Easily clean and boost your PC

AdwCleaner is a free security and privacy software that allows you to easily rid your PC of adware. A product of Malwarebytes, this handy program is an adware cleaner that detects and removes unwanted programs and files to boost your PC’s performance. With anti-spam and anti-spy features, you can easily clean your directories and drives of any applications that have been bundled into downloads and have suddenly installed themselves without your input.

Is adware dangerous?

Adware or advertising-supported software is a type of software that generates revenue for its developer by automatically generating online advertisements in the user interface of the program or on a screen presented to the user during the installation process. Most of the time, it’s benign since some free programs rely on ads to support them. However, “adware” can also mean “any software that installs itself on your system without your knowledge and displays advertisements when the user browses the internet.”

This is considered a form of malware—and in some cases, the ads also act as spyware that collects and reports data about the user to bombard them with specific advertising. This carries security risks—and it doesn’t help that these programs tend to be bundled with other programs during installation. You can easily opt-out of their offers during the process but sometimes, they will still insert themselves into your system. In these cases, it’s best to use an adware cleaner to be on the safe side.

Is AdwCleaner included in Malwarebytes? 

AdwCleaner is one such tool and it’s from Malwarebytes, one of the most popular and trusted anti-malware programs around. It’s pretty easy to use thanks to its straightforward interface—with a left-side panel displaying 6 tabs to help you navigate. It doesn’t require installation either; you’ll immediately get an EXE file that you can place into flash drives, making it highly portable. It can even uninstall itself from its own settings.

Malwarebytes does have the capability to remove adware on its own—however, even with the premium version, it doesn’t have the advanced features of AdwCleaner. It can find and remove adware, spyware, potentially unwanted programs (PUPs), and browser hijacker toolbars with ease. Simply start the scan and then delete whatever was found—will require all programs closed and ready for a restart. However, take note that this can be quite aggressive and will even try to remove software that you need.

The 6 tabs you can access are Dashboard, Quarantine, Log Files, Settings, and Help. Dashboard is where you start the scans. Quarantine is where you can either delete or restore quarantined items. In Log Files, you can access more detailed information on scan reports via Notepad. In the Settings, you can do configurations, set up exclusions, and uninstall. Lastly, Help gives out important links to the program’s blog, forum, threat list, and more. 

A great anti-spyware tool

All in all, AdwCleaner is one product of a popular antivirus brand that you should try out. While it’s not fully integrated with Malwarebytes, it’s got enough handy features to make it a worthwhile download. You should take care to check whatever it finds, however, as it is quite aggressive in flagging suspicious programs and files. Nevertheless, this is a highly recommended software for anyone.