Ad-aware is the best-known adware and spyware removal program out there. Back before users even knew what adware or spyware were, Lavasoft provided Ad-Aware software to detect, block, and remove the malicious software. Finding out about the Ad-Aware was the way that many people first discovered that there were such things as harmful programs that could be put on their computers without their knowledge.

And now, this software is ten years old. Or rather, after constant improvements and upgrades, version 8.0 of the software is celebrating. So, how well is it faring after being in existence for ten years?

The reviews are somewhat mixed. Some reviewers talk about the longstanding reputation of Ad-Aware, saying that it’s well deserved. They distinguish between the free version, which leaves the user somewhat confused, and the paid version. In the latter, there have been many improvements, including quicker booting and scanning.

The anniversary version is usually considered to be an improvement. Unfortunately, the TrackSweep feature cannot be used with Apple Safari and Google Chrome browsers, which is a problem for some. Because this particular feature deletes your web history, some people find this unsatisfactory. And if you want to make sure you receive full functionality from the Ad-Aware, including real-time registry protection and heuristic detection, you should purchase the Pro version.

Those are some of the opinions of professional reviewers, but what about the user reviews, which reflect people’s actual experience? These reviews can vary greatly. Some people will tell you that Ad-Aware is the only program that could find certain spyware on their systems and completely eliminate it. However, some people ran such programs as Spybot after using Ad-Aware multiple times and they still had malware. But that pretty well applies to every anti-spyware program, thus indicating that no program will find every bit of malware.

Many of the negative reviews note major differences between the Pro version and the version available for free. The free version simply doesn’t offer sufficient protection to merit using it for many individuals. At times, the software was inadequate in removing malware that was guaranteed to be removed, with tech support being of no assistance. Nor was a refund, after everything had been tried and had failed. One user finally had to downgrade back to the previous version to use it at all, and the most recent version of the software actually froze the person’s computer in one or two cases.

However, on every site where users can give 1 to 5 stars when they do their reviews, the average after hundreds of responses comes in to the 3.5 to 4 range. The implication is that this program is still a good choice, and although it’s not the top rated program, it’s still worth checking out.

Along with a good anti-virus program, spyware removal software should be a priority to ensure the security of your computer and your personal information. The good news is you don’t even have to pay for it if you use freeware spyware remover software, which you can download from numerous websites that offer freeware spyware removal tools.

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Filed under: Malware

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