Webroot Spy Sweeper

Does Spy Sweeper with Anti-Virus protection use a lot of system resources?

My grandmother has this software on two of her computers. I feel that they are using a lot of memory to the point of making the computers slow. The software seems to have three running processes: SpySweeper.exe, SSU.exe, and WRCosumerService.exe. It's the SpySweeper.exe and WRCosumerService.exe that are using a lot of memory. How much they use depends on the day. It's usually anywhere from 15 MB to 70 MB each. I would say the average is 35 MB each. The CPU usage is usually 0.

Could someone tell me how to completely shutdown this software so I can test to see if it's causing the computers to be slow? Honestly, this is one of the most infuriating pieces of software I have ever used. I don't know why she likes it so much. I don't even think it's that good. It let her computer get infected with rogue spyware protection software twice within a week. The last one was rather nasty too as it installed a rootkit and a couple of trojans.

 

The last time i installed Spysweeper, it literally crashed my Laptop (XP Pro SP2; Dual Core) and wouldnt boot back up again.
I had to do a complete format and reinstall the OS.
Im never touching that thing again.

(Perhaps you could install Deep Freeze for her, it did it for my lil sister, now i dont have to remove toolbars and fake antispyware applications every week. Infact, i dont think she has had any problems with her PC after installing DeepFreeze)

 

I´ve known Webroot for a couple of years. When version 5.8 proved to be unstable, I went back to 5.7. The product has been going downhill since.
Bad code, product instability, incompetent or absent tech support, etc. Privacy policy
Last time I checked, they installed a toolbar (ask.com?), they send 'anonymous' information to Webroot. I'm sure there are other unpleasantries as well. You really need to read the EULA, privacy policy etc.

Btw, I have never tried the version that included the antivirus.

She likes it so much ? A few years back it was good. Nowadays, it's just a waste of resources and source of problems. I think I once read a test proving that the AV is of very bad quality.

Viruses, trojans, spyware, adware etc have blended into malware. Antispyware software is useless IMO. The antivirus vendors are much better at targeting spyware/adware.
My recommendation is to get her a good security suite, you may want to consider a non-default install. Or not.
See: av-comparatives.org for some good AVs. Always trial it before buying it.
A good AV should catch almost all malware.

Of course, there is no substitute for not clicking on ads, attachments, being careful about what to download, updating the software, being able to handle social engineering. A safe browser, or even IE 7 but securely configured, is also a must.

That's basic computer security.

I would recommend completely removing the Webroot software. Maybe they have an uninstallation utility. Since it's Webroot, it may be a good idea try see if the REVO uninstaller can remove leftover traces.
And run Hijackthis to see what toolbars are present.

Don't forget to cancel the autorenewal.

The previous poster mentioned Deep Freeze. For as far as I understand, Deep Freeze doesn't allow the user to make any changes to the system (maybe not even data), so I don't think that's a good idea.

Btw, are you sure (aside from Webroot ) that the computer is clean ?
You could try an Avira rescue CD and DrWeb LiveCD, and MBAM.