Webroot Spy Sweeper 5.3 with Antivirus might look like a powerful combination, given that McAfee, Norton, and Trend Micro all combine their antivirus and antispyware scans. As an alternative to build its own antivirus engine, Webroot has wisely partnered with top-rated U.K.-based Sophos Anti-Virus, which sells primarily to the enterprise market. The review results are somehow mixed : 6.8 out of 10.
The antivirus scanner included within Spy Sweeper isn't completely implemented and doesn't extend protection to common virus vectors such as e-mail or instant messaging. Webroot says that additional antivirus functionality will be added to later versions of Spy Sweeper, but for the moment, CNET wouldn't recommend Spy Sweeper as the only antivirus protection.
The good: Webroot Spy Sweeper 5.3 with Antivirus scored as a solid middle-ranked antispyware app in our testing; it offers free technical support, including live telephone support.
The bad: Webroot Spy Sweeper 5.3 with Antivirus is optional and doesn't fully implement its antivirus protection; the combined scans are really, really slow; not all of the defense shields, including antirootkit protection, are enabled by default.
The bottom line: Webroot Spy Sweeper 5.3 with Antivirus includes the makings of a powerful all-in-one application, but not every security tool has been implemented or enabled by default. Average users would be wise to use a name-brand standalone antivirus app with antispyware instead
Quoting CNET's review: While we applaud Webroot's decision to partner with the premier antivirus vendor Sophos, we question the decision to rush the Spy Sweeper 5.3 product to market without full its antivirus implementation.
And we had trouble with the number of traces left behind by Spy Sweeper, traces that were easily removed by competing products.
Finally, Spy Sweeper took the longest duration to scan more potential spyware than the faster, lighter competition.We look forward to version 6.0, which should hopefully remedy most if not all of these concerns.
