Previously you could log into your account and view the status of all your Webroot installations, even the details of their latest scans. Alas, Webroot has switched to using less-secure SMS-based authentication.Īnother disappointment is the removal of Webroot’s impressive monitoring and remote-control system. Previously you’d set up MFA by scanning a QR code with Google Authenticator or a workalike. You can further enhance your security by protecting your account with multi-factor authentication. That odd system has been replaced by a standard CAPTCHA. It might ask for the second and fourth characters on one visit, and the sixth and seventh on another. Each time you’d log in to the online profile, it would demand two specific characters from that security code, different each time. It used to require a secondary security code that you enter in an unusual fashion. But Webroot required a truly strong password and wouldn’t accept anything less. I don’t always use the strongest passwords for profiles used in testing, since they’re only needed for the duration of the test. The process has a strong emphasis on security. Webroot's Online ConsoleĪs part of getting started with Webroot, you’ll set up a profile online. A panel at the right manages access to the rest of this product's collection of security features. Even if you never click that button, Webroot makes a full scan during installation and runs a scheduled scan every day. Its green-toned main window features a lighter panel that includes statistics about recent scans and a button to launch an on-demand scan. The product's appearance hasn't changed appreciably in quite a while. Even with these added tasks, the process goes quickly. Among the listed tasks are: scanning for active malware analyzing installed applications to reduce warnings and prompts establishing a system baseline and optimizing performance for your unique system configuration. Immediately on installation, it busies itself with a collection of startup tasks, checking off each one as it finishes. Webroot's installer is tiny, less than 6MB, and it installs in a flash. Overall, the two editions offer similar security features, though Webroot doesn't go quite as overboard with expert features on the Mac. Some components of Webroot AntiVirus for Mac, in particular the web-based protection system, are identical on both platforms. You can use your Webroot license to install antivirus on either a PC or a Mac. As always, you may find any of these prices discounted for the first year, sometimes quite deeply. Previously that was the only price, but by observation, Norton now offers a five-license pack at $84.99 per year, As for McAfee AntiVirus Plus, it costs $64.99 per year, but that subscription gets you unlimited protection for your Windows, macOS, Android, iOS, and even ChromeOS devices. You’ll still see it in plenty of places, including the application’s main window, but the official name is now just Webroot AntiVirus.Ī one-license subscription to Norton’s standalone antivirus runs you $59.99. As with Trend Micro, if you want more licenses you must upgrade to the next-higher product, or just pay the full price multiple times.Īlong with the simplified pricing, Webroot has dropped the word “SecureAnywhere” from official product names. When last reviewed, it also offered three licenses for $49.99, but at present, there’s no volume discount at all. Like Bitdefender, Kaspersky, and several others, Webroot costs $39.99 for a one-year subscription. McAfee doesn’t always score as high, but a single subscription protects all your devices. Bitdefender aces independent lab tests and boasts more features than some suites. Two products retain the Editors’ Choice imprimatur in the antivirus realm, Bitdefender Antivirus Plus and McAfee AntiVirus Plus. While we still have a positive impression of Webroot, we're no longer naming it an Editors' Choice winner as we have in the past. Keeping the brains in the cloud makes Webroot amazingly small and fast. If it’s malicious, the tiny local Webroot program wipes out the attacker and reverses its actions. But any program that’s unknown runs in a bubble, with no ability to permanently modify the protected system, while Webroot’s cloud-based analytics determine its fate. It does wipe out malware that it recognizes, and it greenlights known good programs. Webroot AntiVirus takes a slightly different approach from most. There are many ways an antivirus program can detect the presence of malware, ranging from simple signature-based detection to elaborate behavior analysis schemes.
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