Hi Teksonik
Been through very much the same process as you in terms of trying a number of different AV/IS/AMs which eventually got so convoluted (even though they tried to make one imagine that they were simplified) they became frustrating or they got bloated with 'unnecessary' function or just plain hit the system performance.
I have posted many times here about why one should make the move to WRSA...which for the main remains lean, mean and focused on the primary role of any AV/AM...PROTECTION.
But, recently WRSA was tested by PCMag (and more specifically Neil Rubenking, for whom I have a lot of respect) and whilst I would recommend that you should ditch Norton, I would also recommend that you read the article HERE before making any decision. It covers all the keep topics and features clearly and, in my opinion, objectively as to how & how well WRSA works at protecting the user.
What I would point out, however, is that whilst WRSA does come in AV, IS & Complete (read Security Suite) 'flavours', compared to many IS/Security Suites it will not provide all the bells and whistles that you might be used to with your current security app.
So one thing that you will need to decide is whether WRSA provides sufficient base protection & to which you can then add separate apps to cover off some of the 'bells & whistles'.
As case in point here is a Spam Filter; I have that covered with Spamihilator (which in my humble opinion, does the job as well as any built in one).
So, to summarise...the answer to your question IMHO is 'Yes', but do read the PCMag article, and add all of that into the pot before you decide.
Then, if you have any further questions please come back here to raise them and we will try to respond.
Regards, Baldrick
Thank you very much for your input Baldrick. I'll read the article now. It is all the bells and whistles that are driving me nuts with Norton. It's constantly grinding away accessing my hard drive whenever I step away from a system for a few minutes. It's doing automatic defragging and I've not been able to shut it off permanently. It's also prone to false positives and if my fuzzy memory is correct that might have been one reason I dropped Webroot some time ago. I seem to remember WR started to use more system resources as well but it's been so long ago I don't know for sure.
I'm about out of options at this point. I've used just about all the big names so far except Kaspersky which I won't touch with a ten foot poll after hearing Steven Gibson say it might have a backdoor that would allow them to access any file on any computer with KS installed. I was a private beta tester for Bitdefender for its Total Security 2019 product and it was doing some really shady things in the background. That and 12-20 minute update times just to do a simple start of the day definitions update drove me away from them. I quit the team in disgust.
I've got some test systems I could throw the demo of Webroot on if there is one. Thanks again for your help.
Thanks for the heads up about Spamihilator, @Baldrick. I might try that out!
I find Webroot to be effective. Like you, I have tried many security suites. Most are effective, as well. Webroot, though, is barely noticeable on my PC. All it does is work … quietly. No issues at all for me. The only thing left is to find out is what the sticker shock might be when my renewal comes due. As a customer, I'd like to see a discount for renewals, rather that an increase. Seems security software companies, specifically, do it the other way around - lure you in with a discounted price tag, then sock it to you upon renewal, sometimes very significantly. But that's another story. I would recommend Webroot highly.
All I can say is that i have tried them all through the years...nothing is a "completely perfect" solution, but for my needs this is as close as it gets. I was in IT for years and am an avid gamer to boot (albeit an old gamer now 😉 and this AV does not disappoint. Even with all the odd array of game modding tools that I use, I only have to whitelist (to clean up false positives) every so often. Highly recommend the work of this team and BIG kudos for all the work it takes to stay on the top...which is where WB is now IMO. There are other good ones too...but this is the best of the best to me. Great customer support included....what's not to like?
Thanks for all the responses everybody. Richfed, I think that the renewal price is one thing that caused me to drop Webroot. I seem to remember being upset my renewal cost was more than a deal I could get for a new license. Support was not at all helpful or sympathetic. Right now I'm finding links for Internet Security Complete five seat license for $59.99 on the Webroot site but $29.99 at a PC Mag affiliate link. I've downloaded the 14 day trial and will give it a go on one of my test systems.
Nothing compares to Webroot! I've been using it for >15 years and it is peace of mind. Webroot was PC Magazine Editor's Choice award for 5 years in a row! It does it all including stopping polymorphic mutated viruses that memorize your keystrokes and tries to gets you that way. Webroot is real time! In other words it catches any viruses payloads right away before being downloaded in your computer and notifies you so you can stop any attempts to infiltrate your valuable computer files.
I can't emphasize how important it is to have Webroot! I not only have it on my computer but also other family member computers.
I'd unistall Norton and get Webroot ASAP!
Keep in mind the cheapest price doesn't necessarily mean the best Quality!
That's not quite correct baitnhooklure:
https://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2369749,00.asp
6 out of 10 Suites scored better and 5 got Editor's Choice. Webroot was not one of them. It scored less than Norton.
Anyway I just got an email saying "Thanks for trying the demo. Here's exclusive savings" with a link to purchase for $63.99 even though I could get it for $29.99 and from the PC Magazine affiliate link and $59.99 from Webroot's site. Now I remember why I left Webroot. Really wonky pricing schemes.
The Best Antivirus Protection for 2019
Antivirus software is critical for every PC. Without it, you risk losing your personal information, your files, and even the cash from your bank account. We've tested more than 40 utilities to help you pick the best antivirus protection for your computers.
January 11, 2019 11:21AM EST
Webroot is Editors choice with 4.5 out of 5 stars. There are no 5 stars and lots of fours.
Excellent antivirus protection. 25GB hosted storage to back up and sync files. Tune-up tools for macOS and Windows. Full-featured Android security. Light on system resources. Fastest scan.
The protection better be top notch with insulting prices like this. Thanks for the $63.99 "savings" Webroot.
Try again bait.
This has been discussed many times on the forum before about Webroot renewal being overpriced. Welcome to the World of marketing. Nearly all security software companies do it. When I buy software the first thing I check after installation is "Auto Renewal". That I shut off first. With Webroot I look for a reputable dealer, Walmart / Costco / Wilders Security Forum etc. I would stay away from eBay. When WSA was first launched I bought 3 WSA boxes of Complete from the Naval Base. Each box had a 15 month subscription on them at I think it was $17.00 each. I called Support and they merged the 3 key codes into 1 key code. I was set for over 3 and a half years without interruption.
As for the security testing, I don't believe in most of them. My family has been using Webroot products since Spy Sweeper in 2004. We have been using WSA since it's launch. My wife knows nothing about computer security and she is sure a happy clicker. We have never been infected on any of our PC's. I also run WSA Complete on the Mac.
Dave.
Webroot is fine as an AV program but I would not bother with anything above the basic protection. The password manager is wonky to say the least. You'd be much better served with a free version of LastPass. Unless you require backup space, you're going to find all you need in WebrootSecureAnywhere… period. OR... just go with Windows Defender if you are on a pc. It has greatly improved and has minimal impact on system resources.
That's not quite correct baitnhooklure:
https://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2369749,00.asp
6 out of 10 Suites scored better and 5 got Editor's Choice. Webroot was not one of them. It scored less than Norton.
Not surprising. That is the review for the
"security suites", that is, the AV products with all their bells and whistles added on. Webroot's bells and whistles are mediocre to say the least, and this review rightly reflects that.
However, if you look at PCMag's review of the basic AV versions, Webroot comes right out on top (together with two others).
https://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2372364,00.asp
Personally, I think it
beats them all, but that's just my personal input (plus that of not a few others
).
Thanks but I need more than basic AV. That's why I searched for "Best Security Suites 2019". Of course there are fans for every one of them. Bitdefender users will say it's the best, and so on. The trick is to take in as much information as possible like this:
https://www.vipre.com/vipre-vs-webroot-features-comparison-2/
and then make a decision.
Like I said I've used most of the Suites out there including Webroot.
So the search for the right one for me in 2019 continues and I may just start using my Linux systems for general web surfing /e-mail. Linux outperforms Windows 10 by a mile here but I do need Win 10 systems because most of the important software I use has no Linux version.....yet and no I'm not going to use Wine.
Thanks for the responses everybody. Good luck with Webroot........
Thanks but I need more than basic AV.
Which bits??
- Password Manager? LastPass, on which Webroot's Password Manager is based, offers a free Password Manager which @ProTruckDriver swears by. And from all that is being said by Webroot management, the new Webroot Password Manager is going to be greatly superior to what we had before (though I agree that it would be better to wait and see on that one
)
- Sync? Dropbox does this far better than any other solution I know of, and what's more it's free.
- Backup? There are some really cool cloud data backup solutions out there, which allow you to go back to the data state of a file on a particular day, even a particular hour. Personally, I use CrashPlan Pro.
- System Analyser? I am told that there are far better free solutions out there, though so far I've never felt the need to use these utilities
- System Optimiser? Actually, I think this is the one Webroot bell/whistle that is worth it (and possibly also Secure Erase). However, if you want something even more complete for system optimisation, have you tried CCleaner (also free)?
The rest (that is,
everything that is to do with protection of your computer against malware, phishing, ransomware, worms, viruses, trojans etc; the web browser plugin and browser extensions to protect against all kinds of internet threats; the inbound and outbound firewall; the realtime shield; the identity shield; the journaling and rollback feature; etc, etc, etc...) are all—
absolutely all—included in the most basic to the most "complete" version, i.e. the version with the above bells and whistles.
To my mind, I will never choose my cybersecurity protection on the basis of such extras that are thrown in. If they give me some goodies (as System Optimizer does), well and good. That's a bonus. But I shall always choose my cybersecurity on the basis of which product protects me the best. against cyber threats On that front, in my opinion Webroot wins hands down.
Your mileage, of course, may vary.
The Webroot Community should be used to share information about issues related to Webroot, Webroot products and services, and cybersecurity in general.
As an aside (having now read the Vipre comparative test), I find it bizarre that the Vipre testers have not attempted to understand
Webroot's particular approach before conducting their test and writing their comparative report, nor do they seem to take into account the limitations of VirusTotal (see
this article by Marco Giuliano, a very talented malware researcher who is currently head of research solutions at Malwarebytes).
I apologise,
@Teksonik, for not properly digesting the latter part of your post but getting stuck at the first sentence. You are right, of course, when you go on to say that there is a tendency for each user to think that their AV product is the best. However, I hope you were able to take that into account when I said:
Your mileage, of course, may vary
And I wish you the best with whatever solution you opt for.
There are no perfect AV's or Security suites... or anything for that matter... period. As I posted elsewhere, it's part of the human reality - we're flawed and so is what we make. There will always be glitches and always, in the case of security programs, holes. Not sure why a suite is absolutely needed and why the "basic" AV is just not enough. Has this poster had serious breaches in his system that a basic AV could not prevent? How exactly would a suite have helped in that case? If the OS is up-to-date and reasonable precautions are taken when online (we all know this stuff so no need to expand upon it), then a good AV such as WRSA is just fine. If you insist upon visiting shady sites, downloading everything under the sun, visit gambling sites etc... well, you're going to have problems regardless of having a basic AV or a super-duper suite. Most tools cobbled together in suites are no longer necessary with Windows 10 and an SSD and generally have a negative impact on the computer. It's marketing hype that tells us we absolutely have to have the suite. Most of those extras are simply not needed or (as in the case of parental controls) can be found elsewhere.
The way most AV pricing is tiered is the basic AV is priced for 1 computer whereas the user who has multiple systems to protect is forced into a suite to get the cost savings. So for many of us it is not necessarily about the bells and whistles a suite offers but more about price per coverage.
Indeed. In addition, the "bells and whistles" are frequently more troublesome than they're worth and in some cases add to the overall bloat. With today's Win10 system and SSD's it is no longer necessary to defrag a system as it once was... to muck about in the registry to clean up files (which generally does nothing of substance to increase a sluggish system and to provide a password manager when so many good ones (and free ones) already exist. Generally speaking, the AV portion is all one really needs and I would not set a lot of stock in PCMag's Rubenking to tell me what is best. Check out AV-Test, AV-Comparatives or SE Labs to see some valid bench marks that are unaffected by advertising dollars.
Indeed. In addition, the "bells and whistles" are frequently more troublesome than they're worth and in some cases add to the overall bloat. With today's Win10 system and SSD's it is no longer necessary to defrag a system as it once was... to muck about in the registry to clean up files (which generally does nothing of substance to increase a sluggish system and to provide a password manager when so many good ones (and free ones) already exist. Generally speaking, the AV portion is all one really needs and I would not set a lot of stock in PCMag's Rubenking to tell me what is best. Check out AV-Test, AV-Comparatives or SE Labs to see some valid bench marks that are unaffected by advertising dollars.
I totally agree that most of the suites offering's are just feel good marketing hype, especially with modern OS and SSD's. I just wish these Security providers would offer a multiple machine license with just the AV alone...
