Adware is a type malware that is installed on your computer with no knowledge. It will then track your activities to discover what you are looking for and then show ads that are relevant to those searches. This can lead to an abundance of unwelcome ads that could be very distracting and slow down your computer. It also can pose serious security as well as health and privacy threats to your health and security. Adware can be used to collect data from you and sell it to marketers.
The company behind Adaware is Lavasoft which has been in existence for decades and develops legitimate antivirus software solutions. It is easy to install and does not require you to uninstall your current antivirus. After it’s installed you can perform a quick full or custom scan from the main dashboard and perform software updates.
There are three plans that come that include adaware: free Pro and Total. The free version offers real-time protection and download security but does not include ads blocking. The Pro version is more comprehensive and comes with unlimited tech support as well as web and email protection and a strong firewall. It also adds a file shredder, digital lock, and parental controls.
In the AV-Comparatives Real-World Protection Tests, Ad-aware managed to block 95.4 percent of malware samples but only 97% of malware samples in the zero-day detection tests. While these results may appear adequate, they’re not impressive when compared to the leaders in the industry. Both the Pro and Total versions of this antivirus come with a 30-day money back guarantee.