How to Remove Adware for Free
Adware can wreck the experience of using your computer. It can slow an Internet connection, display pop-up advertisements while you're browsing the web and even hijack websites to make them display inappropriate banner ads. You can easily--and accidentally--install adware on your computer. Search for and remove it with Ad-Aware, a free utility that works with virtually all versions of Windows.
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Instructions
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Visit Ad-Aware website to download the software. Ad-Aware is free for personal use. Double-click the downloaded file to install it, then launch the program. Ad-Aware will automatically download any available updates. After that, it will be ready to scan your computer.
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Click the button in the center of the Ad-Aware window labeled "Scan System." Click the "Full Scan" tab. For future system scans, the "Smart Scan" option will be fine. Click the button labeled "Scan Now." This process will scan every file on your computer for adware and other malicious software. The full scan can take a fairly long time, but you may use the computer for other tasks while the scan is running.
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Examine the results screen after the scan is finished. Each item on the list will display the type of adware or other malicious software found; how dangerous it is on a scale of one to 10; and the recommended action for dealing with it. Click any of the circle icons on the right side of the window to view a full list of the threats found in each category.
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Click the check box labeled "Set System Restore Point" if you wish. This allows you to easily revert your computer to a previous state if removing the adware causes any problems with your computer--which would generally indicate a serious problem with the computer.
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Click the button labeled "Perform Actions Now." This will remove all of the adware and malicious software on your computer. Although Ad-Aware features a real-time scanning component that can help keep adware from being installed on your machine, it is still a good idea to run a system scan with Ad-Aware on a regular basis.
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Tips & Warnings
Ad-Aware is not the only product that can remove adware from a computer. Spybot Search & Destroy is another product that is free and helps cleanse a computer of adware and spyware. Always look for a trusted independent review of any anti-adware product before installing it, as some unscrupulous programmers have created viruses that masquerade as adware removal software. Both Ad-Aware and Spybot have been around for many years, and have millions of users.
