Features
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License:
Free; paid upgrade available (Buy it now)
- Editor's Rating:
- Average User Rating:
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Downloads:
314,250,896
- Requirements:
Windows 2000/XP/2003 Server/Vista(32- and 64-bit)
- Limitations:
No limitations
- Date Added:
November 05, 2008
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Previous Versions:
Publisher's description of Ad-Aware 2008
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.
Editor's review of Ad-Aware 2008
4.0 stars
- "Great protection with a catch"
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.
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User reviews
- Average user rating: 3.8 stars out of 10446 votes
- My rating: 0 stars Write review
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Showing 5 of 148 user reviewsSee all 148 user reviews
This software version | All versions -
15 out of 19 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!
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9 out of 15 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.
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8 out of 14 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!
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7 out of 14 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.
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9 out of 16 people found this review helpful
Version: Ad-Aware 2008 7.1.0.11
"Download drop or segment Never installed correctly"
Pros: Liked the old one. Sorry the updating was too poor
Cons: missed too many items
Summary: After several attempts either saving a download or having it open while online failed, I gave up and went to another product
- See all 148 user reviews Write review
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