Lavasoft Ad-Aware Pro
Summary of Review
Ease of Installation: 8.5/10
Ease of Use: 9/10
Feature Set: 9.5/10
Effectiveness: 9/10
Updates: 9/10
Help/Support: 9/10
Summary: 9/10

Lavasoft's Ad-Aware Pro (we tested the Anniversary edition) is a competent and well-specified program which combines anti-spyware and adware capabilities with anti-virus functionality. There is a free version of Ad-Aware available, but the capabilities are very much reduced, and if you're serious about keeping your PC clean, it's well worth spending a little money to do this in a professional fashion. Ad-Aware Pro is one of the most popular downloads on the Net and justifiably so, judging from the results of our testing.

Ease of Installation: 8.5/10

Ad-Aware Pro is simple to install and set up, but slightly irritating in that the Update Manager which loads all the files and malware protection definitions seems to take forever to finish. In reality, it didn't take that long, (about 15 minutes on our test machine including the obligatory reboot) and the impression may be due to the old adage that a watched pot never boils… Once it is installed and ready to go, however, Things brighten up.

Ease of Use: 9/10

Using Ad-Aware Pro turns out to be a logical process. There are four main areas, each accessible via a button on the navigation bar which appears on the top right of every screen. These are the Main, Scan, AdWatch and Extras areas.

The Main button takes you to the Main page which outlines the status of the Ad-Aware updates and definitions file, gives details about the last scan performed, and outlines the Ad-Watch live status (Ad-Aware Pro's realtime protection system). From this page yopu can also schedule a scan, register trial software and access Lavasoft's support centre.

The Scan button takes you to the page which controls how scans will be carried out. Here you have a choice of Smart Scan (a fast system check that only looks at the critical areas of your PC), Profile Scan, which uses user-defined and created custom scan settings, and a Fukll Scan which, as the name suggests, thoroughly scans your entire system including local drives.

The Ad-Watch button leads to a Realtiime Protection area where you have the option of enabling or disabling protection for the Processes, Registry or Network (blackllisted IP addresses) areas. The rules governing each of the realtime protection settings can be edited here.

The Extras button opens a screen which allows access to Tracksweep and Toolbox areas. Tracksweep cleans areas in your browser such as cookies, history and so on, effectively wiping your browding tracks clean, while the Toolbox contains a few stand-alone utilities which can help to optimize your PC's performance. An example is the AutoStart Manager which lets you choose what programs and services are activated when your PC starts up.

Feature Set: 9.5/10

Effectiveness: 9/10

Ad-Aware Pro compares favourably to some of the higher-priced competition on the market. In our testing, it detected and removed a virus and a rootkit that had defied all of the other programs which we had tried. Scanning seemed a little slow, however, compared to other popular anti-malware programs, but this is maybe a subjective observation (remember the watched pot syndrome?)

There is no such thing as perfect protection in today's world, since the range of threats are so wide, but Ad-Aware Pro makes an admirable effort to cover a wide swathe of malicious software, including viruses, spyware, adware, Trojans, bots and rootkits. It is an effective and competent program and a flexible tool in the battle against infection.

Updates: 9/10

Ad-Aware Pro gives you, the user, the option to download and install both software and threat definitions file updates either manually or automatically. With over 2 million known threats in their definitions database, Lavasoft can utilise continuous pulse updates to protect you against the latest cyber attacks.

Help/Support: 9/10

Lavasoft's support is extensive and a full support centre is available containing comprehensive FAQs and access to live support (this is a payable option, but could be invaluable as a last resort). Support Forums are also found here, together with video tutorials and product manuals. Adding all this to the in-line help provided by the program itself, Lavasoft deserves to receive high marks for their support offerings.

Summary: 9/10

Ad-Aware Pro provides solid and reliable protection against the most prevalent threats and infections. It integrates the best of the anti-virus and anti-spyware worlds and combines leading detection technologies to give the user excellent cover from a wide range of potential infections. It also provides real-time protection functionality to prevent threats from even being installed on your PC. Ad-Aware Pro is one of the world's leading anti-malware companies and this product lives up to their very high standards.



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