Need a Free Adware Scan?

If you think you may have unwanted adware and your computer and would like to do a painless and free adware scan, then read this article. It may help you from making a mistake.

What is adware?

The first thing to remember about adware is that it is usually software that has installed itself on your computer without your permission (hence, the phrase, "unwanted adware" above). This does not rule out the fact that there is legit adware on the market, but this is not usually the kind that forces people to look for an adware scan. This is because they would know that they installed adware, and obviously find the service useful to them.

Adware advertises to the computer user through various pop ups, pop unders or pop overs that occur on screen. This may be in the form of a popup that appears on the screen regardless of what the user is doing, or a popup that only appears when the user decides to browse the internet. Some adware also displays itself over other advertisements at legit sites, covering over the legitimate advert and replacing it with its own product.

Unwanted can be incredibly annoying and wastes time and resources, both in constantly trying to close the popups or even in trying to remove the software. Sometimes the adware may provide an 'uninstall' facility, which proves useless. Many computer users eventually give up and just live with the annoying popups, which can hinder productivity and make using the computer a rather annoying experience.

So is adware dangerous?

It could be, or it could not be. Illegitimate adware can be dangerous, in the sense that it might open doors for hijackers, spyware or malware (if the company that produced it was willing to let it install itself without your permission, one wonders what else they may be willing to resort to). Most adware will slow your computer down considerably and cause productivity issues. Regardless, even if the software is not dangerous, any software that installs itself on the computer without the user's permission deserves to be completely annihilated.

An adware free scan

Some websites will offer you a 'free adware scan' right from the browser, and many users may feel that this sounds great - no download, a free scan, and it can run in the background.

Most of the time, however, these ought to be avoided. The reason is that a great deal of the time these websites host unwanted adware themselves, and use the opportunity to 'scan' your computer as a way of installing the adware on your hard drive. Alternatively, the scan may be completely fake and pretend as if you have some major adware, spyware, malware and/or virus on your computer and use a scare tactic to have you download their 'free removal tool' which, in fact, is adware, spyware, malware or a virus in itself.

So, the bottom line is that you should be very wary of free adware scans on the internet. It is best rather to download a trial or shareware version of a legit adware program and use that. You may as well anyway, because chances are you will encounter some form of adware sometime in the future.

Leon van Tubbergh offers advice and great tips regarding all aspects of Spyware and Adware Removal Software. Get the information you are seeking now by visiting Spyware Adware Removal