Pricing

Webroot provides the pricing for each of its products in a convenient drop down menu, making it easy for shoppers to find exactly what they need quickly and easily.  For your convenience, we've compared the prices of the Webroot SecureAnywhere Antivirus and Webroot SecureAnywhere Complete packages.  As you will see in the pricing table below, the Webroot Antivirus package can be purchased for individual computers, but the Complete package is available only in a package that will serve up to 3 PCs. 

Webroot also offers some supplemental services which are available for an additional fee. These include:

Installation Service - $39.95 per computer - With this service, Webroot technicians remotely access your computer via a secure connection to properly configure, optimize and test your software, or to test previously installed Webroot software to ensure that it is working as efficiently as possible.

Security Health Check - $49.95 per computer - This service includes a 10-point security diagnostic for each client to diagnose and repair all identified problems, which is done through a secure remote connection. The focus of this service is on security configurations, updates and threat diagnostics.

Spyware and Virus Removal - $129.95 per computer - With this service Webroot technicians access your computer through secure channels to locate even the toughest and most hidden malware including viruses, spyware, rootkits, keyloggers, adware and more.

Finally, Webroot offers several computer security software packages for businesses, though none is only an antivirus protection plan. Webroot business plans include SecureAnywhere Endpoint Protection, Web Protection, Email Security and Email Archiving Systems. Information about these offerings is sparse on the Webroot website, and pricing is also not immediately available. Instead, business owners are encouraged to sign up for the free trial to see if they like the service before receiving the prices.

Features

Webroot's SecureAnywhere antivirus software is designed to protect your computer against a multitude of invaders including viruses, worms, rootkits, keyloggers, Trojans, adware and spyware.  We did note that the SecureAnywhere Antivirus software does not protect against website-related threats, and that you'll need to upgrade to the SecureAnywhere Complete package to get this type of protection. 

Feature
Antivirus protection
Antispyware protection
Host-based intrusion prevention system (blocks unauthorized changes to programs)
Removable media control (protects removable drives such as CDs, DVDs and flash drives)
Anti-phishing protection
Malware detection
Automatic updates
Gamer mode
Antirootkit
Protection against keyloggers
Internet security training (educational service for users to help them protect themselves from online threats)
Community protection
Protection from non-secure websites
Available for Macs

Of additional note are the monthly reports provided by Norton to inform all users of any suspicious or blocked activities that were blocked during each month of service. We did notice that Norton AntiVirus is lacking several features that its competitors offer, including firewall protection and sufficient anti-phishing protection.

Ease of Use

Webroot's SecureAnywhere Antivirus software is cloud-based, meaning that it won't drain resources from your computer or slow down your systems.

  In addition to problems we encountered during our quest for decent customer service (which are chronicled below), we also stumbled upon some other trouble spots on the Webroot website.  The biggest problem we found was that on the products comparison page, there was a checkbox panel allowing us to insert our preferences, with no place to submit the information for feedback or guidance. 

Webroot Comparison Page

Like Kaspersky, Webroot requires you to provide your name and email address in order to access the download to the free trial of their antivirus software.  Then, like Kaspersky, you don't actually need to access your email to download - you can just follow the links and use the key provided. 

Installation Screen

As our chat representative said, installing Webroot Antivirus really only took 2 minutes. We were both surprised and intrigued to see that instead of telling us how much time Webroot's scan was going to take, it told us how much of the scan had elapsed, and how long it had already taken.  Consequently, when the first scan was complete, we knew that it really only took 3 minutes, by far the fastest scan of any antivirus software we tested.

Initial Webroot Scan

In the Webroot Antivirus control panel, we found it easy to identify nearly all the tasks that we were looking for, including run a scan and how to configure a variety of settings such as gamer mode and shortcuts. What we found especially interesting was the ability to submit files to Webroot that we thought were infected or corrupted, for further evaluation, thus allowing us to get extra, personal assistance with troublesome files.

Webroot Control Panel

Although the Webroot website itself isn't the easiest to navigate, and it doesn't function entirely perfectly in Chrome, we were extremely impressed with the caliber of the company's antivirus software. 

Customer Support

Webroot's customer support module is undoubtedly the weakest of all the antivirus services we tested during our antivirus comparison.  For starters, their phone support hours are not clearly listed on the site.  We called in the early hours (EST) on a Friday morning, and received a message saying that the office was currently closed, but no times were provided informing us when would be a better time to call back.  We later discovered that phone support is available Monday-Friday from 7am-8pm MT, and on Saturdays and Sundays from 7am-6pm MT. 

During the course of our Webroot review we discovered that chat support is available only during business hours and that the chat support button disappears from the site during off hours, giving the illusion that there is no available chat support. Email support appears to be available on the contact us page - but the only email addresses listed are those for business products and sales, SaaS (software as a service) and press inquiries. No email address is listed for home computer security software.

Webroot Chat

Webroot does offer what they call an 'automated agent', which is essentially a database that can be searched for answers to questions.  We tested this service with several queries and for the most part, found that the answers returned were entirely irrelevant. 

The one redeeming quality of Webroot's customer support was its phone support.  When we finally reached an agent, the hold time was only 2 minutes long, and the agent spoke clearly and confidently, answering our questions and helping guide us to find the right product for our specific needs. 

Poor Support Service from Webroot

Awards and Certifications

The awards designated specifically for Webroot's SecureAnywhere Antivirus software are limited to an Editors' Choice award from PC Magazine and inclusion on the list of 100 Best Products of 2011 by PCWorld - but the company's software as a whole has received dozens of other notices throughout the technology industry.  We were unable to confirm any certifications on the Webroot website. 

Highlights

• Fastest download and scan time as compared to other antivirus options
• Limited customer support
• Confusing website
• Pricing for multiple computers is especially reasonable
• The SecureAnywhere Antivirus software is lacking some basic protective services

Summary

Webroot's confusing website and limited customer support gave us an initially poor impression of the company, but we were convinced otherwise by the company's extremely fast and effective antivirus software.  There's no question that what it lacks in features, it makes up for in speed, and we also have good reason to believe that the company's upgrades are equally impressive.  Consumers looking for a quick solution should truly enjoy Webroot Antivirus - provided they know where to find the right product on the company's website.