Webroot Internet Security Essentials 2011 Download:
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Review of Webroot Internet Security Essentials 2011By Jay Andrew Allen  
Founded in 1997, Webroot is a US-based security company with offices in Ireland and the Netherlands. Besides its corporate software offerings, Webroot produces a suite of essential security tools for the consumer market. Who could live, for example, without the Social Media Sobriety Test, a browser plug-in that tests whether you're too drunk to tweet? In all seriousness, though, Webroot Internet Security Essentials (WISE) is no marketing gag, but a comprehensive security solution that is rich with features.1) Features & Ease of Use: 10.5/15   Webroot Internet Security Essentials 2011 (aka 'WISE') gives users their money's worth with a raft of features, but also lacks some important features found on other systems. Dashboard: We found ourselves wishing that some other antivirus vendors put as much effort into their interfaces as Webroot did. The WISE Dashboard provides four buttons on the top window representing four key feature buckets: PC Security (virus scanning), Sync & Sharing, System Cleaner, and Identity & Privacy. Webroot provides a large status button indicating the security status of your computer, and informs users which security tasks should be run next. Clicking into any of the four buckets causes the Webroot UI to telescope into a details screen for that feature set; the four buttons become a menu strip along the top of the Dashboard.  View Larger Webroot Screenshots New Features:
We've already covered the UI, which is new in WISE 2011. Also new is Sync & Sharing, which enables you to use your Webroot.com online account to back up data, and share files with friends and family. WISE's Magic Briefcase feature acts as a virtual folder in which users can drop files and access them across all of their computing devices. WISE users are given 2GB of storage for free; upgrading to 50GB of storage will run users an additional $120 a year. That's pricier than other online backup solutions, such as Mozy, which charges $5.99/month for 50GB of backup space. It's also slightly more expensive than competitor Dropbox.com, which charges $99.00 per annum - and lets you share your files more easily with other users. (WISE lets you share folders with non-WISE users through its Send Folders feature.)
WISE added several other new features that bring it up to par with competitor's products, including Anti-Spam protection, Anti-phishing (blocking URLs that imitate online banking and other trusted Web sites), and secure browsing. The Shields feature of WISE provides real-time protection against viruses, network attacks, and malicious Web sites. Webroot has also re-tooled WISE's notification system so that pop-ups are only displayed in the event that a legitimate threat is detected. Other Key Features:
Like most products in its class, WISE offers a Gamer Mode that suspends anti-virus operations when an application is running full screen.
One major drawback to WISE is that few of its features offer any configuration options. For example, there is no Settings tab for configuring WISE's anti-spam engine. This is either a bane or a benefit, depending on your outlook: while it makes WISE of less benefit to power users who love to tweak their system settings, it simplifies the platform for mom and dad. WISE provides a browser toolbar for safe surfing. Alas, unlike many of its competitors, WISE didn't deem it necessary to support Google Chrome: the toolbar is only an option for Internet Explorer and Firefox users. What else is missing? Parental Controls. Most Internet Security platforms offer parents a way to control what their kids can view via the Web. The best ones even regulate the language used in Instant Messaging conversations. WISE offers nothing to parents. Firewall:
WISE 2011 introduces "automated" firewall protection. Translated out of marketing-ese, WISE provides a reasonable set of defaults for most users. The controls, however, are not as rich as in competitors' products. Platforms such as BitDefender Internet Security provide a slider control that allows even non-computer-savvy users to control their level of firewall protection. WISE offers defaults, but then forces users to dig into individual firewall settings for any and all customization. On the plus side, WISE issues fewer firewall prompts than Avira Premium Security.
2) Virus Scanner: 2/5  Scan Types: In keeping with its "keep it simple, stupid" philosophy, WISE offers a single default scan - a full scan of the entire system volume and all attached drives, along with a scan of registry entries, memory, the boot sector, and other potential infection vectors. Advanced users can click the Use custom scan settings checkbox to choose which disks and areas they wish to scan.  View Larger Webroot Screenshots Speed: No two ways about it - WISE falls down when it comes to performance. On our reference system*, WISE took 67.5 seconds to scan our 1GB test file matrix. That's a rate of 15.2MB per second, making Webroot Internet Security Essentials one of the slowest scanners we've reviewed this year. To the product's credit, however, it was much faster on subsequent scans, where it finished fifth overall. Updates: Webroot only updates its virus definition database once per day, tying it with McAfee for dead last in that category. *Reference Computer: Windows 7 Home Premium running on a Toshiba Pentium Dual-Core T4200 (64 bit), with 3GB of RAM and a 210GB hard drive. 3) Performance Testing: 4/10  
4) Effectiveness: (Virus/Malware Detection) 11/15   5) Help & Support: 3/5  » On-Screen Assistance: WISE does a nice job explaining the various program options to users within the application. In this sense, it helps that WISE keeps the available options and settings to a minimum: the less there is to configure, the less that needs to be explained.
» Help Manual: WISE provides plenty of helpful documentation online, including a full manual, a Quickstart tutorial, and several instructional videos.
» Online Support: The Support button in the product takes users to an online troubleshooter. Users who can't find what they need here can log a support ticket via the Web. There is no online support outside of a Twitter account, but Webroot does (grudgingly) provide a technical support contact number in small type near the bottom of the page. We've said it before, and we'll say it again: companies should save money on live support by making an excellent product - not by obscuring their contact details!
» Quick Support Links:• Support Home • Answers Page CONCLUSION:
Webroot is one of those products that vexes us. It has a great UI, some excellent features, and a simplified approach to computer security that could benefit many average end users. But its lack of more sophisticated features (like Parental Controls) and its dearth of configuration options are large chinks in its armor. WISE also drags on computer performance: it scored a mere 54 out of 120 points in our System Impact scoring. In terms of accuracy, WISE performs well enough to earn an AV-Test.org Certification rating - but just barely. Consumers would do well to wait and see how Webroot improves the next release.
*Installation Time: 3 minutes and 57 seconds plus 1 reboot (excluding updates) Misc Info:
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Top 5 Internet Security Programs:
1) Norton Internet Security 2011 Review
2) Kaspersky Internet Security 2012 Review 3) Avast! Internet Security 6 Review 4) ESET Smart Security 4.2 Review 5) G Data Internet Security 2011 Review
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Webroot Internet Security Essentials 2011 Screenshots  |
Webroot Internet Security Essentials 2011 System Requirements:
Minimum Requirements:
• Windows XP: 32 bit SP2, SP3
• Windows Vista: 32 & 64 bit (all Editions)
• Windows 7: 32 & 64 bit (all Editions)
• 300 MHz or better processor (1 GHz recommended for Windows Vista & Windows 7)
• 256 MB of RAM memory (2 GB recommended for Windows Vista & Windows 7)
• 500 MB available hard-drive space
• Internet Explorer 6.0 and higher, Firefox 3.0 and higher
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Best AntiVirus Software:
• Norton AntiVirus 2012• NOD32 Antivirus Version 5
• Kaspersky AntiVirus 2012
• Avast! AntiVirus Pro 6.0
• Avira AntiVir Premium Version 10
Advanced Protection:
• Norton Internet Security 2011• Kaspersky Internet Security 2012
• Avast! Internet Security 6
• ESET Smart Security 4
• Norton 360
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