Adware is a form of malware that can be installed on your computer unknowingly. It can then spy on your computer to determine what you are searching for and then display ads that are related to those searches. This can lead to a huge amount of unwanted advertisements that can be extremely distracting, and slow down your computer. It also can pose serious security health, privacy and privacy risk. Adware is a tool that can collect data from you and sell it to marketers.
The company behind adaware is Lavasoft which has been in existence for decades and develops legitimate antivirus software solutions. The program is easy to install and doesn’t require you to remove your existing antivirus. Once it’s installed, you can perform a quick, full or custom scan from the main dashboard, and then run software updates.
Adaware offers three plans including free, Pro and Total. The free version offers immediate protection against downloads and viruses but does not include advertising blockage. The Pro version comes with unlimited tech support, email and web security as well as a robust fire wall. It also includes a file shredder, digital lock and parental controls.
In AV-Comparatives’ Real-World Protection Tests, Ad-aware could block 95.4 percent of malware-related samples, but only 97% during the zero-day detection tests. These results may appear to be good but they’re not as impressive when compared to the top brands in the market. Both the Pro and Total versions of this antivirus are backed by a 30-day money-back guarantee.