ad-aware

The latest version of popular antispyware and antivirus program Ad-Aware comes with bold performance claims. Released today exclusively on CNET Download.com, Ad-Aware 9.5 Free Internet Security and Ad-Aware 9.5 Pro Internet Security have seen heavy construction under the hood, according to Lavasoft, and ought to be four to eight times faster than they were in the last release, version 9.0.5.

In addition, the suites now come with a faster installation process, bolstered by a dramatically smaller download that shrunk from 130 MB to 12 MB. This "stub" installer then grabs only about 80 … Read more

The free version of Lavasoft's Ad-Aware 9 marks the launch of two new detection engines and some performance tweaks that make it faster. Check out CNET's First Look video, and whether you're a longtime user or new to the program, let us know what you think about it in the comments below.

In its third update of the year, Ad-Aware receives a hefty change to how it protects you. Lavasoft's Ad-Aware 9 Free, available today exclusively on CNET Download.com, debuts two new detection engines as the company fights to keep its well-known freeware competitive.

Lavasoft first started changing Ad-Aware's protection engine more than a year ago in version 8.1, when it introduced Genotype. This heuristics-based technology identified identical snippets of code across multiple threat mutations. In version 9, Genotype receives support from what Lavasoft calls "Dedicated Detection". This tech looks inside files, analyzes the code, and … Read more

UPDATE January 25, 2011: This offer is no longer available.

Ad-Aware is not only the original anti-spyware solution, but it now provides you with even more - anti-virus and advanced malware protection for your online security and privacy. Ad-Aware Pro Internet Security gives you complete protection against virus, spyware, trojans, rootkits, blended malware, hijackers, keyloggers, and other potential cyber threats.

Just in time for the holidays, you can save 50% off and get an instant download of Ad-Aware Pro Internet Security for just $14.95 (reg.$29.95).

This offer is good for a limited time only - get your copy now before the offer runs out.… Read more

Buy Ad-Aware Pro, the original anti-spyware solution with more than 400 million downloads, and treat yourself to a dinner out. Not only do you get comprehensive malware, anti-virus and anti-syware protection, but you get a $25 Restaurant.com gift card to use at more than 15,000 restaurants nationwide. That's a saving of 73%!

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UPDATE January 1, 2011: This offer has expired.

The paid upgrade versions of the popular malware remover Ad-Aware have offered antivirus support for more than a year, but now that feature, plus a long-awaited scheduler, have been added to the free version.

On Tuesday, Ad-Aware Free Internet Security 8.3 offered users of its free product those two new features in a minor update.

Although the update sounds small, the addition of a scheduler comes after years of the publisher LavaSoft restricting the feature to its paid upgrades as bait to get users to buy a license. Many software publishers have similar business models, though there is an … Read more

Hi, I'm Catherine Hwang, a Partner Manager at CNET Downloads. I manage software publisher relationships for Upload.com, and I'm here to tell visitors of Download.com about a software deal that's too good to pass up.

CNET Downloads teamed up with Lavasoft to bring you an exclusive special offer: Today only, you can upgrade your free version of Ad-Aware to Ad-Aware Plus for $9.95 (usually $26.95). That's 63 percent off the regular price, so take advantage of this special offer now, only at CNET Downloads. Click here to grab your copy.

Lavasoft Ad-aware … Read more

E-mail scanning and a tiered level of rootkit removal come to Ad-Aware in Monday's update to version 8.2. Ad-Aware Free, Ad-Aware Plus, and Ad-Aware Pro now come with e-mail scanning for Microsoft Outlook users, as well as expand the Ad-Aware Live system to block malicious files from downloading, and introduce a tiered rootkit removal system that increases in efficacy as you upgrade Ad-Aware.

The new features are part of the recent expansive approach that Lavasoft has been pushing in Ad-Aware, looking beyond antispyware as the company tries to keep the program relevant. The tiered rootkit removal is the … Read more

Lavasoft has updated its popular malware and spyware detection and removal tool Ad-Aware. Rather than a dramatic redo, version 8.1 builds on the improvements made in the previous version. The new version is faster, has better removal abilities, and introduces a behavioral detection engine.

Called Genotype, Ad-Aware's heuristic-based behavioral detection engine isn't explicitly called out in the interface. However, I noticed that files that had been flagged falsely as threats in earlier versions were no longer called out as such, and the Quick Scan was able to complete in about three minutes, as opposed to 10 minutes … Read more