Pardon me for not posting any articles on time today because I was waiting for this one as I wanted to be the first to tell you that the official Ad-Aware 2008 final version is here! Ad-Aware has always been one of my favorite spyware removal tool since version 1.06 and it has successfully helped me cleaned many spyware infested computer. It is currently second most popular and downloaded software in Download.com.

I will be selecting one lucky subscriber to get the new Ad-Aware 2008 PRO license key code for free. For those who’ve subscribed and want to be in the draw, please leave a comment. The winner will be announced tomorrow. There are 3 versions of Ad-Aware. Free, Plus and Pro. The PRO version unlocks all features to fully protect your computer from spywares, rootkits and viruses.

Ad-Aware 2008 is the latest version of Lavasoft’s industry leading anti-spyware solution. Ad-Aware 2008 allows you to combat the growing threats and latest advancements of malicious spyware and malware. Its powerful anti-spyware software now includes integrated anti-virus protection, as well as extended threat detection, for Ad-Aware 2008 Plus and Pro versions.

Lavasoft’s advanced Code Sequence Identification (CSI) technology roots out deeply hidden malware and then searches for similar codes in order to identify emerging variants. Ad-Aware 2008 thoroughly scans your memory, registry, Hosts file, hard, removable and optical drives for known data-mining, aggressive advertising, parasites, scumware, keyloggers, Trojans, dialers, malware, browser hijackers, tracking components and rootkits. The extended engine in Ad-Aware 2008 Plus and Pro boosts detection to include over one million additional virus and malware threats.

Ad-Aware 2008 Features:

Improved Threat Detection on spyware, adware, trojans, hijackers, fraud tools, rogue applications, password stealers and keyloggers

Enhanced Rootkit removal system

Faster Updates & Faster Scans

Less Resource Usage for optimal computer performance

Easy to Download, Install and Use

Lavasoft ThreatWork submission tool

Compatible with Windows Vista (32- and 64-bit)

Ad-Aware 2007 is 20.1MB in size and Ad-Aware 2008 is 18.3MB. Even though there are new features, they manage to trim down the size and uses less system resources.

For FREE version, many features would be unavailable. If you try to do a Custom Scan, Schedule a scan, enable Ad-Watch, start Process Watch and Hosts File Editor, you’ll get a message saying “You have to upgrade to either Plus or Pro version of Ad-Aware 2008 to use this feature“. Even though the FREE version doesn’t allow to schedule a scan from Ad-Aware, you can always use Scheduled Tasks in Windows to schedule automatic scanning at a specific time of the day using command line parameters.

Ad-Aware 2008 looks pretty much the same as the previous version Ad-Aware 2007. My favorite version of Ad-Aware is definitely version 1.06. It is so light, does what it is supposed to and it is portable (can copy the whole folder to an external USB flash drive). However, since version 2007, it has already became bloatware. Launching the program takes up 45MB of memory. No matter what, Ad-Aware is always one of the top spyware removal programs. Download and try it yourself!

[ Download Ad-Aware 2008 ]

22 May 2008 Update: There are a total of 208 participants in Ad-Aware 2008 Pro draw. I’ve decided to give out 3 PRO license instead of one. I extracted all emails and randomized the list using Randomizer.org. The first THREE will get the Ad-Aware 2008 Pro license. Congrats to Solaris (gameolosophy), Nirmal (admin) and Anthony (amlopez29)! You will be receiving an email from me shortly.

[tags]spyware, ad-aware, 2008, security, virus[/tags]