Norman Ad-Aware SE Plus Edition

Good:

According to some users’ reviews, the interface has been improved over the previous version and is welcomed by them. And you probably also know about Ad-aware, one of the first applications built to scan your system for adware and spyware and remove it.

Bad:

The function is not very powerful to protect computers from spyware, just an average one; most of ad awares’ useful functions are hidden from the average user, which confuses most users who have never used it before.

Setup

The steps of installation are as easy as 1-2-3 and it is a light one—requires approximately 2MB free space. It's recommended to run a full system scan at the first time you use Ad-aware. After that, it's much faster to use the Smart Scan option, which checks only files that have recently changed on your hard drive. The default settings work great with most systems.

Interface

There are five main buttons on the sky-blue interface. The first two, Status and Scan, lead to the core function of the application. These buttons start a scan of your files for adware components. When scanning process is complete, the program shows a summary of results, followed by detailed results, where you select exactly which components will be removed. Ad-aware quarantines the files it removes, a nice feature which lets you restore those you didn't really want to get rid of. The third button, Ad-watch, is nonfunctional in the Standard version. The fourth button, Plug-ins, shows you what plug-ins are installed (we found none available at the time of this review). The fifth leads to the help files.

Features

This latest version of Ad-aware SE runs faster than previous versions, and it finds and deletes even more illicit programs that track your surfing and cause many of those annoying pop-up ads. With its light use of resources and thorough scans, Ad-aware also beats paid antispyware programs, such as McAfee AntiSpyware. In addition to providing a more robust scanning engine, Ad-aware now initiates a beautiful new interface that makes the program more attractive and simple to use. Ad-aware's customized skins let you change skins easily and experience to the app in a variety of ways.If you've been using your PC on the Internet without any spyware protection, you'll probably be amazed at how many offending programs Ad-aware finds. Unfortunately, the process of removing offending apps with Ad-aware can be confusing at times because Ad-aware doesn't provide much helpful information about the suspect spyware it marks for quarantine. For example, it doesn't identify which applications might need a suspected spyware/adware component in order to run. But don't worry, Ad-aware doesn't entirely remove the spyware, just quarantines it in a secure folder, so if for some reason you actually need one of those adware components, you could easily reinstall it later within Ad-aware.

System Requirements

It is compatible with Windows 98 SE, 2000, ME or XP, you’d better have 5MB for storing; the browsers: Internet Explorer, Netscape, Mozilla, Firefox and AOL are well recognized.

Conclusion

From some Reviews on Ad-aware, the common comments are: its interfaces has been well-designed, the function still needs to be improved better. We can infer that Lavasoft paid lots of efforts in aesthetics instead of developing its functions. If Lavasoft developed more functions for users, it would be a better-sold soft ware and more welcomed by users. Now, no wonder some users complain its poor tech.