SpiritOne's Unofficial Ad-Aware FAQ

Questions:

Please note that Ad-Aware is a product of Lavasoft (http://www.lavasoft.de/). The FAQ below is unofficial and not issued by Lavasoft. The content within the FAQ has been gathered through use of Ad-aware and is not content from the Lavasoft official website. Please visit Lavasoft for official FAQ, official download links, and other related material. Any and all information provided on this portion of the website, in regards to Lavasoft's Ad-aware is published and shared for educational and non-commercial purposes.

Answers:

Why would I want to use Ad-Aware?

Ad-aware, which has a free version available for download, is a program that will help protect you from adware. Adware is normally software that is sponsored by a group or company. If your computer gets 'pop-ups' even when you are not offline, this could definately be a sign of adware, as sponsored software usually generates advertisements. The program by Lavasoft, Ad-Aware, catches adware and helps you remove it from you computer. Ad-Aware has also been known to catch mal-ware, spy-ware, and other potentially dangerous instances of software on computers.

How often should I run this program?

How often you run Ad-Aware is up to you. Typically, if you use your computer everyday, the threat of having adware on your machine is greater than it would be if you only used your computer once weekly. Using "file sharing" applications may increase your risk of having adware on your computer. Other reasons that you may want to scan more frequently could be based on certain website content visited.

I downloaded the program...now what?

After you download and install Lavasoft's Ad-aware you will be able to scan your computer. To do this, you will need to open the program. After opening the  program you should see buttons on the left hand side (Status, Scan Now, etc). In the main content of the first window (usually Status) you should see an option to "Check for Updates Now". Checking for and installing updates is a way to keep your personal version of Ad-Aware up-to-date.

Will this program protect me from viruses?

No. Ad-Aware is not advertised as an Anti-Virus program. Viruses and adware are two very different computer culprits and should be treated as such. If you have any concerns about viruses, it would be highly advisable to download an anti-virus program. If you have concerns about protecting your computer, please visit our FAQ on that subject.

Where did all of these 'bugs' come from?

If you run Ad-Aware and let it scan your computer, you will probably have a list of all of the 'bugs' on your computer. Typically you will see a little red flashing bug icon to indicate the number of 'bugs' found. Usually these bugs are the adware/malware/spyware that the program located on your computer. If you access the list of 'bugs' located on your computer you will see a helpful description of who made the bug, where it is on your computer, what kind of bug it is, and more!

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