Adware Removal Program Topic Of Spam

There is a new Adware removal program out there. Named Adware Remover, it appears to be malware free and it is available as a free download – but with a couple of negative features.

1. It is being distributed via spam on blogs and in email. This is a definate bad sign.
2. You can scan your computer for free. However, it costs a minimum of $19.95US to remove the infections it finds.
3. Some of the infections it finds are too encompassing. When I ran it on my computer it found seven problems.
   • Three of the problems it found were changes that I had done to my IE search and home page settings.
   • Three of the problems were cookie files. This sounds ok but in this case the files it found were ALL of the cookies on my computer. Removal of all cookies would have resulted in the loss of all personalized web pages, login information for sites I regularly visit and the like. When I performed a comparison scan Spybot S&D only found eight tracking cookies which are the only ones that need to be worried about.
   • The seventh item it found was a possible adware problem known as Twain-Tech. Normally this adware installs several files on your computer and makes many changes to the registry. This single problem found was a registry key that indicated the infection was present. This was a false positive. There was no problem with the key found.
4. The scanning parameters were very limited with only a couple of dozen malware companies listed to be scanned for.

There are several programs available, for free, that do a much more thorough scan of your system. In addition to antivirus software and a personal firewall I recommend four programs as a first line of defense against malware of nearly all types.

1. Ad-Aware SE Personal – Ad-Aware Personal provides advanced protection from known data-mining, aggressive advertising, Trojans, dialers, malware, browser hijackers, and tracking components.
2. Spybot Search and Destroy – Spybot – Search & Destroy can detect and remove spyware of different kinds from your computer including:
   • Removal of adware and spyware
   • Removal of dialers
   • Removal of keyloggers
   • Removal of trojans and other baddies
   • Removal of usage tracks.
3. Spyware Blaster – A great companion program to Spybot S&D that will:
   • Prevent the installation of ActiveX-based spyware, adware, browser hijackers, dialers, and other potentially unwanted software.
   • Block spyware/tracking cookies in Internet Explorer and Mozilla/Firefox.
   • Restrict the actions of potentially unwanted sites in Internet Explorer.
4. Microsoft Windows Defender – Windows Defender (Beta 2) is a free program that helps protect your computer against pop-ups, slow performance, and security threats caused by spyware and other unwanted software. It features Real-Time Protection, a monitoring system that recommends actions against spyware when it’s detected, and a new streamlined interface that minimizes interruptions and helps you stay productive.

All four of these programs are free and, when used in combination with each other, provide nearly 100% coverage against malware of all types. Additionally, the scan performed by these programs also preserve your personalized cookies. For some this is no big deal but for me, at least, it is.

The bottom line? Exercise care and caution (and throw in a little research) before downloading a newly released program of this type. Many times they are simply a way for the company providing the software to make money with no real advantage for you. And in a few cases these programs have actually installed the malware that they were supposed to remove. This one is, in my opinion, a waste of time and money.