Ad-Aware 8.1 Pro running under Windows 7. |
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| Developer(s) | Lavasoft AB, Sweden |
| Stable release | 9.6 / November 1, 2011 |
| Operating system | Microsoft Windows |
| Available in | Multilingual[1] |
| Type | Spyware removal software |
| License | Proprietary |
| Website | Lavasoft.com |
Ad-Aware is an anti-spyware and anti-virus program developed by Lavasoft that detects and removes malware, spyware and adware on a user's computer. According to Lavasoft, Ad-Aware detects spyware, computer viruses, dialers, Trojans, bots, rootkits, data miners, aggressive advertising, parasites, browser hijackers, and tracking components.[2]
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Ad-Aware was originally developed in 1999 to highlight web beacons inside of Internet Explorer. On many websites, users would see a tiny pixelated square next to each web beacon, warning the user that the computer's IP address and other non-essential information was being tracked by this website. Over time, Ad-Aware added the ability to block those beacons, or ads. Ad-Aware no longer makes the user aware of the ads on the screen, instead the program fights spyware, adware, viruses and other malware.
In the 2008 Edition, Lavasoft bundled Ad-Aware Pro and Plus for the first time with an antivirus scanner,[3] which uses the Avira engine[4] and this practice continued in the subsequent releases.[5]
As of 2011[update], Lavasoft makes Ad-Aware version 9.6 available in three core versions:[6]
Lavasoft also offers an Ad-Aware version for businesses, named Ad-Aware Business Edition,[7] which is designed for use over networks. It has a central server console interface with licences for installing Ad-Aware Pro Internet Security on the networked machines.[8]
Lavasoft also makes available an Ad-Aware spin-off product aimed at online gamers and entertainment fans, called Ad-Aware Game Edition.[9]
Each version includes anti-spyware and anti-rootkit protection, as well as integrated protection against real-time threats. As of July 7th the Ad-Aware Free Internet Security version also include antivirus.[10] According to Lavasoft, Ad-Aware allows computer users to combat malicious spyware, viruses, and malware; it protects users from malware that takes control of a computer and can result in aggressive advertising pop-ups, in sluggish computer activity and in the stealing of private information. The vendors says that Ad-Aware detects hazardous content on a user's computer, identifies the threat level, and then gives the user the ability to block or remove unwanted content.
According to PC World magazine, an older version of Ad-Aware, the Anniversary Edition, could locate only 83.6% of malware in a comparative test carried out by the security firm av-test.org.[11] However, as the article states, no such tests have been run on the newest version. Neil J. Rubenking at PCMag has performed a lab test on the latest version, 8.3, where Ad-Aware scored 9.2 points, beating the previous top score of 9.1.[12]
Ad-Aware installs Google Chrome, which will be done automatically unless the user de-selects the tick-box in the Ad-Aware installation program.
Ad-Aware Anniversary Edition, which has now been replaced with Ad-Aware 8.1, is listed as having been downloaded over 339 million times as of November 2009[update];[13] however, since its primary competition is not downloadable from the same location, a comparison of relative market-share is not possible with these figures.
The paid versions of the product are under threat from more functional and lower cost, even free, competition such as Microsoft Security Essentials.[11]