User Reviews
Spy Sweeper
Spy Sweeper safely detects and removes more traces of spyware including Trojans, adware, keyloggers and system monitoring tools. If items are found during a scan, the program offers a short descripti ...
Average of 26 user ratings: 
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- Oct 24, 2008
- For version:
- 6.0
The new interface is really slow 
- Interface: 1
- Features: 1
- Ease of use: 1
- Value: 1
- Overall:
In the beginnings of Webroot Spy Sweeper was a pretty decent application, but as time as progressed the application has become really pathetic in terms of performance. The new interface is really slow running and locks up often, or freezes for a short period of time while you wait for it to respond to your input.
Review by: DasFox (2)
Read all 2 reviews by DasFox
- Oct 13, 2008
- For version:
- 5.8
No better than others, maybe worse
- Interface: 3
- Features: 3
- Ease of use: 3
- Value: 2
- Overall:
I tried this again, thinking it may have changed as many do. Unfortunately it hasn't. Not trying to re-hash what was said but yeah, it's slow, it's a resource hog and does no more than some free software. I uninstalled it today, goodbye. I feel if I wouldn't use something if it was free, then it sure isn't worth a price. It's still better than no protection of course so I would hate to NOT recommend it, especially with all the fakes out there so gave it 3.
Review by: gimpguy (369)
Read all 369 reviews by gimpguy
- Oct 04, 2007
- For version:
- 5.2.3.2132
Resource hog
- Interface: 2
- Features: 2
- Ease of use: 2
- Value: 2
- Overall:
I recently tried SS again. I had used it 2 years ago, and found it no more useful than the free spyware detection and removal tools available. I took advantage of a special discount offer from Webroot for former users and installed the latest version. I have a 160GB and a 320GB hard drive on my machine. Spysweeper scanned the 160Gb drive for over 3 hours before I canceled the sweep. I decided not to run it on the larger drive. The active agent is a resource hog. It slowed web activity, and cut my download speeds in half. It did report false positives, although not as many as some users have experienced. Sadly, there are no good spyware detection and removal programs out there. A recent study I read on a tech website showed that all of the well known spyware products were poor at detecting and removing spyware. My advice is practice 'safe surfing' and save your money.
Review by: llsee46 (4)
Read all 4 reviews by llsee46
- Dec 05, 2006
- For version:
- 5.2.3
Don't use this!!
- Interface: 2
- Features: 2
- Ease of use: 1
- Value: 2
- Overall:
I downloaded and purchased Spy Sweeper only to have it find everything else but what it was supposed to I am very disappointed that something I paid $30 for didn't work. What I had was called Virus Blast and it nearly ruined my computer! Going in I thought since it had great reviews that it was a top of the line product.. I was wrong!
Review by: ChrissyC1197 (2)
Read all 2 reviews by ChrissyC1197
- Nov 10, 2006
- For version:
- 5.2
Top of its class!
- Interface: 5
- Features: 5
- Ease of use: 5
- Value: 5
- Overall:
Had Spy Sweeper on my PC for a few years now. The version I have, 4.5 is the latest I can have on my W98 OS. I consider this program a 'key' component in the maintenance and integrity of my PC. Excellent prog. Very reliable. Tried others but they pale by comparison. Full scans on other similar programs take 20-40 mins, tops and generally sweep between 25,000 to 40,000 items on my hard drive and consider the job done. A full scan of my 'C' Drive, by Spy Sweeper, currently, takes 2 1/4 hours (doesn't bother me) and by comparison sweeps 83,935 items on my hard drive and that figure perfectly illustrates what I like about the security of Spy Sweeper, no 'stone is left unturned', no corner of any file or folder is excluded! Always a thorough job and have every confidence in its abilities. On the (very) rare occasion I have had to seek support, in my experience, have found Webroot's Tech. Support second to none. Worth every cent!
Review by: Dragon10 (39)
Read all 39 reviews by Dragon10
- Oct 08, 2006
- For version:
- 5.07
Definitely worth the money
- Interface: 5
- Features: 5
- Ease of use: 5
- Value: 5
- Overall:
SpySweeper in my opinion is definitely worth the money; especially the latest user interface. It is unintrusive and operates in the background WITHOUT being resource hungry like others on the market.
Review by: chauffeur2 (2)
Read all 2 reviews by chauffeur2
- Jul 25, 2006
- For version:
- 4.5.709
Great protection!
- Interface: 5
- Features: 5
- Ease of use: 5
- Value: 4
- Overall:
The only two things I have gripes about are the price to renew which is regularly the same as the original price but sometimes $20 online and the fact it opens a blank page when scanning. When this first came out it was slow to scan and causes pc crashes but now it seems to not do that. It now also includes rootkit scanning to advanced spyware/adware.
Review by: freebieking (10)
Read all 10 reviews by freebieking
- May 14, 2006
- For version:
- 4.5.709
Top of the line
- Interface: 5
- Features: 5
- Ease of use: 5
- Value: 5
- Overall:
I've used Spy Sweeper since it first came out and it has gotten better with each new version. With the latest (ver. 4.5.9) I have had no false positives and it has found spyware that the others missed and I have tried a lot of other programs. A very small minority of users may have had problems with it but this is true of any software product. This probably has more to do with the individuals set up than the program itself. It has lived up to it's consistent top ratings in reviews of anti-spyware programs and it doesn't disappoint. There are NO free programs (or in many cases pay programs) that even come close. Highly recommended.
Review by: socrfan (2)
Read all 2 reviews by socrfan
- Apr 20, 2006
- For version:
- 4.5.709
Easy to use
- Interface: 5
- Features: 4
- Ease of use: 5
- Value: 4
- Overall:
Its a easy to use software. Some false-positive messages (cookies) but its okay.
Review by: dorra72 (2)
Read all 2 reviews by dorra72
- Apr 05, 2006
- For version:
- 4.5.709
Does all it says it will
- Interface: 5
- Features: 5
- Ease of use: 5
- Value: 5
- Overall:
Spy Sweeper keeps your computer clean and finds what others miss with frequent updates and clear messages. Their tech support (on the rare occasion you need them) can be reached either through email or phone at no charge and what is really impressive is they are based in the USA and speak not only English, but North American! The only downside, which is not of their making, is if you currently have a popular encryption program installed the normally 1/2 hour scheduled scans can take over 6 hours. This has been reported to the offender and supposedly a fix is in the works. Without reservation I recommend Spy Sweeper to everyone whose computer I work on.
Review by: ChickC (3)
Read all 3 reviews by ChickC
- Mar 14, 2006
- For version:
- 4.5.9
Whats the use?
- Interface: 3
- Features: 1
- Ease of use: 1
- Value: 1
- Overall:
Several years ago I had this program and thought it was wonderful, now I am wondering what happened to it? It came back with a spyware report after it spent nearly two hours scanning my hard drives, and the list was shocking. At this point I had to ask myself if its findings was accurate. It came up with things I had never heard of, so I asked a tech friend of mine about it, and he said that over half of the programs it had reported on, was false. If I were to remove them (or have the software do it) I would probably mess up my system completely. After spending over 3 hours studying what needed to be removed, it asks for you to register the software, before it will do anything. The word here is "frustration" and false promises. If you pay for it, it will do what it says, which IMHO is not a trial. Dont bother with it as there are many others out there that will do it for free.
Review by: bluenote72 (26)
Read all 26 reviews by bluenote72
- Nov 05, 2005
- For version:
- 4.5
Great program
- Interface: 5
- Features: 5
- Ease of use: 5
- Value: 3
- Overall:
This is a very well thought out program. It has an excellent interface combined with ease of use. On detections it is probably one of if not the best. It does take system resources however that is the trade-off for a very well executed application in detections and preventions. As far as "price/value" category, spy sweeper is a subscription based software. Therefore this can be a debatable issue?
Review by: alnjk01 (124)
Read all 124 reviews by alnjk01
- Jul 11, 2005
- For version:
- 4.0
King of the castle
- Interface: 5
- Features: 5
- Ease of use: 5
- Value: 5
- Overall:
Absolutely brilliant. The features it has to offer are stunning and so easy to use and customize. Not only is it the best Spyware detector on the market but Webroot offer a free upgrade of any of their products within the first year of purchase when applicable. Their technical support is also of the highest caliber.
Review by: mmh123 (2)
Read all 2 reviews by mmh123
- May 11, 2005
- For version:
- 3.5
Spy sweeper the real ferrari duster.
- Interface: 5
- Features: 5
- Ease of use: 5
- Value: 5
- Overall:
Though I have tested many a Spy/Adware program, Spy Sweeper has been outdoing many better Sharewares and is the top one on my list. A very famous Shareware which is on the market could not remove the following Add/Spyware, but Spy Sweeper on it's first round bull-dozed a mountain of them and I am very satisfied and will add same to my registered Sharewares. This and 242 more were removed even while using M....Spyware.
Review by: Alfredo (11)
Read all 11 reviews by Alfredo
- Feb 20, 2005
- For version:
- 3.5
Spy sweeper: mercedes benz 600 of antispyware
- Interface: 3
- Features: 4
- Ease of use: 4
- Value: 2
- Overall:
Many of us wouldn't mind to ride a luxury Mercedes Benz 600 but not all of us can afford it. The same I can say about Webroot Spy Sweeper: it's a very mighty app but it takes too much time to scan and in addition to that while scanning it takes so much of your computer resources that only those with very powerful computers can do anything else during the scanning process.
Review by: Nikita (20)
Read all 20 reviews by Nikita
- Feb 19, 2005
- For version:
- 3.5
"two" many false positives
- Interface: 3
- Features: 4
- Ease of use: 4
- Value: 4
- Overall:
I like Spy Sweeper but it has found 2 trojans that werent really there. The first time it happened I contacted my anti-spyware provider, who advised me that Spy Sweeper is known to report "false positives". I contacted Spy Sweeper and got very little help; they claimed to know nothing about false positives. I do all my banking and bill-paying online so I didnt sleep for two days -- until I read enough reports, on the internet, of false positives from other Spy Sweeper users to believe that my report was false too. I just ran another Spy Sweeper sweep and got another false positive for "Trojan Backdoor Krydor". Thru google, I found that this is another false positive that Spy Sweeper is known to report. All in all, I like Spy Sweeper very much. I can live with the false positives but I wish I'd known about them the first time.
Review by: texasfirewheel
First post
- Feb 14, 2005
- For version:
- 3.5
Nice software
- Interface: 5
- Features: 5
- Ease of use: 4
- Value: 4
- Overall:
I like the Interface, big enough to see for me and easy to use. Seems to do a great job of fighting SpyWare here. Updates to definitions are frequent and they should be since we are paying for it.
Review by: bob9090 (2)
Read all 2 reviews by bob9090
- Feb 14, 2005
- For version:
- 3.5
One of the best ...
- Interface: 5
- Features: 5
- Ease of use: 5
- Value: 5
- Overall:
This program caught things that Microsoft Antispyware, Yahoo Antispyware, and Ad-Aware all missed. The items included: Adware: ShopAtHomeSelect, Adware: Morpheus Adware, Trojan Horse: Trojan-Backdoor-Kyrdor, System Monitor: Visual Log. The interface is very neat and user-friendly, lots of checkpoints or 'shields' that monitor and prevent adware/spyware installation and self-run capabilities. Very frequent and comprehensive updates. What more can I say ? I would not normally spend over $10 for any comparable program, but I think this one is definitely worth the $30 price tag. If you don't believe me, try the free trial.
Review by: TeXMeX (23)
Read all 23 reviews by TeXMeX
- Jan 25, 2005
- For version:
- 3.5
Effective
- Interface: 4
- Features: 5
- Ease of use: 4
- Value: 4
- Overall:
Doesn't find and protect against all adware and and spyware threats, however gets rid of the nastiest of threats and sometimes leaves the minor ones.
Review by: Andrew (8)
Read all 8 reviews by Andrew
- Dec 26, 2004
- For version:
- 3.5
Sweepee swell
- Interface: 5
- Features: 5
- Ease of use: 5
- Value: 5
- Overall:
Works very good,but they must get counterspy in snapper because it's radically different and makes an excellant combo.
Review by: RidleyDave (11)
Read all 11 reviews by RidleyDave
- Dec 01, 2004
- For version:
- 3.2
Getting better all the time ...
- Interface: 5
- Features: 5
- Ease of use: 5
- Value: 5
- Overall:
I've had this program for quite awhile now and I'm a registered user. Spysweeper keeps up to date with current threats and provides fresh definitions often. I've seen spysweeper catch changes being made on my system that other programs did not catch. I also like the news feature, where one can see information on new threats and etc. Everything is so easy with SW. The guards / shields are a nice feature and simple to use and control. Just tic or untic for off or on. Updates are just as easy. Click check for updates and sw will call home and if there is new definitions available, it will ask if you want to download them. I'm always ready and dialed up. I always say yes and grab the latest. Over all, I like this program and it's ease of use. The interface is a breeze and anyone can master it in no time. Oh and as a registered user, I've received program upgrades and tech-support is really good. These folks are doing a great job!
Review by: TideWalker (18)
Read all 18 reviews by TideWalker
- Oct 08, 2004
- For version:
- 3.2
Spy sweeper does an excellent job
- Interface: 4
- Features: 5
- Ease of use: 5
- Value: 3
- Overall:
I'm impressed with how easy it is to use Spy Sweeper. The 'Help' section is informative without being too long or confusing. The program has some tools which have helped me while websurfing: for example, shields that alert you when your internet settings are being altered without your consent (for example: when your homepage is being hijacked). The program picked up nearly every bit of malware on my computer. It did not pick up a recent version of CoolWebSearch - I had to use CWShredder for that.
Review by: Very_Relieved (2)
Read all 2 reviews by Very_Relieved
- Sep 14, 2004
- For version:
- 3.0
It just keeps getting better. 5 star support!
- Interface: 5
- Features: 5
- Ease of use: 5
- Value: 5
- Overall:
I bought it on CD rom at Bestbuy, early 2004. Version 2.0 on CD. It has been updated several times. 2.0, 2.2, 2.4 2.6, 3.0 and now 3.2. Webroot keeps customers updated as they promise. New "SHIELDS" feature, added in V3.0, alerts you to additions that installers want to make to your PC. Allows you to prevent un-wanted additions. Excellent detection of mal-ware. Great support.
Review by: disenchanted (2)
Read all 2 reviews by disenchanted
- Aug 29, 2004
- For version:
- 3.0
The best of the bunch.
- Interface: 5
- Features: 5
- Ease of use: 5
- Value: 5
- Overall:
I tried just about all of them. Spy sweeper is the best. Why have multiple spyware programs when all you need is spy sweeper and your covered. Its better than Spybot and Adaware, IMO. Choose spy sweeper and you will be glad you did.
Review by: Nirrad (12)
Read all 12 reviews by Nirrad
- Aug 05, 2004
- For version:
- 3.0
Best spyware cleaner i've tried
- Interface: 5
- Features: 5
- Ease of use: 5
- Value: 5
- Overall:
I thought I kept my machine pretty clean with the use of spyware blaster, spybot S&D, and lavasoft adaware, but I got a couple spy/adwares that all these combined could not handle. Spy sweeper cleaned them all up like they were nothing, and found hundreds of other traces the other programs missed. This program is a great complement to your spyware preventing and cleaning arsenal. It is easy to use and does its job. The newest version also includes some handy featues like an ad-blocker that blocks ads from common ad-sites - the kinds of ads you see on popular web pages like hotmail. This handy feature speeds up internet browsing and saves bandwidth. highly recommended.
Review by: tcrex2000 (3)
Read all 3 reviews by tcrex2000
- Jul 17, 2004
- For version:
- 2.6.1
Very good program!
- Interface: 5
- Features: 5
- Ease of use: 5
- Value: 4
- Overall:
SpySweeper has the functions of Ad-aware,spybot and Spywareblaster combined and the programs definitions is frequently updated. The program is easy to install and to uninstall. It doesn't demand a lot of memory and is extremely effective. The only thing to be negative about is the prize and that Webroot hasn't created a free-edition variant of the program, as Lavasoft did with Ad-aware 6.0. I can STRONGLY recommend Webroot Spysweeper!
Review by: Robinwilliams (7)
Read all 7 reviews by Robinwilliams
