AdwCleaner

AdwCleaner frees your computer of unwanted programs and malware, including adware, toolbars, and more. Regardless of how these programs ended up on your computer, this app can remove them quickly and smoothly.

Pros

Nice interface: AdwCleaner presents all features clearly through its intuitive interface. The Progress Bar across the top of the screen shows how the chosen activity is progressing, and below that, you'll find buttons for actual tasks, including Scan, Clean, Report, and Uninstall. You'll find scan results in the bottom section of the window, organized into categories like Services, Folders, Files, Shortcuts, Scheduled Tasks, Registry, and more, to facilitate searches.

Works quickly: No matter which function you're using, you won't be stuck waiting around for it to finish. Everything from Scans to Cleanings are accomplished quickly and smoothly, making this program a good option to incorporate into your daily or weekly maintenance routine.

Cons

Aggressive default removal: This program is pretty aggressive in terms of what it removes. That's often a good thing, but it can also mean that some items you wanted or needed are purged as well from time to time. In order to avoid this, you can go through individual items and deselect anything you want to keep before running the cleaning feature. But that can get a little tedious and also significantly increases the amount of time it takes to complete the process.

Bottom Line

AdwCleaner offers a lot of nice features in an accessible, convenient, and free package. It's a good option for users of all experience levels, although the fact that it aggressively removes programs may prove a challenge for real novice users.