- Quick specs
- Price: Free; paid upgrade available
- Operating system: Windows 2000/XP/Vista
- Date added: December 11, 2009
- Total Downloads: 342,962,464
- Downloads last week: 552,436
- See full specifications
- CNET editors' rating: stars
- Average user rating: stars out of 11351 votes
See all user reviews
CNET editors' review
Reviewed by: Seth Rosenblatt on October 11, 2009
One of the first applications built to find and remove malware and spyware, Ad-Aware's reputation is well-justified. The latest version continues the publisher's tradition of adroitly addressing user concerns, but isn't yet perfect.
Building on the improvements made in version 8, former Ad-Aware users should be glad to hear that the program installs faster than it used to. Without a doubt, though, this version of Ad-Aware improves greatly on what has come before. It loads faster during your boot cycle, and scans are faster. Empirical tests noted that while the Quick Scan finished in less than 10 minutes for version 8, the current version's Quick Scan finished in under three minutes. Previous files that had been falsely detected as threats weren't flagged this time around, probably due in part to Ad-Aware's behavioral detection engine. Called Genotype, it's based on heuristics and uses a one-pass scanning system, Genotype isn't directly exposed to users, although you can opt in to anonymously contribute data from the Settings menu. The new version also explicitly calls out in the scan windows what the scan looks for.
New users should note that Ad-Aware Free performs faster than integrated antivirus and antimalware programs in part because only the paid version of Ad-Aware comes with an antivirus engine. Other important features are disabled in the free version. While rootkit detection is present, behavior-based heuristics and real-time registry protection are not. Ad-Aware Free cannot scan networked drives, and even a basic feature like the scheduler remains off-limits to nonpaying customers. The proprietary real-time defender Ad-Watch Live has been reconfigured to run more smoothly in the background, however, and long-time fans will notice the change. Ad-Aware continues to make improvements and seems to be unwilling to rest on its malware-removing laurels, but the free version is undeniably hamstrung.
Watch the CNET video review of Ad-Aware Free Anti-Malware:
Publisher's description
From Lavasoft :With behavior-based threat detection and integrated real-time monitoring, Ad-Aware focuses on core consumer security needs. Instead of adding layers of bells and whistles--thereby slowing your computer and scans down--we have decided to focus on what really matters. Ad-Aware provides advanced threat protection, and is significantly lighter and faster than our previous versions.
What's new in this version:
Improvements:
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User reviews
- Average user rating: 3.8 stars out of 11351 votes
- My rating: 0 stars Write review
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Showing 5 of 33 user reviewsSee all 33 user reviews
This software version | All versions -
Version: Ad-Aware Free Anti-Malware 8.1.2
Pros: More than I expected.
Cons: None yet and I've used it a long time
Summary: This does what I want it to do. But it is a huge program at almost 80 mb..
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Version: Ad-Aware Free Anti-Malware 8.1.2
"Good consistent free program"
Pros: Easy to use, consistent, dependable. This program typically just finds tracking cookies but has saved me a couple times from trojans and similar bad infections.
Cons: The free version doesn't allow you to schedule regular scans so all scans have to be conducted manually. But hey, what can you expect, it's free. Good free program.
Summary: The few times I've had a major infection on my system, this program has consistently identified and helped remove it.
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Version: Ad-Aware Free Anti-Malware 8.1.2
"Great product, easy to use and trustworthy"
Pros: The reliability that Ad-Aware has been known for in the past has been improved. Ease of use with the set and forget functionality of this most recent version is beyond belief. For the techy type you can override the basic settings.
Cons: The free version is limited to just the very basic but functional use.
Summary: Before I spend money on a downloaded program I like to make sure that it will not have compatibility issues with existing software for at least 1 month or atleast 10 auto scans.
I look forward to finishing trails with the free version before... read more >> -
Version: Ad-Aware Free Anti-Malware 8.1.2
"Simple mode is good enough for me"
Pros: Extensive updates when needed, do the heavy lifting in the background. As a major element of my defense arsenal, needs little attention for lots of protection. Right-click menu of tray icon can often get the job done. Self-updated today to 8.1.3.
Cons: Big updates take a long time to download. Makes downloading updates to save to flashdrive for installing on dial-up internet systems a pain, but necessary for dial-up security. Can't always get Ad-Aware to quit for installation of other software.
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Version: Ad-Aware Free Anti-Malware 8.1.2
"Excellent program. Easy installation."
Pros: User friendly
Cons: What's not to like.
- See all 33 user reviews Write review
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