I have just converted to Webroot SecureAnywhere Internet Security Plus from Norton Antivirus as our subscription was through Best Buy and they are no longer supporting Norton Antivirus through subscription. It was a free conversion. Anyway, it is for three computers. My two computers use Hughesnet, so no problems there, but my folks have dialup for their computer and theirs is the third one that I have to convert tomorrow. My question is, being that Webroot uses the cloud based definitions and all that, will this work for them using dialup? With Norton, I had their computer set up to NOT automatically update, and every few days I would bring it over here and update it through my Hughesnet, including Windows updates as well. With Webroot it has to be able to automatically update as needed to work properly, correct? So, again, will this work on dialup or is it going to cause massive slow downs anytime they are online because of the constant communication with Webroot's servers? If it will cause all kinds of slowdowns, if I set it to NOT automatically update will it still provide them any protection, or no because it doesn't keep the definitions on the computer like Norton did?
They don't do much browsing except for going to baseball card sites and reading their emails, so I could always just use Microsoft Security Essentials for theirs if Webroot is going to be a problem. They have Windows 7 still and use AOL
And, before anyone suggests it, we can't get DSL, cable or Fios here. Two years ago I even got a petition with over 50 signatures on it to convince them to install the DSL equipment in the access box at the end of our road, but they still didn't do it after telling me they would consider it. Stuck with dialup or Hughesnet.
Thanks in advance for the help.
Page 1 / 1
WSA will work on Dial-up the amount of data used by the client is quite small, if your parents are happy enough to surf online with dial-up then WSA will be happy! Since the PC is only going to be online for short periods it may be worth running a deep scan when they get online.
1. Open SecureAnywhere and click the 'cog' beside 'PC Security'.
2. On the Scan & Shields tab, select Custom Scan.
3. Select deep scan from the Customized Scan Window and Click Start Scan
1. Open SecureAnywhere and click the 'cog' beside 'PC Security'.
2. On the Scan & Shields tab, select Custom Scan.
3. Select deep scan from the Customized Scan Window and Click Start Scan
In fact, because Webroot was designed as an online / offline client and is tiny / quick to install as well as not needing constant definition updates, it's almost like it was purpose built for dial-up customers 😉
Downloading and installing it isn't a problem. I can do that here using my Hughesnet. Doing a scan isn't a problem either. I'm just concerned with when they are online. When they go online they are sometimes online for five or six hours looking at baseball sites. My concern is if Webroot will be trying to download information during this time as it will slow their connection while browsing to a crawl. When they first go online will it check definitions and such, and if so, will it be a big download/upload? Also the active protection while they are browsing... is it constantly checking the cloud for new threats? Does it just do a check every hour or so, or however often, to make sure about definitions? This is why I had to disable the auto update in Norton. I realize that this doesn't download definitions and keep them on your computer like Norton did, but is it constanly connected to the server and checking things? If so, that could slow their connection to a crawl.
Thanks for the response.
Thanks for the response.
"In fact, because Webroot was designed as an online / offline client and is tiny / quick to install as well as not needing constant definition updates, it's almost like it was purpose built for dial-up customers
Hi,
I have to dissagree with this statement; Webroot is the only one AV on thae market which doesn't have a resident signatures database and HAS TO BE CONSTANTLY conected to the cloud.
" tiny / quick to install" doesn't have to do anything with the question raised by OP.
If you are on dialup , is not advisable to use an AV which requires 100% internet connection for maximum protection; any AV with resident signature database and incremental updates would be more suitable.
And no, " it's NOT almost like it was purpose built for dial-up customers". On the contrary, WSA was designed for modern computers which are 100% of the time conected to the internet on a fast speed /reliable connection ,not dialup.
666
Hi,
I have to dissagree with this statement; Webroot is the only one AV on thae market which doesn't have a resident signatures database and HAS TO BE CONSTANTLY conected to the cloud.
" tiny / quick to install" doesn't have to do anything with the question raised by OP.
If you are on dialup , is not advisable to use an AV which requires 100% internet connection for maximum protection; any AV with resident signature database and incremental updates would be more suitable.
And no, " it's NOT almost like it was purpose built for dial-up customers". On the contrary, WSA was designed for modern computers which are 100% of the time conected to the internet on a fast speed /reliable connection ,not dialup.
666
Hi 666,
The difference is that WSA enables extremely aggressive heuristics and journaling when it doesn't have connection and it uses extremely little bandwidth when it is online. The core product and design actually originated at a time when computers were very slow in the days of XP.
"Tiny and quick to install" is directly applicable because there are no massive updates to download and install over 56k. This means when you are connected, you are not out of date on your protection when you do connect.
However, you are correct about the lack of an offline definitions database. It's something to consider if you actually expect to become infected when your computer does not have a connection. I'm not exactly sure how that would happen if you're just a home user not the targets of a 0day USB-borne infection. In that case virus definitions wouldn't help you anyway and since it wouldn't have journaling you'd have probably less protection in the end. Plus the virus and the changes it made get removed when you connect to the internet (assuming it's not a targeted attack)
There are certainly issues with the Webroot approach to security in some areas, but what you are bringing up is based on the classical approach without understanding the product.
The difference is that WSA enables extremely aggressive heuristics and journaling when it doesn't have connection and it uses extremely little bandwidth when it is online. The core product and design actually originated at a time when computers were very slow in the days of XP.
"Tiny and quick to install" is directly applicable because there are no massive updates to download and install over 56k. This means when you are connected, you are not out of date on your protection when you do connect.
However, you are correct about the lack of an offline definitions database. It's something to consider if you actually expect to become infected when your computer does not have a connection. I'm not exactly sure how that would happen if you're just a home user not the targets of a 0day USB-borne infection. In that case virus definitions wouldn't help you anyway and since it wouldn't have journaling you'd have probably less protection in the end. Plus the virus and the changes it made get removed when you connect to the internet (assuming it's not a targeted attack)
There are certainly issues with the Webroot approach to security in some areas, but what you are bringing up is based on the classical approach without understanding the product.
Hi explanoit,
"extremely aggressive heuristics" is known to produce a high level of False Positive, so increasing the heuristic level to "aggressive" is not an answer for loosing contact with the cloud;
"uses extremely little bandwidth when it is online" that is true, but the computer has to be 100% connected to the internet and connection has to be reliable / not dialup.
" I'm not exactly sure how that would happen..." if you download a RAR file and decide to un-RAR it while you are offline , you can get infected - WSA doesn't scan in real time RAR files
" Plus the virus and the changes it made get removed when..." If the virus makes your computer un-botable, WSA cannot reverse any changes from simple reason that cannot start.
666
"extremely aggressive heuristics" is known to produce a high level of False Positive, so increasing the heuristic level to "aggressive" is not an answer for loosing contact with the cloud;
"uses extremely little bandwidth when it is online" that is true, but the computer has to be 100% connected to the internet and connection has to be reliable / not dialup.
" I'm not exactly sure how that would happen..." if you download a RAR file and decide to un-RAR it while you are offline , you can get infected - WSA doesn't scan in real time RAR files
" Plus the virus and the changes it made get removed when..." If the virus makes your computer un-botable, WSA cannot reverse any changes from simple reason that cannot start.
666
1.) If you're in the military and install games without a connection or a travelling salesperson using training software in places you're not allowed to connect to the internet there are situations where it would be a concern.
2.) TCP is designed for these environments, the internet worked fine before DSL and Cable.
3.) Yes, my grandma is also extremely active in the warez scene
4.) WSA's heuristics and sandboxing mostly prevent that from happening. If you get ransomware where it takes up the entire screen and you can't get connected then yes you would be in trouble.
2.) TCP is designed for these environments, the internet worked fine before DSL and Cable.
3.) Yes, my grandma is also extremely active in the warez scene
4.) WSA's heuristics and sandboxing mostly prevent that from happening. If you get ransomware where it takes up the entire screen and you can't get connected then yes you would be in trouble.
Hi explanoit,
I appologize if my answers are not in line with your oppinion!
I do not appreciate the sarchasm ("Yes, my grandma is also extremely active in the warez scene"); all I wanted was to point out advantages and disavantages of a 100% cloud AV like WSA.
Among disavantages is a dial-up conection: WSA is not suitable for a dial-up connection which is, by definition, slow and unreliable.
666
I appologize if my answers are not in line with your oppinion!
I do not appreciate the sarchasm ("Yes, my grandma is also extremely active in the warez scene"); all I wanted was to point out advantages and disavantages of a 100% cloud AV like WSA.
Among disavantages is a dial-up conection: WSA is not suitable for a dial-up connection which is, by definition, slow and unreliable.
666
I have to disagree with you also as the 2 Threat Researchers already said it does not need much bandwidth when your online and it just seems you have a bone to pick with WSA but I would believe them more than I would you.@ wrote:
Hi explanoit,
I appologize if my answers are not in line with your oppinion!
I do not appreciate the sarchasm ("Yes, my grandma is also extremely active in the warez scene"); all I wanted was to point out advantages and disavantages of a 100% cloud AV like WSA.
Among disavantages is a dial-up conection: WSA is not suitable for a dial-up connection which is, by definition, slow and unreliable.
666
TH
I guess I could just give it a try. The worst it could do is just slow it down, and if that happens, then I guess I will have the answer to my question for sure.
As for them doing anything on the computer while not online, they wouldn't know what to do anyway. My folks are still completely lost when it comes to anything other than clicking on the AOL icon, waiting for it to dial in and connect, and going to baseball card sites and the like and checking email. Of course, I did forget to mention that my stepfather goes on to Facebook daily. However, other than leaving comments on Facebook and doing those other things, they wouldn't have a clue as to how to download or install anything, so that's not really a concern. They are so lost that one day he called me because he couldn't connect, which was finally solved after about 20 minutes when he connected the phone cord to the USB modem. He had no clue what the USB modem was and it took me 10 minutes of trying to describe what was wrong like I was talking to a third grader trying to do calculus. So believe me, what they do with their computer is VERY basic. No games, no downloading of any files, no installation of anything other than what I do for them. They think I'm a genius because I can go online without AOL. LOL.
In the Advanced settings, there is a tick for "Automatically Download and Apply Updates". What exactly are these updates? Program updates?
When they first connect to the internet each day, does Webroot connect to the servers, and if so, what exactly is it doing? Also, in laymans terms, if it doesn't have the definitions on the computer, but rather in the "cloud" (servers), how is it that it can protect the computer when going to websites and such? I guess this is why I have questions about using it with dialup, as I don't really know how Webroot works. I do understand, though, that there aren't the large virus definition updates that there are with most other AV products.
Thanks in advace.
As for them doing anything on the computer while not online, they wouldn't know what to do anyway. My folks are still completely lost when it comes to anything other than clicking on the AOL icon, waiting for it to dial in and connect, and going to baseball card sites and the like and checking email. Of course, I did forget to mention that my stepfather goes on to Facebook daily. However, other than leaving comments on Facebook and doing those other things, they wouldn't have a clue as to how to download or install anything, so that's not really a concern. They are so lost that one day he called me because he couldn't connect, which was finally solved after about 20 minutes when he connected the phone cord to the USB modem. He had no clue what the USB modem was and it took me 10 minutes of trying to describe what was wrong like I was talking to a third grader trying to do calculus. So believe me, what they do with their computer is VERY basic. No games, no downloading of any files, no installation of anything other than what I do for them. They think I'm a genius because I can go online without AOL. LOL.
In the Advanced settings, there is a tick for "Automatically Download and Apply Updates". What exactly are these updates? Program updates?
When they first connect to the internet each day, does Webroot connect to the servers, and if so, what exactly is it doing? Also, in laymans terms, if it doesn't have the definitions on the computer, but rather in the "cloud" (servers), how is it that it can protect the computer when going to websites and such? I guess this is why I have questions about using it with dialup, as I don't really know how Webroot works. I do understand, though, that there aren't the large virus definition updates that there are with most other AV products.
Thanks in advace.
They will be well protected and yes Updates are Program Updates which install in a flash and the Program is only 740kb!
Daniel
Daniel
I use Dial-Up internet connection of mobile telecom internet service using a modem or dongle on a laptop. It has a download and upload speed of 230 kbps of which the speed usually roams around 190 kbps on daily usage. I'm gonna soon move on to 3G connection with 1 mbps speed. Probably next month.
I've been using WSA for 2 years now. I've never experienced any slowness or sluggishness in using the internet in presence of WSA. I had a problem with sluggishness in browsing sometime ago. I found out the problem was with another software.
I can assure you you'd feel no sluggishness when online in presence of WSA. It has offline protection. So no worries.
If you have confusions about WSA and want to know more about how WSA works as a cloud AV you're more than welcome to ask here in the Community. There are experts, experienced users and the whole Webroot Team who would surely explain and clear your confusions. 🙂
Thanks for the reply and the info. I will definitely go ahead with it on their laptop.
You're welcome. Don't forget to let us know how it went.;)
Reply
Login to the community
No account yet? Create an account
Enter your E-mail address. We'll send you an e-mail with instructions to reset your password.