Kills Pesky Little Spy Programs
Written: Aug 20 '01
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Free, Small File Size (Quick Download), Works Quickly and Easily. Did I mention Free?
Cons: NA
The Bottom Line: Free, small download, works incredibly well in killing spyware programs.
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| RBradford's Full Review: AD-Aware |
Ad-Aware scans your computer files to root out and destroy pesky little spy programs that have infiltrated your system. This is a free program that anyone with an Internet connection should install. And best of all, it's FREE!
This program first came to my attention through Leo LaPorte at TechTV. I'm a big fan of both the television show and the web site (www.techtv.com), as Leo provides a lot of helpful advice on anything related to a "confusor" as he likes to refer to his computer. Because of his recommendation, I downloaded the free Ad-Aware program and gave it a try.
First of all, this is a free program and a relatively small file. With a DSL connection, it downloads in a few seconds, and it installs just as quickly. Configuration is simple and direct, and so far operation has been flawless. This program seems to keep with the KISS philosophy (Keep It Simple, Stupid - not the aging rock group) and does one thing really well - detect programs spying on your system and remove them.
When running Ad-Aware on my computer, it scanned my two physical hard drives (total of 26GB combined) in under a minute and found references to several "spyware" programs hidden in my files.
One was that annoying Comet Cursor program that I must have downloaded at a weak moment. Basically, it presents itself as a program to make your cursor change into various nifty shapes to fit in with the theme of a particular web page. It does this, but a lot more, including monitoring your surfing habits and sending data back to the site. Suddenly you get e-mails referencing items related to the site you just visited. Magic? No way, just a nosey little parasite in your system. This was the first fatality in my Ad-Aware campaign to clean up my files. Goodbye Comet Cursor!!
Other suspect files apparently rode into my computer as cookie files, tracking information and sending it back to companies like "Doubleclick", the king of Pop-Up and other intrusive advertisements. Dead, thanks to Ad-Aware.
Ad-Aware is excellent at finding and removing spyware programs, and can be downloaded for free at www.lavasoftusa.com or www.techtv.com. LavaSoft also offers a deluxe version with other features for about $15 on their web site. Personally, I think the free version works just great.
One thing that Ad-Aware DOES NOT DO and WAS NOT INTENDED FOR is keeping Pop-Up advertisements from appearing on your screen. Don't confuse Ad-Aware with programs that kill Pop-Up ads, like "Pop-Off", but I certainly recommend running both. These are the annoying ads (like the ones for X10 spy cameras) that pop up in new windows while you surf the Internet. TechTV has some good free programs to protect you from these other annoyances at www.techtv.com.
In summary, Ad-Aware is a quick and easy way to kill pesky little spy programs hidden in your files. It's easy to use, works really well, and the program itself is very small and uses very little hard disk space. If you surf the Internet, which you obviously do in order to read this review, you should have Ad-Aware in your arsenal to protect your privacy.
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
RBradford
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Location: Dallas, TX
Reviews written: 109
Trusted by: 32 members
About Me:
I'm a Computer Hardware, Software, and Gadget Junkie.
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