How to Use Process Watch in Ad-Aware
Lavasoft's Ad-Aware is a free spyware removal utility that also comes with a number of handy additional features. One of these features is Process Watch, a simple module you can use to monitor the different programs and processes running in the background on your computer. Before using Process Watch, though, you'll need to upgrade Ad-Aware to the Professional version.
Other People Are Reading
Instructions
-
-
1
Launch Ad-Aware Pro. By default, the program loads each time you restart your computer. If it's not already running, click on its program shortcut in the "Lavasoft" folder of the Start Menu.
-
2
Open the "Tools and Plugins" tab on the left side of the main Ad-Aware interface. Then, click on the link labeled "Tools" beneath the newly-opened tab.
-
-
3
Click on the "Start" button beneath the "Process Watch" banner to activate the module.
-
4
Look over the different processes running on your computer. If you don't recognize one of them or it's consuming a particularly large amount of resources, consider scanning it for malware.
-
5
Select a process and then click the "Scan" button to test it for malware. If Ad-Aware determines the process to be infected, click the "Terminate" button to end the process.
-
6
Run a standard system scan before closing Ad-Aware. This clears any malware that may have been causing your processes to run inefficiently.
-
1
Tips & Warnings
Run Process Watch anytime your system seems to be running slower than usual. Sometimes even non-malware programs like Internet Explorer can malfunction and cause problems.
