Add THIS to Your Anti-Malware Arsenal - Comments Page 2

Another good place to download AdwCleaner is Bleeping Computer, just be sure you click the right 'download' link. (Bleeping pays the bills with advertizing just like Bob does!)
Since I service computers, about once a month I download from Bleeping: AdwCleaner, JRT, TDSSKiller, Combofix and Rkill. These five are all frequently updated and usually are the top 5 downloads from Bleeping.
All but Combofix are ok for normal users; Combofix is ... well ... 'techie.'

You caution to create a restore point before you use it. Considering how unreliable System Restore is on all 3 of my Win 7 computers there's no security in that!

Any suggestions?

Admins in PC Tech in Paltalk use ADW many times a day when users with issues that other programs will not solve seek assistance. Sometimes too, it is JRT that helps. Both are available from Bleeping computer. These are just different tools in the toolbox that users may want to have available to assist in problem solutions. I have about 15 items "just in case".

Under most circumstances, Bit Defender Free (BDF) and MBAM Premium (which was offered for free in Feb 2014) keep the system functioning just fine.

It seemed to work well, except for the two Chrome extensions it mistook for malware. Those are:

Ad Blocker for Gmail and Speed Dial 2

It took a bit to figure out what may have gone awry, but it put the files back when I told it to.

I have been using it with a lot of success.

Alot of people say there's no use for Awdcleaner. I say hogwash. It works on my Wins7 computers. After a year of occasionally using it, I agree with Bob. Someone here recommended it in a post and my mouse was having major problems. And webpages wouldn't scroll. Navigation sucked. Avast, AVG, Malwarebytes, Spybot S&D wouldn't fix the problems. Awdcleaner fixed the problems everytime. And it's rare that I visit any adult sites so I've ruled that out as a cause. In closing I vote for Awdcleaner as being an essential program.

I was at the point of wanting to reinstall windows because of an excessively slow computer. Norton and MBAM found no problems, but after running AdwCleaner, my computer and my stress level are back to normal. Thank you.

Hi, Bob,

You wrote, "There is no installation process; the file you download is the executable AdwCleaner program." That may be true. I ran AdwCleaner under Revo Uninstaller, and afterward it found nothing to install. However, the AdwCleaner download page makes my scratch my head. It contains this supposedly reassuring comment, "It can be easily uninstalled using the mode 'Uninstall.'" I don't know how to access the "mode 'Uninstall,'" and I don't know why it should be necessary if there is no installation process.

The program found a few search queries in Chrome, which I allowed the program to clean up.

I had the same experience you did, in that I was not given a report after reboot. I had run the program from my standard user account. There was no report waiting for me there, nor was there in my admin user account.

(I know when I restore from a restore point, the report appears only in my admin user account, regardless of from where I did the restore.)

Perhaps if I had run the program from my admin user account, I would have seen a report. I guess I don't really care.

EDITOR'S NOTE: Start AdwCleaner. One of the options on the main screen is an UNINSTALL button. One click and it's gone.

CAUTION:Installed and ran on up to date Win 7 cpu. After it did its thing and "cleaned" my machine all I had to do was do an image restore to get my cpu back in my world. Restore points just yielded a black screen and a working mouse (in searching I found this problem was not that unusual with AdwCleaner, should have done my homework- my bad). Appeared nothing in startup file initiated. At least I was not bored with nothing to do today.

I am so glad I followed the advice to do a system restore first.

I ran this program. I unchecked what I did not want it to remove, but the registry keys had me clueless. I just let it do its thing.

When it finished, I could not connect to the Internet and all of my Symbaloo bookmarks were gone.

After a system restore, it all came back.

Sure glad I re-read your info!! Right beside your colume was an ad for a different Malware program. I almost clicked it but instead clicked your underlined words & Viola got the right Program.
Thanks for all you do for those of us with limited computer knowledge!!

I made a Restore point, downloaded AdwCleaner and ran it -- still did NOT find homepage-web.com which makes my new tabs in Firefox come up with Bigh (ugh!) I have run AVG Antivirus Free, and Malwarebytes Anti-malware, and neither of them find the bad stuff. Where do I go now to get rid of it?

Bob,
I strongly believe you owe all of us a clear explanation of the different malfunctions this software can generate in our PC's. Maybe you need to write another article on this utility. I'm surprised you would even recommend it. I was going to try it but after reading all the comments i will stay away from it.
BETTER TO HAVE A SLOW PC THAN ONE NOT FUNCTIONING AT ALL!!! The trade off is huge.
Regards
James