It’s possible you’ve heard the term “adware” before but are not sure if it pertains or is relevant to some strange things happening on your computer. Well, here’s how you know if you have got adware:
1) You are constantly bombarded with adverts on your screen, whether they be on your browser, on your desktop, in your taskbar; and you can be doing anything when they appear, such as writing a document, looking at your pictures, or playing a game).
2) You are bombarded with adverts popping up whenever you try and browse the internet.
3) You find that when you want to visit a particular site your browser often redirects you to a different site, and you are noticing some form of pattern in this – it appears to be the same site, or a handful of sites.
4) You begin to see that any website you go to seems to have an advertisement sitting over any other advertisement on the site, as if it is pasted over or it pops over that advert.
5) Your computer is annoyingly slow lately, and may even be getting worse.
These are the common symptoms of adware, as well as a few others which may be similar. If the above is happening to you, there is an incredibly strong chance you have adware.
Why do they make adware?
Some adware is legit and is designed to provide a valid service to the consumer and the marketer. Basically, it is supposed to check what you are interested in from your browser history, or from a survey you have conducted, and provide you with relevant advertising. This would be similar to Google Adwords advertising, except that it is located on your computer and has the right to pop up anywhere.
A great deal of adware is illegit, however, and has installed itself on your computer without your permission, or has installed itself under the guise of being other types of legit software. Some adware is even found in adware removal software, so you need to be ensure you know how to pick the right adware removal software.
Picking adware removal software
The best way to do this is make sure that any software you buy is from a legit company that is known for integrity. Make sure you can easily locate the company which produces the software, that they have a valid phone number and adress, are registered legally etc. The easiest way to do this may be by runnning a Google check, or going to Adware forums or sites where the legitimacy of software is discussed, and asking members to enlighten you on the software you want to purchase.
Once you are convinced you are buying legit software (and, beware of complete freebies) then you must ensure that the software will clean adware at registry level, and that the software can be regularly updated to ensure it keeps up to date with new adware trends and software, much like a virus-checker. All the usual scrutiny you would apply when purchasing a virus checker, you should apply when purchasing adware removal software.
