In the most common sense of the term, adware are malicious software that, once installed on the computer, "bombard" the user with a series of advertisements (often in the form of pop-up windows) that end up slowing down the system and refer to disreputable sites. Unlike spyware, they do not transmit users' personal information to remote entities - that is, to the attackers who develop it - but still carry out a tracking activity that monitors the victim's habits online.
With today's guide, therefore, we will see how to effectively protect ourselves from adware and how to eradicate this type of threats not only from our computers, but also from smartphones and tablets equipped with Android which, alas, are subject to malware just like Windows PCs. e, to a lesser extent, Apple's Macs. IOS devices and Windows Phones can be considered reasonably safe: currently, the risk of installing adware on them, unless unlocking procedures such as jailbreaking are performed, is negligible.
But now let's not get lost in chat further! Let's get to work and see right away how to remove adware thanks to some software that can be downloaded for free from the Internet. Find the one that seems best suited to your needs and find out how to use it by following the instructions I am about to give you. I assure you that it is much simpler than you imagine!
How to remove adware from Windows
Let's start with Windows-equipped PCs. Here are the best free software to eradicate adware (e other types of malware) from Microsoft's operating system.
Adwcleaner
Be vuoi scoprire how to remove adware, the first program that I recommend you try is Adwcleaner which can quickly eradicate many malicious software, especially those that show advertisements and modify browser settings with toolbar, home page and customized search engines. It works without requiring installation and does not "step on the foot" of the antivirus.
To download Adwcleaner on your PC, connect to its official website and click on the button Download now which is on the right. Once the download is complete, start the program adwcleaner_xx.exe click her cousin Yes e then Accept to accept the conditions of use of the software and access its main screen.
In the window that opens, press the button Analyze e wait a few seconds for the system scan to be performed, then click on Clear e OK three consecutive times and wait for the computer to restart to complete the cleaning job.
Spybot
Another program worth using in the war against adware is Spybot which offers complete protection against all major types of malware. It is also agolable in a paid version that checks the system in real time (like antivirus) but for what you need, the free edition is enough.
Then connect to the program's website and click on the red button Download placed at the bottom of the column Free. On the page that opens, presses on any of the buttons with it written on Download (under the heading Ad-free downloads on Safer-Networking Ltd.) and click on Download to start the Spybot download.
When the download is complete, open the software installation package (spybot–xx.exe) and click on the button first Yes and then OK and NEXT three consecutive times. Then accept the Spybot terms of use by placing the check mark next to the item I accept the terms of the license agreement, and finish the setup by first clicking on NEXT and then Install and end.
When installation is complete, click on the button Updates present in the Spybot window and wait a few seconds for Spybot to update the antimalware definitions. Then select the item System scan and wait for the software to finish its cleaning job.
If you want to immunize your system in order to preventively block access to malicious sites (by blocking in the Windows hosts file), click on the icon Immunization Spybot and click the button first Yes and then on the voice Immunizza present in the left sidebar.
Malwarebytes Anti-Malware
To conclude, I want to suggest another free software capable of delete adware easily. This is Malwarebytes Anti-Malware which I have often told you about in other guides: it is a 360-degree anti-malware capable of erasing any type of malicious software from the system. It requires an installation to work but its basic version does not include the real-time protection module and therefore does not interfere in any way with the antivirus present on the computer.
To download Malwarebytes on your PC, connect to its official website and click on the button Free download. When the download is complete, start the software installation package (mbx-setup-consumer-xx.exe) and click on first Yes e then OK e NEXT.
Then put the check mark next to the wording I accept the terms of the license agreement to accept the conditions of use of the program and first click on NEXT five consecutive times and then on Install e end to conclude the setup.
At this point, start Malwarebytes, wait for the most updated definitions to be downloaded from the Internet and go start a full system scan. To start a full system scan, select the entry Scan from the left sidebar, choose the option Search for harmful elements and presses the button Start Scan.
At the end of the check (it could take several minutes), if Malwarebytes finds suspicious elements, make sure that these are all selected and press the button to delete them, or rather, to quarantine them so that they no longer disturb your work.
How to remove adware from Mac
Although to a lesser extent than Windows PCs, i Mac they are affected by the adware danger, especially when you download applications from unreliable sources (read “pirated” applications from the BitTorrent network or other file sharing circuits). So let's see how to defend ourselves and how to eradicate this type of threats from macOS.
Malwarebytes Anti-malware
Malwarebytes Anti-malware is the best free software to eliminate adware and all other types of malware known so far on macOS. To download it to your computer, connect to its official website and click on the button Download located in the center of the page.
Once the download is complete, open the dmg package which contains Malwarebytes, grab the application icon and drag it to the folder Applications of macOS. Next, launch Malwarebytes Anti-malware, click on the buttons apri e Accept, type the password of your user account on macOS and press the key Submit on the Mac keyboard to start using the program.
Then click on the button Scan, wait for the system scan to be completed (it may take a few minutes), make sure there is a check mark next to all items related to threats found by the program and first presses the button Remove selected items and then OK and Yes to restart the Mac and complete the malware removal.
How to remove adware from Android
If you have a smartphone or tablet Android and you are used to downloading applications from sources outside the Play Store, you may encounter various types of malware. To eradicate them, use one of the many antimalware that are agolable on the green robot system.
Avast Mobile Security & Antivirus
Avast is one of the best free anti-malware agolable for Android. It protects the system in real time by checking all the apps that are downloaded to the device and offers many very interesting "extra" functions, such as blocking access to apps and blocking unwanted calls.
After downloading Avast from the Play Store, start the latter and press the button first Continue and then on the button Analyze this device to start a full scan of the device. At the end of the operation, press the button to solve the problems detected on the device and that's it. Beware that in addition to suspicious apps, Avast will also report potential system security risks, such as support for unknown sources (which you must keep active if you want to install apps that do not come from the Play Store).
If you want a broader overview of the best antivirus and antimalware for Android, see the post I dedicated to this type of app.
