Lavasoft’s Ad-aware

1. Lavasoft’s Ad-aware Slide Show by Kara Denson, Student Technician at ITS

2. What is Ad-Aware? Ad-Aware is a program that detects and cleans spyware, browser hijacks, malware, dialers, some Trojans, parasites, and tracking components on your system.

3. What is malware, spy ware, etc? Spyware consists of computer programs that gather information about you without your knowledge or consent. Spyware also refers to programs that display advertisements on your computer, like those annoying pop-ups.

4. How do I get spy ware and viruses? Spyware can be downloaded onto your computer in a number of ways. Some seemingly good programs, such as Kazaa, come bundled with malware that infect your computer when you install their program. Furthermore, some spyware takes advantage of flaws in Internet Explorer as well as other browsers. Even worse, spyware is often installed through a “drive-by download.” That is, when you access a certain webpage containing a virus or malware program, the program takes advantage of an ActiveX control and downloads automatically, usually without any prompt.

5. Where can I get Ad-Aware? Go to www.lavasoftusa.com and download Ad-Aware SE Personal edition. After clicking on this button, click “Download Now” from the page that appears, and “Open” when the download prompt comes up.

6. After Downloading… Follow the on-screen instructions, accepting the license agreement. You may be prompted to uninstall a previous version of Ad-Aware, so make sure you do this before continuing.

7. Using the Program Once you have completed your install, make sure you update the definition file before performing a scan. Open your copy of Ad-Aware and click on “Check for Updates Now”

8. Web Updates Make sure you keep your copy of Ad-Aware up-to-date. New spyware is discovered every day, and the only way to protect your computer is to update Ad-Aware and run it frequently!

9. Scanning for the first time After downloading and installing your web updates, click the “Start” button in Ad-Aware to begin your scan.

10. Different kinds of scans There are different kinds of scans you can perform on your computer. It is best to run a full system scan to allow Ad-Aware to completely get rid of all that spy ware!

11. Patience! Once you select your type of scan and press the “next” button, Ad-Aware will begin to scan your computer for spyware. This process may take a few minutes.

12. After the scan… After the scan is complete, Ad-Aware will tell you how many critical objects it has found on your computer. Click the “next” button and you will see a screen containing the different types of spyware on your computer.

13. There are so many! Usually on your first scan, your computer will find a lot of spyware. Instead of checking each box manually, use this shortcut to select all objects. First, right-click within the window that has all the different types of spy ware, and then left-click on “Select All Objects.”

14. Now what? Once you have selected all the objects, it is time to click the Next button. This will then bring up a prompt telling you the number of objects you are deleting, and if you would like to proceed. Click OK.

15. Afterwards… After clicking OK, Ad-Aware will say that it is quarantining and then deleting your selection. This may take a few minutes. You will go back to your starting window after this, and Ad-Aware will display how many objects you have in quarantine, as well as show how many scans you have completed.

16. How often should I scan? If you do a lot of web surfing, it is wise to scan your computer with Ad-Awareonce a week. It is important to keep your computer free of spyware and viruses that could spread to others! Remember to keep it up to date as well!