DownLoad of the Week:Ad-aware 6.0

With its ability to scan your RAM, Registry, hard drives, and external storage devices for known data mining, advertising, and tracking components, Ad-aware can easily rid your system of these tracking components, allowing you to maintain a higher degree of privacy while you surf the Web.
The redesigned user interface improvements include more flexibility and control. This includes user-defined file sizes, which speeds up the scanning process by excluding files that it recognizes as clean. Other advanced features include automatic quarantine and Recycle Bin storage of removed components, an all-new viewer for backup archives that allows you to quickly and easily review components that have been removed and stored for future restoration, and an integrated reference file updater that can automatically search for new reference files when Ad-aware is started. The latest version includes improved Browser Hijacker detection, HOSTS file scanning, smart scan mode which improves speed and has been optimized to detect content at the root, and much more. Be aware that some ad-supported programs, such as GoZilla Free, will no longer function if you remove their ad modules.

Note: This version of Ad-aware detects the CNET Download Manager, powered by the Kontiki Delivery Network, as adware. To avoid uninstalling the CNET Download Manager, please exclude any Kontiki files currently recognized by Ad-aware.

Download.com Review of Ad-aware= FiveStar

And you probably also know about Ad-aware, one of the first applications built to scan your system for adware and spyware and remove it. Ad-aware's good reputation is well-justified. When Ad-aware's version 6.0 came out, it featured a sharp new interface and split the application into Standard (free), Plus, and Professional versions. This review covers the Standard downloadable version.
The sky-blue interface features five buttons. The first two, Status and Scan, lead to the core function of the application. These buttons initiate a scan of your files for adware components. After scanning is complete, the program presents a summary of results, followed by a list where you select exactly which components will be removed. Right-clicking an individual suspect gives more information about the piece of adware, though we would like to see more details. Ad-aware quarantines the files it removes, a nice feature which lets you restore those you don't really want to delete. The third button, Ad-watch, is nonfunctional in the Standard version. The fourth button, plug-ins, shows you what plug-ins are installed. Lavasoft offers a number of plug-ins on its site that extend the functionality of Ad-aware. The fifth buttons leads to the help files.

Ad-aware does and excellent job of finding and removing most adware and spyware components, although you will have to restart and rescan a number of times for a seriously infected machine. We were pleased to see an auto-update feature from within the program that updates the reference list, keeping Ad-aware up-to-date with the latest adware components. Overall, Ad-aware (Standard) should be part of your arsenal to keep your machine free of adware and spyware components.





ScreenShot

Date added: July 14, 2003
Minimum requirements: Windows 95/98/Me/NT/2000/XP
Uninstaller included?: Yes
License: Freeware

Price: Free

Version:v6.0.1.181

Developer: Lavasoft



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