Webroot Spy Sweeper 5 review

Spy Sweeper is a popular anti-spyware program that did well when we reviewed it in Shopper January 2005.

Two versions later, and its interface is much nicer. There's plenty of information to let you know which protection modules are enabled, a quarantine section and a flexible scanner.

Like most of the commercial anti-spyware utilities we've tested, Webroot's Spy Sweeper includes real-time protection similar to that found in anti-virus programs. The fact that Spy Sweeper's real-time system was so effective meant that we spent less time reviewing it than most of the other of the programs here. It simply deleted nearly every bad thing we threw at it, sometimes even before we could begin an installation. Just the act of copying one particular file to the Windows desktop was enough to send it to the quarantine. This is exactly the right approach, deleting spyware before it even gets the chance to spread files and Registry entries all over the place.

Some software partially managed to install itself, including the rogue anti-spyware utility. Spy Sweeper interrupted its installation, and also detected and blocked a connection to the program's website. It failed to notice the rootkit file, however. You should always use an anti-virus program in addition to an anti-spyware utility; as a good anti-virus program should handle rootkits, it's not a complete disaster that Spy Sweeper missed this one.

The program distinguishes between files and so-called traces such as Registry entries. When we ran a full system scan, it found plenty of both. After it removed these, we then ran Ad-Aware to clean up anything remaining. It discovered three Registry entries that Spy Sweeper had missed.

Although Spy Sweeper is one of the more expensive products tested here, it's also one of the most effective. It's not the best, though; that accolade falls to the slightly less expensive ewido anti-spyware. Spyware Doctor is a close challenger that's £6 cheaper.