Simplify your laptop buying
- Quick specs
- Price: Free; paid upgrade available
- Operating system: Windows Vista, Windows XP, Windows 2000
- Date added: November 05, 2008
- Total Downloads: 320,544,093
- Downloads last week: 825,481
- See full specifications
A newer version of Ad-Aware 2008 is available.
(Download doesn't provide access to previous versions of this program.)
- CNET editors' rating: stars
- Average user rating: stars out of 11263 votes
See all user reviews
CNET editors' review
Reviewed by: CNET Staff
One of the first applications built to find and remove adware and spyware, Ad-Aware's excellent reputation is well-justified. The 2008 edition looks to be more of a course correction from some of the missteps in the 2007 version.
The adware and malware detection engine has undergone a significant overhaul, resulting in faster scan times and improved rootkit detection. New users should notice that the app performs faster than integrated antivirus and antimalware programs: That's because only the paid version of Ad-Aware comes with a new antivirus engine. Only users of Ad-Aware's paid versions reap that benefit.
The updater is no longer permanently on, and it instead runs in your system's background only if you activate it--eliminating a big problem with last year's model. The interface improvements include six skins, cleanly designed tabbed navigation for each of the program's main functions, and easy-to-see red Xs and green check marks to indicate a features status.
Besides the antivirus integration, other features disabled in the free version include the real-time Ad-Watch guard, heuristics scanning, the scheduler, and plug-ins. Although Ad-Aware detects and removes malware with ease, we hesitate to recommend it as anything more than a secondary detection engine considering that many free competitors offer more features and similar, if not stronger, levels of effectiveness.
Watch the CNET video review of Ad-Aware 2008:
Publisher's description
From Lavasoft :With the ability to scan your RAM, Registry, hard drives, and external storage devices for known data-mining, advertising, and tracking components, Ad-Aware 2008 can clean your system easily, allowing you to maintain a higher degree of privacy while you surf the Web.
Ad-Aware 2008 includes an improved threat detection, enhanced rootkit removal system, faster updates, Lavasoft ThreatWork to submit suspicious files for analysis, and is now compatible with 32-bit and 64-bit Windows Vista. Version 7.1.0.11 may include unspecified updates, enhancements, or bug fixes.
What's new in this version:
Version 7.1.0.11 may include unspecified updates, enhancements, or bug fixes.
More popular Spyware Removers downloads
- 679,439 downloads 1. Ad-Aware Free Anti-Malware
- 601,989 downloads 2. Malwarebytes Anti-Malware
- 103,767 downloads 3. Spybot - Search & Destroy
- 32,254 downloads 4. Spyware Doctor 2010
- 30,647 downloads 5. Trend Micro HijackThis
- See all Spyware Removers downloads
User reviews of Ad-Aware 2008 7.1.0.11
- Average user rating: 3.8 stars out of 11263 votes
- My rating: 0 stars Write review
-
Showing 5 of 304 user reviewsSee all 304 user reviews
This software version | All versions -
18 out of 23 people found this review helpful
Version: Ad-Aware 2008 7.1.0.11
Pros: I think this product is easy to use. Updated regularly and a large Malware database.
Cons: The Scanner sometimes freezes during a scan, then when you click stop scan the program crashes, when you open it up again, it will say the scanner is buisy when it isn't even scanning!
-
11 out of 18 people found this review helpful
Version: Ad-Aware 2008 7.1.0.11
"Program freezes during middle of scan."
Pros: None- cannot get the program to work on my Vista OS.
Cons: Keeps freeizing durring middle of scan, even after uninstalling, and reinstalling.
Summary: Older versions of the program were much better. The updates were much smaller files, and the scans would complete much quicker and not freeze.
-
2 out of 3 people found this review helpful
Version: Ad-Aware 2008 7.1.0.11
Pros: Previous version worked well
Cons: Freezes during scan for no reason, often is unable to remove the affected files after a lenghty scan. Just seems to want to remove all cookies rather than the malicious ones
Summary: It may be the Vista OS, but this version does not too the required job. Tried a number of times to re-scan and re-install but it kept freezing and i was not able to remove the cookies it saw as a threat. When I was able to do this, it just seemed to... read more >>
-
10 out of 18 people found this review helpful
Version: Ad-Aware 2008 7.1.0.11
Pros: *Looks cool....barely
Cons: *Caused a BSOD, even the error report from MS said so.
*Slow
*Not enough features
*Unstable!Summary: Don't use it! If it doesn't cause serious problems, it'll slow everything else down. It is not very effective and is not worth the download!
-
9 out of 18 people found this review helpful
Version: Ad-Aware 2008 7.1.0.11
"I This version has problems. error 1920?"
Pros: No pros in this one.
Cons: Error 1920? on install. So deleted install.
- See all 304 user reviews Write review
Submit your review
Previous Versions:
