Lavasoft's Ad-Aware (from Lavasoft.com)

Adware refers to software that is installed on your computer that generates advertisements on your computer, usually through your web browser. The most common example of this type of software is if you open your web browser and advertisements immediately pop up in additional windows. These types of programs are often installed on your computer without your permission and cannot be seen in the start menu, and sometimes not even from the "add/remove software" button under the Control Panel.

Salve Regina's IT office recommends using Lavasoft's Ad-Aware software in order to protect your computer from this harmful software. The shareware version of this software has been installed on all student laptops for you. You may purchase the full version of the software from Lavasoft directly if you wish.

Unlike Symantic Anti-Virus, Ad-Aware is unmanaged software, or software that you must manage yourself. You cannot set the software to automatically scan your computer, or for it to automatically download updates. These features are only available in the full version. It is therefore your responsibility to keep the software up to date and to run the program regularly. Failing to do so can affect the performance of your computer, so it is highly recommended that all students make it a habit to running the program a few times a week.

Keeping up with the latest updates on Lavasoft Ad-Aware is just as important. Here are some steps on keeping your program up to date.

You're going to want to, first, locate the Ad-Aware program. You do this by clicking on the start menu and going into the programs menu.

After clicking on Ad-Aware, the program will open up. Find the link labeled "Check for updates now" and click it.

You will be prompted by a window that pops up telling you that the operation is ready. All you need to do is click on the "Connect" button.

In this particular instance, there were no new updates to download since I've already done it recently. If you have not, then the window that would pop-up would display the latest update you've downloaded. Just click "OK".

Click "Finish" and close the program.

Run a scan at your own leisure. It is prudent to run a "full scan" but it will take a considerable amount of time. However, it's much more efficient.