Ad-Aware Pro Security 11.10

Overview

With the increased number of operations that a person needs to perform on his computer, there is also a higher number of threats that person is exposing himself too. Did you know that every time you are opening an unknown email, or type in your financial information or downloading a file from a non-trusted website, you are exposing yourself to identity theft? Moreover, with the popularity social networks are enjoying at the moment, the risk of getting a virus, worm, key-logger, Trojan or spyware is greater than ever.

All it takes to give a third party access to your computer or get it infected is to open a seemingly fun application or click on a link. Therefore, in order to be sure that you are safe from these threats, you will need to have an anti-spyware utility installed on your computer. Ad-Aware Internet Security Pro is an efficient spyware protection tool that can offer you the real-time protection you are looking for. While the free edition is more popular, it is important to note that the Pro version gives extra protection for people that like to shop online without consuming too much of your system’s resources.

Installation

One of the reasons this anti-spyware is a popular choice is the installation process. In case you want to download the Ad-Aware Internet Security Pro, you should know that you will initially receive a 9 MB kit which will start downloading the larger files immediately after you click on it. While people with a speedy internet connection will not have any trouble with this, slower connections will require some time before all the files are downloaded into the computer.

However, you will be pleased to know that the installation process is pretty much straightforward, as the Ad-Aware Internet Security Pro does not ask the users to install extra anti-adware, toolbars and what-nots. It is important to note that the installation process can take longer than five minutes, depending on the capacities of your system. Since this is a protection software utility, you will need to reboot your computer in order to activate the tool.

Interface

The interface is simplistic as the main window has the three basic options: scanning the computer, accessing the Ad-Aware Live Watch and updating the software. In case you do not want it to start scanning in the most inappropriate moments, you will have a schedule option somewhere in the bottom left corner. In addition, in the same location; you will be able to find fast access to the support center as well as toggle between for novice and advanced user mode. While users that are familiar with the software will have no problem browsing its interface, if this is the first time you try it out, it is advisable that you use the advanced mode in order to see all the available commands.

Pros

What you will truly appreciate about the Ad-Aware Internet Security Pro is the remarkably low resource consumption. To put it simple, it will neither freeze your system whenever it scans the files, nor will it render accessing or working with the files on your computer slower. In addition, this anti-spyware software has frequent automatic updates of the virus database and hence, you can be sure that you are fully protected whenever you are browsing the internet.

Cons

Ad-Aware Internet Security Pro users are not very pleased with the time this software needs to scan all the files on a computer. However, it is important to note that while a full scan will take approximately two hours on a modern computer, users can also choose a fast scan that takes a medium of four minutes.

Alternatives

The alternatives to this software utility consist of other internet security or anti-virus tools that incorporate anti-spyware protection such as Norton Internet Security or Kaspersky Internet Security. However, even though they bring additional protection to your computer, that protection comes at the cost of slowing down your system as they have much more features.

Conclusion

Although Lavasoft, the developer of the Ad-Aware, has made some mistakes in the past, this version of Ad-Aware clearly shows that they are getting back on track. Overall, it is a useful protection tool that can guarantee users risk-free web access.