Webroot Internet Security Essentials placed ninth in our 2010 roundup of security suites. The suite is basically Webroot's SpySweeper antivirus/antispyware application packaged with a firewall, an antispam utility, backup software, and Internet browsing protection thrown in. While that may possibly satisfy fans of SpySweeper, it may not be sufficient for everyone else: It lacks the parental control features that are common in other Internet suites, and it falls well short when detecting and disinfecting brand-new malware threats.

However the Webroot interface is useful, it requires some development. Webroot uses a 3-column layout, with navigation on the left, configuration choices in the middle, and technical details on the far side. I get the interface to be hidden and unintuitive at times.

Webroot discovered and stopped all active malware infections on our test computer and it take out all traces of 60% of the samples. Webroot identifyed 93% of inactive rootkits and all active rootkits, though it left some behind, removing only 87% of rootkit samples. Norton Internet Security 2010, our top pick in the 2010 roundup, was capable to detect and remove all rootkit samples.

That said, Webroot did practically well at detecting malware using traditional signature-based detection, finding 96.2% of samples. Though, signature-based detection is not as important as it once was, with practical detection measures becoming more important.

Webroot does give free technical support by phone, but only on weekdays from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. Mountain Time. Also giveTwitter-based tech support has limited hours. The company also provides PDF versions of the suite's manual online,.

Webroot does well at traditional antivirus and antispyware detection, but we think the times demand strong protection against new threats that cannot be noticed in the traditional ways. In those areas, Webroot's performance just is not sufficient for us to suggest.