Using Ad-Aware SE to Remove Spyware & Hijackers From Your Computer

 Removed Spyware & Hijackers from Your Computer

If you suspect that you have spyware installed on your computer, then an excellent tool to remove them is Ad-Aware SE. Follow the instructions below to learn how to use Ad-Aware SE to remove these programs from your computer. Word of warning, though, Spyware can sometimes be integrated tightly into software that you use, and if you remove the spyware, that software may not function correctly. So be careful as to what you remove.

How to use Ad-Aware SE

 Step 1: Download Ad-Aware SE
The first step for Spyware/Hijacker removal is to download and install Ad-Aware SE from the link below. After it is installed, continue with the following steps.

Please download Ad-Aware SE from Lavasoft at the following link: http://www.lavasoftusa.com/support/download/

Download this program to a location on your hard drive that you will be able to find later. When the download is finished navigate to that location using Windows Explorer or My Computer, and double click on the file name. The file name generally starts with aawse<versiontype>.exe. For example for the current version of Ad-Aware SE Personal, the filename is aawsepersonal.exe. Follow the defaults settings when presented with options and after the program finishes installing you will be presented with a screen similar to the one below:

Uncheck all options as we will have you manually do each of these steps in the next section. Then press the Finish button.

Step 2: Start Ad-aware SE
On your desktop, double click on the icon for Ad-Aware SE. The program will open and it will appear as in Figure 2 below.

This is the main startup/status screen for Ad-Aware SE. Each section that is important for it's use has been boxed off with a different color. The red box around the Scan Now button is used when you want to scan your computer for Spyware/Hijackers. The blue box lets you get into the options screen for Ad-aware SE. The purple box is where you would click to see what Spyware/Hijackers have been quarantined. The yellow box is used to update the malware database that the program knows how to clean.

Step 3. Updating Ad-aware
The first step you should do is update Ad-Aware SE so it is using the latest Spyware/Hijacker definitions. This will enable the software to recognize as much of these types of programs that it can. You should click on the WebUpdate button highlighted, in the previous image, in yellow to start the update process. When you start the process you should see an image similar to Figure 3 below.

Now press on the connect button, designated by the red box in Figure 3, and it will check for any new updates. If no new updates are to be found you will see something like Figure 4 below. You should press OK and proceed to Step 4.

You should click once on the OK button and let it download the update. When it is done downloading the update you will be presented with a screen similar.

You can now click on the Finish button. When you do that you will be presented with the Status/Startup screen

Step 4: Set the scan options we want to use
Now that Ad-Aware SE is updated with the latest definitions, you are now ready to configure Ad-Aware SE to use optimal settings. First click on the Configuration button. You will now br presented with a new screen with various options to set. Please follow these instructions to configure Ad-Aware SE:

1. Click on the General button on the left hand side.

Make sure the following items under the Safety category have a green check in them. If they do not, click once on the circle next to them to put a checkmark in it.

1. Automatically save logfile
2. Automatically quarantine objects prior to removal
3. Safe Mode (always request confirmation)

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