Category:  Utilities        Download Ad-Aware 5.8

With all the hype over Person-to-Person file sharing, more commonly known as MP3 trading, and the desire for free to very low cost software, many programs are now beginning to come bundled with built-in ads or extra programs that are installed along with the original program. These extra programs that are installed can be anywhere from a small harmless ad program or a small program that collects pretty much meaningless info to programs that allow a company to gather detailed info from you, and in some very rare instances actually gain access to portions of your computer. With the huge increase in programs using these methods to pay for the costs of developing and distributing them, or simply to make a quick buck, your computer becomes flooded with these excess programs. Most of the time they are nothing more than annoying to you, the user, but sometimes they can be dangerous and if you are a person who does not like the idea of a company collecting small demographic or personal info on you they can mean a huge hole in privacy. Ad-aware is developed by Lavasoft and was created to scan your computer, in the same way a virus scanner does, and detect these extra programs which have been installed. Once they have been detected the program prompts you with a list of what it found and ask you what you would like it to do about them.  With Ad-aware you can easily clean and rid your computer of these annoying pieces of software installed along with many of the "ad supported" programs in distribution now. Especially if you are a big user of File Sharing programs, Ad-aware is a must. For more information on spyware and adware visit Cexx.org's Spyware Page. Note that sometimes removing a certain "spyware" or program detected by Ad-Aware can result in some programs that require or use them to stop working temporarily. It is strongly suggested that you visit the getting started tutorial at Lavasoft's site here.

 System Requirements: 

• Windows 95, Windows 98, Windows ME, Windows NT,  Windows 2000, or Windows XP

   Installation:

Download and open the file to begin the installation. Once the program is installed simply double click the Ad-Aware Icon on your desktop. You may wish to visit the quickstart tutorial located on Lavasoft's site here.

Download Ad-Aware 5.8
(865KB, 4 min @ 28.8)