It recognized two others but couldn't entirely remove them, and completely missed just one-a very good record against a very nasty collection of malware. It did better against sixteen spyware threats, successfully removing thirteen of them. Out of eight commercial keyloggers it removed six, missed one completely and tried but failed to remove another. I reinstalled and scanned in Safe Mode, which at least allowed Spy Sweeper to finish, but it still couldn't remove the mad-dog malware application that had attacked it. (For information on how I test antispyware, see Spy Versus Antispy.) On one test system, the malware actively attacked Spy Sweeper, damaging its installation. I tested the product's ability to remove a collection of commercial keyloggers and spyware. A slider controls whether Spy Sweeper emphasizes sweeping quickly, conserving CPU power, or something in between. The other big bonus is a new throttle in the Sweep settings. This tab lists all the items Spy Sweeper has ever found and lets you tell Spy Sweeper how to handle them if they show up again-in particular, you can tell it to ignore an item that you don't want removed. The redundant Always Keep and Always Remove tabs have merged into a single Always Apply tab. Program options have been streamlined and reorganized somewhat. In any case, other shields will smack down an incoming malware attachment when the user tries to save or launch it. This feature didn't quite make the cut, but it's still planned for a future version. Webroot had planned to add an e-mail shield that would scan the incoming POP3 data stream and remove malware attachments before they ever hit the Inbox. When a shield takes action, it now alerts you with a small tray-area pop-up by default, rather than opening the main window. New in this version is the Keylogger Shield, which detects programs that monitor and record your passwords and other keystrokes.Īlso welcome is a new option to rein in the overzealous Startup Shield so that it is triggered only when known or suspected spyware tries to configure itself for automatic startup. Turn off one of the five critical shields and it plummets to Vulnerable (red). Turn off one of the 13 recommended shields and your overall shield status drops to Partially Protected (yellow). This version breaks down the growing collection of shields into critical, recommended, and optional. Spy Sweeper's various "shields" provide active protection to keep spyware from invading a clean system-there are so many it could get confusing. Spy Sweeper scans using direct disk access, below the file-system level, so it isn't fooled by rootkits.- Continue reading If necessary, its Early File Remover can whack especially tenacious malware early in the boot process. Finally, it displays a summary of just what it removed. When you click Quarantine Selected, Spy Sweeper neutralizes offending items and moves them into quarantine storage. And Spy Sweeper provides a veritable biography for any malware found-a risk-level rating, a list of file and Registry traces associated with the threat, a detailed description, and a link to more info online. The process moves through the three steps of sweeping, quarantine, and summary in a clear and simple fashion. Here, too, a prominent Start Sweep button launches a full system scan. It shows the current sweep options, with a link to change them, and reports whether spyware definitions are up to date. Secondary facts like subscription status and the number of spyware signatures are displayed less prominently. The Shields pane reports status for the product's numerous real-time protection features, with a link to correct any problems. One click on the prominent Start Sweep button launches an immediate sweep. The Sweep pane shows when you last scanned for spyware and when the next scan is scheduled. Spy Sweeper's extreme makeover starts with a restyled Home tab that highlights what's most important-getting rid of spyware and shielding against attack. The near-final beta version I evaluated worked very well. According to the company, the software should issue fewer pop-up warnings and has additional layers of protection specifically targeting devious keylogger utilities and malicious programs that use rootkit techniques to hide. Now Webroot has simplified the program's configuration settings and, for clarity as well as ease of use, completely revamped its interface. Spy Sweeper has received a number of PC Magazine Editors' Choice awards (an honor that Spyware Doctor shares) for spyware protection.
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