Spy Sweeper 5 review

Robert Vamosi CNET

Published: 18 Jul 2006

Spy Sweeper, from Webroot, is well known for being one of the better paid spyware detection-and-removal programs. New in version 5 is a complete interface makeover, a keylogger shield and four specialised scan engines to make sure your PC is free of malware. Spy Sweeper costs £24.95 (inc. VAT) at the start, plus there's an annual subscription fee to keep your signature files updated beyond one year. A 30-day free trial is available, but the trial version will not remove any spyware it detects; for that, you'll need to purchase the product -- a practice we think is just plain wrong. Despite the many improvements in Spy Sweeper 5, our recommendation for the best anti-spyware application remains Lavasoft's Ad-aware, which offers a fully functioning free version.

Setting up and installing Spy Sweeper is straightforward, although you will have to reboot. After downloading a copy from the Internet or loading one from a CD, an installation wizard will walk you through a series of questions. Because some of Spy Sweeper's tools reside in the system kernel of the Windows operating system, it is one of the few anti-spyware programs that requires a system reboot upon install.

Leading up to this release, Webroot spent time on user-interface testing, and the results are on the screen. Spy Sweeper's new interface is cleaner, leaner and more in league with that of other security applications, such as ZoneAlarm. By displaying vital information, such as signature file dates and dates in which scans were last run, in one convenient location, Spy Sweeper eliminates the need to drill down for such information. Spy Sweeper also fills in what had been just white space in previous versions, balancing the information on the screen. Individual tool pages have also been redesigned. For example, the Sweep page not only offers step-by-step instructions for finding and removing spyware, but it also marks your process by highlighting one of three tabs across the top of the page.

Like the free programs Spybot Search and Destroy and Microsoft's Windows Defender, Spy Sweeper includes proactive shields that scan for new pests that try to infest your system while you surf or download files. Spy Sweeper 5 now includes 13 proactive shields, including one devoted to blocking keyloggers. On the redesigned tools page, the shields are grouped by category (such as Windows System, Internet Explorer) so that you can see what those individual shields can do for you and toggle various options on or off.

Spy Sweeper is proactive, stopping you from accessing Web sites known to host spyware. While you are working or surfing the Internet, Spy Sweeper flags all new software installations with a brief pop-up over the taskbar in the lower-right corner of the screen and asks later whether to accept or remove the installed components. Oddly, we found Spy Sweeper to be noisy. Whenever we launched Windows, Spy Sweeper slashed the desktop with its logo screen, and when we were working, Spy Sweeper's pop-up alerts require us to take immediate action, such as registering our product or confirming that we did indeed install a new program to our desktop. Although we appreciate the vigilance, we also prefer the quietness of Spybot Search and Destroy and Microsoft Windows Defender Beta, both of which work proactively but without the noise.

However, unlike Spybot Search and Destroy and Microsoft Windows Defender Beta, almost all of Spy Sweeper's functions can be automated. It can scan your system, update spyware definitions, delete quarantined files after a set time frame and check all incoming files without you having to lift a finger. Given the late availability of Spy Spweeper 5, we do not yet have new testing data for this release.

The context-sensitive, built-in help system within Spy Sweeper is very complete. If you still have questions, Webroot offers good online options, including extensive FAQs and email technical support. Telephone support is available for both individual users and enterprise customers: you can find the relevant 0845 numbers here.

Spy Sweeper 5 makes serious strides forward toward keeping your system clean of spyware while offering a user-friendly interface. We wish that the free trial actually removed spyware to better convince users that their £24.95 (inc. VAT) will be well spent upon purchase. Perhaps that'll come with the next release.

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