Webroot Antivirus Review: Can It Keep Up in 2024?

#1 Webroot Review in 2024

Webroot is an American software company that has been around since 1997. Their namesake antivirus solution has always caught my eye. But I've always wondered - is it really as good as some people say? That's why I decided to put Webroot to the test and see how it performs.

In this Webroot antivirus review, I'll share my hands-on experience with Webroot, covering everything from installation to performance impact. You'll learn:

• How easy it is to buy and set up Webroot
• What features are included and how well they work
• How it performs in real-world malware and web protection tests
• Whether it will slow down your computer
• If it's worth the price compared to other options

Let's investigate and see what Webroot is really made of!

In a Hurry? Here's a Quick Summary

If you're short on time, here's a quick overview of my findings for this Webroot review:

What You'll Like:

• Very fast installation and scans
• Low impact on system performance
• Effective real-time and web protection
• Intuitive user interface
• Includes LastPass premium password manager

What You May Not Like:

• Limited customization options for some features
• No built-in VPN service
• Firewall less advanced than some competitors

What Makes This Webroot Review Different?

Many Webroot antivirus reviews you'll find online are simply repeating information from the company's website. They don't actually test the software in real-world conditions. That's not how I do things.

For this Webroot review, I purchased Webroot Internet Security Complete and installed it on my personal Dell XPS laptop. I spent over a week thoroughly testing every feature, running scans, and simulating various security scenarios. I captured 19 screenshots during my testing to give you a true inside look at how Webroot performs.

I'm not just repeating marketing claims - I'm sharing my actual hands-on experience using Webroot day-to-day. So let's get into the details of what I discovered in this Webroot analysis!

Buying Webroot

When I decided to test Webroot, I wanted to go for their most comprehensive package. Webroot offers 6 different products for home users:

• AntiVirus
• Internet Security Plus
• Internet Security Complete
• Webroot Premium
• Webroot Security for Chromebook
• AntiVirus for Gamers

After comparing the features, I opted for Webroot Internet Security Complete. It includes all the advanced features I was interested in testing, like the password manager and tracking cookie cleaner. Plus, it protects up to 5 devices for a full year and has a 25% discount for the first year

The purchase process was simple. I clicked "Buy Now", entered my details, and selected my payment method. One thing I appreciated was being able to remove an unnecessary CD that was added to my cart by default - I prefer digital downloads anyway.

After completing my purchase, I received a confirmation email with my license key and installation instructions. But before I could install the software, I had to create my Webroot account. This involved an extra security step of answering 3 security questions, which I found reassuring.

Installation

Once my account was set up, I downloaded the installer from my online dashboard. The installation process was quick and painless.

The installer options include randomizing installed filename to bypass infections.

I was pleasantly surprised by the customization options during setup. I could choose the install location, randomize the filename (a nice security touch), protect Webroot files from changes, select my language, and even configure proxy settings if needed.

The whole process took about 30 seconds, which is impressively fast. It did require a quick reboot to finish up. During installation, I had to enter my email to register for security updates. The Web Threat Shield browser extension was also automatically installed.

One thing I really liked was that Webroot scanned my system to optimize its protection. It felt like it was tailoring itself to my specific setup.

Interface

When I first launched Webroot SecureAnywhere, I was greeted with a dark interface with green accents. It's not the most modern design I've seen, but it's clean and functional.

Webroot's main interface is a bit outdated, but well organized.

The main window is divided into three key sections:

1. A status area showing if you're protected and when you last scanned
2. Quick access buttons for PC Security, Identity Protection, and Backup & Sync
3. Shortcuts to tools like Password Manager, Utilities, and Support

You can't resize the window or change themes, which is a bit limiting. But overall, I found the layout intuitive and easy to navigate. Everything I needed was just a click or two away.

Major Features

Now let's investigate the meat of Webroot's functionality and see how well it performs its core security duties.

Real Time Shield

The Real-time Shield is Webroot's first line of defense against threats. It monitors your system continuously, checking files and processes against Webroot's cloud database.

Real-time shield settings include preventing interruption by surpassing warnings, checking files when modified, and more.

In my testing, I found the Real-time Shield to be responsive and subtle. When I intentionally downloaded a test file flagged as malicious, Webroot immediately quarantined it before it could do any harm.

You can customize the shield's behavior in the Advanced Settings, but I found the default configuration to be well-balanced for most users.

Web Protection

Webroot's web protection is split into two main components: the Privacy Shield and Web Threat Shield. Discover them below.

Privacy Shield

The Privacy Shield aims to protect your personal information as you browse the web. It guards against phishing attempts, identity theft, and other online threats.

The Online Protection tab lets you enable the privacy shield and phishing shield.

I was impressed by the detailed control Webroot offers here. You can configure protection for specific types of data, like credit card numbers or social security info. The shield even secures your clipboard data, which is a nice touch.

Web Threat Shield

This component blocks malicious websites before you can even access them. It uses a browser extension to check URLs in real-time.

Web Threat Shield in action - you can change the web protection settings directly in the browser.

To test its effectiveness for this Webroot review, I tried accessing various malicious test sites:

• maliciouswebsitetest.com - Blocked
• wicar.org - Blocked 13 out of 13 threats
• amtso.org - Blocked 14 out of 15 threats
• eicar.org - Blocked 4 out of 4 threats

Web protection test: it successufully blocked a web threat.

Overall, Webroot's web protection performed admirably, catching the vast majority of threats I threw at it.

Scan

Webroot offers several scan options to check your system for threats. Let's look at how each one performs.

Quick Scan

The Quick Scan is designed to check the most vulnerable areas of your system rapidly. In my test, it scanned 39,072 files in just 3 minutes. That's impressively fast compared to some other antiviruses I've used.

Quick Scan results: 39,000 files scanned in 3 minutes.

Interestingly, it found a single threat during my test - a leftover file from my earlier web protection tests. This shows it's thorough even in its quick mode.

Full Scan

The Full Scan is more comprehensive, checking all local hard drives. It took 51 minutes to scan about 600,000 files on my system. While that's longer than the Quick Scan, it's still faster than many competitors I've tested.

Full Scan options include choosing the depth of the scan and the files or folders.

You can customize the Full Scan to include or exclude specific files and folders. There are also advanced options like rootkit detection and archive scanning.

Deep Scan

The Deep Scan is Webroot's recommended option for thorough system checks. It looks for deeply hidden threats like rootkits and trojans.

In my test, it scanned 73,000 files in just 1 minute. That's incredibly fast for such a thorough scan. It didn't find any threats on my system, which was reassuring.

Scan Scheduler

One feature I always look for is the ability to schedule scans. Webroot doesn't disappoint here.

The scan scheduler enables you to customize automatic scans by setting scan frequency and exact time.

You can set up automated scans on a schedule that works for you. This ensures your system is regularly checked even if you forget to run manual scans.

Ransomware Protection

Ransomware is one of the most feared types of malware, so I was keen to test Webroot's defenses. I used a ransomware simulator to see how it would perform.

The results were decent, but not perfect. Webroot blocked 15 out of 22 simulated ransomware attacks. While that's better than having no protection, it's not quite as strong as some dedicated anti-ransomware tools I've tested.

Firewall

Webroot includes a firewall to monitor network connections and block potential threats. You can access it from the main interface under PC Security.

The firewall is not very customizable and you can disable it from the Scan & Shields tab.

The firewall is pre-configured with recommended settings, but you can adjust its behavior in the Advanced Settings. I appreciate that Webroot gives you the flexibility to customize protection levels.

To test the firewall's effectiveness, I used an online tool from grc.com. The results were impressive - Webroot's firewall successfully "concealed" all ports, making my computer essentially invisible to potential attackers.

The firewall passed the ShieldsUp! firewall efficiency test.

One feature I found particularly useful in this Webroot review was the ability to view and manage active connections. This lets you see exactly what programs are communicating over your network and block any suspicious activity.

The ctive connections window displays all network connections for your installed apps.

Password Manager

Webroot partners with LastPass to provide a premium password manager as part of the Internet Security Complete package. This is a great addition, as LastPass is one of the most respected names in password management.

LastPass lives on your browser bar and lets you store and log into websites easily.

Setting up LastPass was straightforward, and I found it worked seamlessly across my devices. It automatically saved new logins, generated strong passwords, and even alerted me to weak or repeated passwords in my accounts.

The password manager's dashboard makes it easy to organize your accounts and quickly launch websites. Overall, it's a robust solution that adds significant value to the Webroot package.

System Analyzer

The System Analyzer is a diagnostic tool that scans for potential security risks and performance issues on your computer.

The System Analyzer interface includes a button to run the system analyzer or learn more.

When I ran it during my Webroot review tests, the tool provided a thorough report covering hardware, software, and security aspects of my system. It identified a few areas for improvement, such as outdated software and some privacy settings that could be tightened.

System Analyzer results: my system is running well.

While not unique to Webroot, I found this feature helpful for getting an overall picture of my computer's health and security status.

System Optimizer

The System Optimizer is designed to clean up unnecessary files and improve your computer's performance. It's easy to access from the Utilities section of the main interface.

System Optimizer results: 822 MB of space was recovered.

In my test, the optimizer recovered about 820 MB of disk space by removing junk files. The process was quick, taking less than 10 seconds. While not a massive amount of space, every bit helps, especially on systems with smaller SSDs.

You can also schedule the optimizer to run automatically, which is a nice "set it and forget it" feature for keeping your system tidy.

Access Control

Access Control is essentially Webroot's tamper protection feature. It's designed to prevent malware or unauthorized users from disabling or modifying Webroot's protection.

Access Control settings include enabling password protection and several other settings.

You can set a password to protect critical features and enable options like protection against program termination or tampering. I particularly liked the option to require a CAPTCHA when changing critical settings - an extra layer of security against automated attacks.

Secure Erase

Secure Erase is a file shredding feature that permanently deletes sensitive files. You can access it by right-clicking any file and selecting the Secure Erase option.

The Secure Erase options are scarce: three levels of security: low, medium, high.

What I appreciate about Webroot's implementation is the ability to choose different levels of security. The higher levels take longer but make file recovery virtually impossible. This flexibility lets you balance security and speed based on how sensitive the data is.

System Performance Impact

One of Webroot's biggest selling points is its lightweight nature, and my testing confirmed this claim. While running a full system scan, Webroot used only about 10% of my CPU and 100 MB of RAM.

The system resource usage during scan is low compared to other antivirus solutions.

This is significantly lower than many other antivirus solutions I've tested, which often use 25% or more CPU during scans. The low resource usage means you can run scans without noticeably impacting your computer's performance - a big plus in my book.

Webroot Review: Conclusion

After extensively testing Webroot Internet Security Complete, I can say it's a solid antivirus solution with some standout features:

• The installation and scan speeds are impressively fast
• It has a minimal impact on system performance
• The web protection is robust, blocking most threats in my tests
• The inclusion of a premium password manager adds significant value

However, it's not without its drawbacks:

• The user interface, while functional, feels a bit dated
• Some features, like the system optimizer, are relatively basic compared to dedicated tools
• The ransomware protection, while good, isn't best-in-class

If you're looking for a lightweight antivirus that won't slow down your computer, Webroot is definitely worth considering. Just be aware that you might need to supplement it with additional tools if you want more advanced features like a VPN or comprehensive parental controls.

Norton, Bitdefender, and McAfee are excellent alternatives if you need reliable antivirus protection. Check out our curated list of top antivirus software for 2024.

Octav Fedor (Cybersecurity Editor)

Octav is a cybersecurity researcher and writer at AntivirusGuide. When he’s not publishing his honest opinions about security software online, he likes to learn about programming, watch astronomy documentaries, and participate in general knowledge competitions.