How To Install And Use Ad-aware
Tagged Under : How-to's, Internet, Spyware
If your computer has slowed down quite a bit, crashes a lot more than it used to, and seems to put out a constant stream of pop-ups and ads, chances are good that your computer is infected with “adware.” Adware is a term for files and programs that get put on your computer without your knowledge or consent, in order to display ads to you. This article will show you everything you need to know to successfully install and use Ad-Aware.
Steps to follow
- 1. Downloading Ad-Aware
Visit Download.com and download the Free Version of Ad-aware SE.
2. When the Download.com page loads, click on the green “Download Now” button or the link next to it.
3. After you click, a new page will load which informs you that your download will begin soon. In a few moments, the dialog box shown below should appear on your screen:
4. Click the “Open” button. A progress bar should appear which tells you how long the download will take. When the download completes, the dialog box will disappear from the screen automatically and the box shown below will appear:
- Installing Ad-Aware
1. Close any other programs you have running (except your web browser), and click “Next.” The box shown below appears:
2. Review the license agreement and click “Next.”
4. Leave the “Anyone who uses this computer” option selected and click “Next.” The box shown below will appear:
5. If you have never installed Ad-Aware before, this is the box you see after completing step 2. It lets you select the location on your hard drive where you want to install the program. Unless you are an intermediate or advanced user, it is strongly recommened to click “Next” and let install to the default folder
6. Click “Next” to begin the installation. A box like the one shown below might appear for a few moments. It will disappear by itself after a short period which depends mostly on the speed of your computer:
7. Once the stuff shown above disappears, you will see the box shown below:
8. Installation is finished! Uncheck all of the checkboxes you see and click “Finish.”
- Updating Ad-Aware
Now it’s time to fire the program up and take it for a test drive. The first thing you need to do is look at your desktop. A new icon will be there, and it will look like this:
1. Double-click the icon to start the program. In a few seconds, you should see this screen appear:
2. Before a scan, you should always update the program. To begin updating, click the “Update” icon . When you do, the box shown below appears:
3. After you click “Update“, the box shown below appears:
4. Click Yes to get the update. Once the update is completed you’ll see the box shown below:
5.Your Ad-Aware program is now updated. Click on “OK” to continue.
- Running Ad-Aware
You should now see the full Ad-Aware screen.
1. Click “Scan Now.” On the screen that appears, you will see a section like this:
2. Select “Full Scan ” and then click the “Scan” link.
3. The scan will begin, and the next screen that appears will feature lots of file names and other gibberish that flashes by very quickly. You can safely ignore all of this. As the scan progresses, you will probably see something like this:
4. Depending on the speed of your computer and the number of files and programs on your hard drive, the scan can take quite a while (30-60 minutes, sometimes more). When the scan is complete, you will see something like this on the screen
5. This is the nasty stuff that we want to get rid of. To do that, under “Critical Objects” click on the box next to the + to select all the items. Do the sabe under “Privacy Objects” .
6. Click “Remove” to remove of the items.
7. You might see a message do to some items being in used. Read the message and just follow the instructions.
Tips:
- When too much spyware is loaded on your computer, it eats up your system resources and you notice a drastic slowdown. You may also notice tons of pop-ups that seem impossible to stop. In addition, your web browser may take you to the wrong sites, and after a while, it might quit working altogether. In fact, if you use Internet Explorer and you don’t have any spyware removal tools, chances are your computer is infected by hundreds of problem-causing objects.
- Ad-Aware is one of the best spyware removal programs available. It is a free product, but don’t let the price fool you. For most users, Ad-Aware will kill spyware as effectively as anything else on the market. This article shows you how to install and use Ad-Aware in order to wipe out spyware and keep your system running at its best. However, you improve spyware removal rates by running several programs as discussed here.
