Adware will cause all kinds of problems on your computer. Advertisements will pop up for sites you've visited, or for goods that you have recently looked at. It's a pain when you are in the middle of researching something and this happens. So what do you do and how do you prevent it? Well one way is to not download anything, easier said then done really. Or don't go and get any of those shareware programs out there. You would be surprised at what different shareware software's are bundled with adware, thus letting the developer get back some of their money from creating the software.
What we are going to do today is go over the different shareware's that are bundled with that nasty old adware.
123 Messenger
MessengerSkinner
180 Solutions
Mirar Toolbar
180 Search Assistant
Messenger Plus!Live 888 bar
Oemji Toolbar
Adsite Toolbar
PornDigger!
Adobe Reader
Smiley Central
AOL Instant Messenger
Real Player
Yahoo Messenger
TagaSaurus
Bonzi Buddy
TopMoxie
Block Checker
Tribal Fusion
BSPlayer
Sweet IM
Burn4Free
Videothang
Clip Genie
Virus Protect Pro
Comet Cursor
Weather Bug
Comodo Firewall
Windows Live
Crazy Girls
When U
Dydoor
Win Fixer
Daemon Tools
Winzix
Direct Revenue
XXX Shop Online
DivX V6.8.3.18
XXX Toy
Dollar Revenue
Zango
Ebates Money Maker
Zango Toolbar
Error Safe
Zwinky
Ezula
Gator
Hotbar
ICQ
IE Plugin
IncrediMail
Kazaa
LimeWire
As you can see by this list, which isn't even a full list, adware is out there all over the place just waiting for you to download something and corrupt your computer. Some adware is just like spyware, where it will collect your information of sites being visited without you knowing so.
One perfect example of adware is the Eudora email client. You get to use all the program features for a certain trial period, and once that time is over you are given the choice to either use it for free, or paid. If you choose free you're going to be swamped by advertisements. That's why they try and sell you the version you pay for, it will make sure that you are not inundated by these ads you try to stay away from.
So how do you go about preventing this problem or detecting it? There are tons of programs out there that have been developed to detect, remove or quarantine spyware and adware. If you have adware that is really spyware it is known as malware. Many of these programs that have been developed to remove spyware will also remove your adware.
There are a few more prominent ones, such as Ad-Aware and Spybot-Search and Destroy. These were specifically developed for detecting spyware and not detecting viruses. Although some anti-virus software will work on spyware and adware, it seems like the best bet is to choose one that is for adware specifically.
Yes it means adding more software to your already software full computer, but in the long run you really can't beat having it there. So protect your computer, and keep it running smoothly.