Webroot Internet Security Essentials
An assembly of Webroot's Spy Sweeper anti-spyware with other companies' malware protection
Pros
- Unbalanced
Cons
- Undoubtedly good at stopping malware
Bottom Line
WISE is the proverbial curate’s egg and suffers from appearing to be a suite cobbled together from various components. It’s undoubtedly good at stopping malware but its not the fastest around and its firewall isn’t cutting edge. Overall, an unbalanced security suite.
-
Price
$ 59.95 (AUD)
Webroot Internet Security Essentials is an assembly of Webroot's Spy Sweeper anti-spyware with other companies' malware protection
Webroot is perhaps most well known for its best-of-breed anti-spyware tool, Spy Sweeper. Webroot Internet Security Essentials - or WISE - builds on the strengths of this by adding anti-virus, firewall and automatic backup, to create a security bundle.
These aren't in-house add-ons - the anti-virus comes courtesy of Sophos, the firewall from PWI PrivateFirewall and the backup from the well-regarded SOS Backup Online.
The WISE bundle covers most security angles but anti-spam, personal information and parental controls are absent. Given the suite's name, these must be considered non-essential, presumably!
However, the package's simplicity doesn't make WISE fleet of foot. Not only is installation relatively slow but you'll notice longer boot times once WISE is installed.
WISE's user interface, which uses muted autumnal colours, is based in that found in Spy Sweeper. The core of WISE rests on over a dozen 'shields', each one designed to detect and prevent specific types of malware.
The spyware side of WISE achieves the usual high Webroot standard, as does the AV side, scoring goods results with the independent testing labs such as ICSA and West Coast Labs and obtaining four VB100 scores out of the past five Virus Bulletin tests.
As well as offering a full range of protection WISE also incorporates a gamer mode to ensure you can play games uninterrupted. However this appears to turn off some protection rather than just the irritating pop-ups. Scanning is also a tad slow. Apart from this, we have no real complaints on the malware side.
The firewall didn't disappoint, successfully ‘stealthing' the first 1056 ports according to the GRC ShieldsUp! test. The firewall learns your Internet usage over a definable period but this initially allows access for all programs, even the bad ones.
WISE's backup lets you backup either locally or online: you get 2GB of online backup space and extra capacity can be bought. Even with fast broadband the initial backup was painfully slow, which is only to be expected.
However, subsequent backups are much faster because only changes to existing files are backed up. You can access your backed-up files from any Internet connected PC, which could prove handy in a scrape.
Brand Post
Most Popular Reviews
- 1 Dell U3223QE review: A winning debut for an IPS Black monitor
- 2 HP Spectre x360 16 review: The right 2-in-1 at the wrong time
- 3 Acer K242HYL review: An affordable monitor for any occasion
- 4 GeForce Now review: You bring the games, Nvidia streams the hardware
- 5 Asus ProArt PA279CV monitor review: The go-to for content creators on a budget
Latest News Articles
- The best free VPNs for Windows
- LastPass admits attack but assures master passwords are safe
- Apple patches Log4Shell iCloud vulnerability that set internet ‘on fire’
- NordVPN is offering 2 years of VPN service for $111
- Federighi blasts iPhone sideloading as a ‘gold rush for the malware industry’
Resources
Macworld
What's new, plus best mac-related tips
and tricks
Business Centre
The latest business news, reviews, features and whitepapers
Videos
Watch our video news and reviews from around the world
Guides
Comprehensive buying guides, features, and step-by-step articles
PCW Evaluation Team
Pedro Peixoto
Aruba Instant On AP11D
Set up is effortless.
Cate Bacon
Aruba Instant On AP11D
The strength of the Aruba Instant On AP11D is that the design and feature set support the modern, flexible, and mobile way of working.
Dr Prabigya Shiwakoti
Aruba Instant On AP11D
Aruba backs the AP11D up with a two-year warranty and 24/7 phone support.
Tom Pope
Dynabook Portégé X30L-G
Ultimately this laptop has achieved everything I would hope for in a laptop for work, while fitting that into a form factor and weight that is remarkable.
Tom Sellers
MSI P65
This smart laptop was enjoyable to use and great to work on – creating content was super simple.
Lolita Wang
MSI GT76
It really doesn’t get more “gaming laptop” than this.
Featured Content
- Which Lenovo Laptop Should I Buy?
- Every TV in Samsung's 2022 line-up: OLED, Neo QLED and more!
- Top 10 best Android and Apple phones for under $600
- Everything you need to know about Smart TVs
- What's the difference between an Intel Core i3, i5 and i7?
- Laser vs. inkjet printers: which is better?