BleepingComputer Review:

AdwCleaner is a free program that searches for and deletes Adware, Toolbars, Potentially Unwanted Programs (PUP), and browser Hijackers from your computer.  By using AdwCleaner you can easily remove many of these types of programs for a better user experience on your computer and while browsing the web.

The types of programs that AdwCleaner targets are typically bundled with free programs that you download from the web.  In many cases when you download and install a program, the install will state that these programs will be installed along with the program you downloaded.  Unless you perform a Custom install, these unwanted programs will automatically be installed on your computer leaving you with extra browser toolbars, adware, and other unwanted programs.  AdwCleaner is designed to search for and remove these types of programs.

A guide for removing adware, which uses AdwCleaner, can be found here: How to Remove Adware from a PC

AdwCleaner Usage Instructions:

Using AdwCleaner is very simple. Simply download the program and run it.  You will then be presented with a screen that contains a Scan and Clean button.  The Scan button will cause AdwCleaner to search your computer for unwanted programs and then display all the files, folders, and registry entries found on your computer that are used by adware programs.

When the scan has finished, look through the scan results and uncheck any entries that you do not wish to remove. When you are satisfied with the selection, simply click on the Clean button, which will cause AdwCleaner to reboot your computer and remove the files and registry entries associated with the various adware that you are removing.  On reboot, AdwCleaner will display a log showing the files, folders, and registry entries that were removed.

Please note that Antivir Webguard uses ASK Toolbar as part of its web security. If you remove ASK by using Adwcleaner, Antivir Webguard will no longer work properly. Therefore, if you use this program please use the instructions below to access the options screen where you should enable /DisableAskDetections before using AdwCleaner.

It is also important to note that certain adware programs such as Babylon and Delta Search include a program that alerts you when a program is trying to change your browser’s search or home page settings. When running AdwCleaner it will reset your search settings to the default Microsoft one if it detects it has been changed by an adware. If you see the warning that states AdwCleaner is trying to change your browser settings, please allow it to do so.

For those who need help using this tool or interpreting its results, please feel free to ask in our Am I Infected forum.

Changes in 8.4.2

• Update bundled definitions to 2024.03.04.1
• Fix the updater process verification mechanism failure and migrate from OpenSSL to Wincrypt.