We talk about AdAware many times on the show and in our newsletter, but have never written a tip for this essential software. AdAware is a product of Lavasoft (a Swedish company) and is designed to help our computers get rid of spyware and adware. Spyware and adware deposit little programs that install themselves on our computer and threaten our privacy, our computer’s speed and stability, slow down our Internet connection, and often times cause many pop-ups.

To download the free version of this program can be downloaded from our Links & Resources section below. Downloading will take about 15 minutes on a dial-up connection. After downloading, double-click on the file to install the product.

After the program is installed, double-click on the AdAware icon from your desktop or Programs menu and follow the directions below. (See the movie of this tutorial by clicking here).

1. Click the "Check for Updates Now" button

2. Click Connect (you must be connected to the Internet)

3. Click OK if there is an upgrade available

4. Wait for the upgrade to finish, then click OK and Finish

5. Click Start from the main AdAware window

6. If this is the first time you have run AdAware, click the "Full System Scan" button. Otherwise the Smart Scan is fine

7. Click the Search for Negligible button to disable this feature.

8. Click Next to start the scan (will take up to 20 minutes on some computers in Full Scan mode)

9. When scan is finished, click the Finish button

10. RIGHT Click on any item in the list of results

11. Click "Select all Objects"

12. Click Next

13. Click Yes

14. Wait for the program to finish deleting then you can close the program.

This product does not prevent problems, but if you run it about once per month, your computer will stay cleaner and run smoother. Keep in mind also that unlike anti-virus programs, you need to run this manually in order to benefit from it.

AdAware is as important a tool in our digital belts today as anti-virus software. Keep in mind that one does NOT replace the other….you need both.

Add this article to:

Related articles:

1. Stick with HelpMeRick’s trusted security software
2. Warning: Your computer may be infected with viruses, spyware and exortionware
3. Fight Spy and Adware
4. Shareware and Freeware – March 2006
5. Spyblocker: My first nasty Vista spyware and repair success story

Tags: adware, download, install, Internet, spyware, update, upgrade, virus

This entry was posted on Saturday, December 31st, 2005 at 11:28 am and is filed under Internet Tips. You can follow any comments to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a comment, or trackback from your own site.