Webroot WiFi Security is a fairly new VPN from American security company Webroot. The company’s primary focus is on computer security, so it makes sense that their VPN has the same priority. The Webroot website markets the VPN as a companion to their popular antivirus software.
Webroot WiFi Security isn’t trying to be everything, but instead focuses on protecting you with reliable, strong security features through a simple interface.
Below is an overview of Webroot WiFi Security’s key features and overall performance:
Streaming
Webroot doesn’t make any promises about unblocking streaming content. It simply isn’t the focus of their service at this point in time. Webroot even acknowledges on the help section of their website that you may not be able to access streaming websites like Netflix, Hulu, and Amazon at all while using their service.
While this may not matter if you are using the VPN on a work device, for example, this creates a big problem for those of us who use streaming sites regularly. Even if you are located in the US, it’s not ideal to have to turn off your VPN whenever you want to watch Netflix.
Torrenting
Webroot WiFi Security does not support P2P sharing or torrenting on any of their servers.
Speed
Consistently fast connection speeds are extremely important when you are looking for a VPN. Webroot’s server network includes 35+ countries, and they claim to have multiple servers in each location.
We had mixed results in our speed tests. By far the best connections speeds were found by connecting to nearby servers in the US.
With a base speed of 70 Mbps, Webroot’s local US servers were able to consistently give us speeds of around 40 Mbps.
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Connections speeds for server locations farther away were mixed. Our speeds when connected to Germany ranged from 13-25 Mbps.
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Across the world in Australia we were only getting around 5 Mbps.
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Though it can’t compete with the speeds of some of the top VPNs, we were still pretty impressed with Webroot’s speed when we were connected to nearby servers. However, don’t expect to get consistently fast speeds with this VPN when connecting to servers farther away.
Security
Webroot WiFi Security offers some strong security features and well-rounded protection. This VPN uses military-grade AES 256-bit encryption, and users can choose between PPTP, L2TP, and IKEv2 protocols. OpenVPN is not supported on any platform.
Windows, Mac, and Android users can take advantage of an automatic kill switch, although it currently isn’t an option for iOS. This ensures that your online activity isn’t compromised by a sudden connection drop.
Webroot also has an auto-connect feature that will automatically activate Webroot WiFi Security if you connect to an unsecured network, even if the VPN is turned off.
Their Webroot BrightCloud Threat Intelligence web-filtering feature protects you from risky or malicious websites. This is a nice plus, because it offers an extra level of protection against identity theft and malware. Web-filtering is only available on Windows, Mac, and Android devices.
Webroot WiFi Security’s existing security features function well and offer strong basic protection, although some of the most impressive features aren’t available for iOS.
Logging
Webroot’s privacy policy is very explicit about what information it does and does not collect from users.
Webroot does collect and process the following information each time you use the VPN:
- Billing information and email addresses
- The date and time your session began and ended
- The amount of data transmitted during the session
- The VPN location you connected to
- The VPN country you connected from (though not your exact location or IP address)
- The number of devices simultaneously connected to your account
Webroot does not collect any of the following data:
- Your browsing activity
- Downloaded data
- DNS queries
- IP addresses
This means that Webroot doesn’t collect any information about your activity and data.
However, any time your WiFi Security app crashes, anonymous logs of what happened prior to the crash may be saved for troubleshooting purposes. According to their privacy policy, this could include some downloaded data and DNS queries.
They also make it clear that they have the right to share your personal information with affiliates and third-parties for processing, storage, or marketing purposes, but they do provide several ways to opt-out.
Though Webroot’s logging policy may not be ideal if total privacy is your top priority, we appreciate their transparency.
Device Compatibility
Webroot has native apps available for:
They currently don’t support any other platforms. The interface and features are similar across all of the apps with the exception of iOS, which is the only app that doesn’t come with a kill switch or web-filtering.
Price and Value for Money
Webroot’s plans all include the same features, and purchasing options differ depending on whether you are purchasing through the website or a mobile app.
On the website, you can only purchase a yearly subscription. You can choose between a three device and five device plan. The yearly subscription comes at a discounted price for the first year, but the price goes up for renewal.
On the iOS app, you also have the option to choose a monthly plan that is billed through your Apple Store account.
Webroot doesn’t offer any money-back guarantees, but you can take advantage of a 7-day free trial if you download the Android or iOS app.
You can purchase a subscription on the website using:
- Major credit cards (including Mastercard, Visa, American Express, Discover, and JCB)
- PayPal
Customer Support
Webroot offers a number of resources to help with installation and troubleshooting on their website, including:
- How-to guides on installation and setting up additional features
- A searchable Knowledge Base that provides answers to a number of FAQs
- A Webroot community forum to post questions and browse previous answers
You can also submit a message to Webroot support, which is available 24/7, or call a customer support representative during business hours.
In our experience, messages with simple questions are answered fairly quickly (though not immediately) by the 24/7 Webroot support, but for more complex issues you may have better luck with the customer support line.
User Experience
All of the Webroot WiFi Security native apps are very easy to set up and use. The interface is simple, and the app will automatically connect you to the fastest server available with a single click.
The stripped-back design is a plus if you don’t want to spend time manually configuring your VPN. Features like web-filtering, Automatic WiFi Security, and a kill switch are turned on by default, so you can simply install this VPN, click connect, and get started.
It’s also very straightforward to turn off any features that you don’t want.
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On the other hand, what you see is what you get. There are very few settings available, so you don’t have much freedom to configure the VPN if you’re an advanced user.
Conclusion
Webroot WiFi Security offers a very user-friendly interface and strong protection, complete with key features like secure encryption and a kill-switch. Additional features like web-filtering are a plus.
If your main goals with a VPN are security and ease of use, this VPN has a lot to offer. However, this VPN isn’t a great choice for geo-spoofing, since you’ll have trouble accessing most popular streaming sites. It also doesn’t support torrenting.
