Webroot Business Endpoint Protection

Webroot does an amazing job of removing and detecting threats to computers. We also found it very simple to install with a very light footprint on the computer. Users never complained about computer slow downs due to virus scans when we had Webroot deployed.

We faced two issues with Webroot. Their technology is impressive, but complicated. We never were able to really wrap our heads around how their technology worked compared to other antivirus / antispyware solutions, but it did work, and was quite successful at it. The other concern with Webroot was its price. It is the best software out there we have found for computer protection but it is among the most costly.

We use the software daily and find that it is easy to use and do not get any complaints from users about it slowing down their systems. Deployment and licensing is simple and can be done by sending an email with a link, group policy, or manual installation. We get alerts in near real time of any threats found and while we sometimes have to do additional remediation we have not had a serious outbreak.

We get false positives around generic Trojans that need to be whitelisted. The whitelisting of programs in by the MD5 hash of the files contained in the programs. The method for identifying and whitelisting the MD5 hash of files in the programs is not intuitive and is done by what Webroot sees as unidentified files. Since Webroot does not have the traditional whitelist a folder so it doesn't scan the folder for viruses that other AV systems use we are often having to explain and butt heads with software vendors who blame the AV for issues.

Technical support is knowledgeable, but we had issues getting a hold of technical support and response to tickets is often 24 - 48 hours.

Very easy to use and deploy, administrative console allows excellent granular controls of client privileges, scope of protection, and endpoint groups. Integrates with Windows server products for deployment (though I use Samba instead, so this was not an option), and provides a centralized point for administrator notification and action when compromised/infected systems are detected. Client seems relatively fast and works on multiple platforms, though see below re. OS X.

In my experience, Webroot, though the exposed end is fast and well-designed, does not reliably block or detect common threats. This is obviously a Big Deal in a product billed as enterprise-grade antivirus/antimalware. One employee at the affected client's office was able to download three separate third-party software installers containing malware payloads on a Saturday, install them, and work for a full weekend before I arrived back on Monday to complaints that her machine was being "slow and weird". I discovered that Webroot, though fully deployed and set to monitor downloads, warn on browsing, and scan the affected directories, simply had not alerted on anything. At that point, it doesn't matter how beautiful the interface may be: antimalware software which lets common malware through is essentially useless.

Also, while there is an OS X client, it's buggy and slow. It causes problems with network browsing and network virtualization with both VirtualBox and VMware Fusion, and it results, for some reason, in systemwide UI slowdowns, which suggest to me that there may be some elemental problems with the codebase: use of deprecated APIs, memory leaks, etc.—not usable.