What is Adware?

Adware is software application incorporated into or bundled with a program, and when installed, display or download advertising material to a computer. Adware is usually a method used by many programmers to recover development costs when a software program is provided free of charge, or at a low cost. Adware can drain the computer's resources, spy on users surfing habits, adversely affect Internet connection speed, and even redirect web browsers without permission. Owing to this, a host of adware stoppers has sprung up, which clean an infected system and prevent new infestations with real-time protection, and becoming some of the most downloaded programs on the internet.

Adware, Malware, and Spyware:

The three terms, and related terms such as adware stoppers, spyware removers etc, are often very easy to confuse since the concepts overlap. Adware is usually installed with the users consent and comes with an uninstaller, while spyware installs itself without permission and can be almost impossible to completely uninstall without assistance. Spyware is intended to track, report, and re-sell users activity and information without consent, and malware refers to a worse form of spyware in which the operation and functioning of other software applications can be negatively affected. The problem of distinction occurs, for example, when an adware that comes with a tracking feature, when activated by the user, becomes a spyware. So, an adware stopper can also refer to a program that prevents an adware application from performing spyware activities.

Well-known Adware Programs and Adware Stoppers:

Some of the most well-known adware programs include 123 Messenger, 180 Solutions, Bonzi Buddy, ClipGenie, Comet Cursor, Cydoor, Direct Revenue, Ebates MoneyMaker, Gator, PornDigger, WinFixer, Hotbar, ErrorSafe, and Smiley Central.

Popular adware stoppers, which have been around for a couple of years include NoAdware, ErrorDoctor, Spynukker and PC-Cillin.

Top Adware Stoppers:

PC World evaluated ten existing adware stoppers and anti-spyware utilities devised to detect and get rid of spyware and adware from computers, based on

rates of detection,
scanning speed,
ability to prevent unwanted applications from installing themselves,
and ease of use

Seven spyware/adware stoppers in the price range of $20 to $40 were noted for their outstanding performances, which include

1. Allume Systems' Internet Cleanup,
2. McAfee's AntiSpyware,
3. Computer Associates' ETrust PestPatrol Anti-Spyware,
4. InterMute's SpySubtract Pro,
5. Aluria Software's Spyware Eliminator,
6. Webroot Software's Spy Sweeper
7. Sunbelt Software's CounterSpy, and

Three other adware stoppers, which are available for free, were also tested and found to be equally effective. These include Lavasoft's Ad-Aware SE Personal, Safer Networking's Spybot Search and Destroy, and http://Merijn.org's HijackThis. However, HijackThis was not included in the charts because it does not scan for infections. Microsoft's new Windows AntiSpyware was the only product in beta that was tested.