives. Within the Spy Sweeper Sweep section there are three options. Webroot uses protective shields to protect your hard drive, blocking spyware and adware as it attempts to download. However, upon closer inspection it is clear there are no protective settings to block incoming viruses from e-mail or IM.Īside from antivirus protection, Spy Sweeper continues to provide first-class antispyware protection. 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. For example, we like that during a scan, the color-coded tabs on the scan page mark your progress: Sweeping, Quarantine, and Summary. Spy Sweeper's redesigned interface is crisp and intuitive, the result of many hours of user-interface testing. To tweak scans for individual files or folders, simply use the Spy Sweeper configuration screen. 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. 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. After rebooting, we found no trace of Spy Sweeper in the Program Files directory or the system registry. Should you decide to uninstall Spy Sweeper, Webroot includes an uninstall icon on the All Programs list. Webroot says that additional antivirus functionality will be added to later versions of Spy Sweeper for now, we think you're much safer going with a traditional antivirus product that also includes antispyware protection, such as our Editors' Choice. But the antivirus scanner included within Spy Sweeper doesn't extend to e-mail or IM, two common virus vectors that go unprotected. Webroot has partnered with top-rated U.K.-based Sophos Anti-Virus, which sells primarily to the enterprise market. While traditional antivirus vendors have been bundling antispyware technology with their flagship products for years, antispyware vendors have been steadfastly creating their applications without antivirus protection. Webroot Spy Sweeper 5.2 with Antivirus is the first pure antispyware application reviewed by CNET to add antivirus technology.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |