Adwcleaner advice required.

gordon99 · 30 Dec 2014

I saw reference to Adwcleaner somewhere and it seemed to have good references so I downloaded and ran it. It produced a long list of items for deletion ( or quarantine, not sure which) though I could have unchecked items to be retained. However, I took a gamble and deleted (or quarantined) all the listed items with no, to date at least, identified ill effects.
Afterwards, I went into "Control Panel - Uninstall a Program" but saw no reference to Adwcleaner. It is, though, listed under "Local Disk C:" and contains three folders. Two of the folders are titled Adwcleaner (SO) and (RO). The third is titled 'Quarantine' which seems to contain all of the supposed 'nasties' in their respective folders.
I have a few of questions which I would be grateful for advice on. Firstly, why is Adwcleaner not listed in Programs. Secondly, should I delete (at my own risk) the quarantined items which I assumed I had deleted after I ran the program. Thirdly, is the program worth retaining. I already have Microsoft Security Essentials, Malwarebytes (free version) and CCleaner all of which I run at intervals. Clearly, I have gone into this somewhat blind.

Layback Bear · 30 Dec 2014

AdwCleaner is a stand alone .exe program. It only loads when you ask it to. So it will not be in the Add and Remove programs.

If the programs has deleted or quarantined the nasties for a little while and your system works as it should you can remove all that you find of AdwCleaner.

You should download a new AdwCleaner every time you need to use it. It always needs to updated.

I used AdwCleaner a week or so ago. When I choose to use it again I will get a fresh download, run it and get rid of what it finds and then just remove it.

I highly recommend only downloading it from Bleeping Computer.

AdwCleaner Download

Adwcleaner advice required.-adwcleaner-1.jpg

Callender · 30 Dec 2014

My thoughts on ADWCleaner:

It has it's own uninstall utility.

Just ran ADWCleaner v4.000 and it did indeed check for and download database updates. The screenshot shows the "Uninstall button"

Adwcleaner advice required.-adwcleaner-v4.000.jpg

So I closed ADWCleaner and ran UVK instead and running an ADWCleaner scan from within UVK. ADWCleaner updated to the latest version - v4.1005 and it remains installed under the following path:

"C:\Program Files\UVK - Ultra Virus Killer\Third party\adwCleaner.exe"

Adwcleaner advice required.-adwcleaner-uvk.jpg

LaybackBear says that you need to download the new version for each use and I agree. It's also possible to let UVK take care of the updates. As I run regular scans that's my preferred method.

gordon99 · 30 Dec 2014

Thanks L.B and Cal'r. for your advice and attachments for which I am grateful. It sounds as if AdwCleaner is a useful addition to ones defences and worth retaining so I will try both download methods for my next two runs. Many thanks.

whs · 30 Dec 2014

Just save the .exe in Downloads or wherever. No need to download it each time.

gordon99 · 30 Dec 2014

Noted with thanks whs.

ThrashZone · 30 Dec 2014

I would not hold on to it too long,
Every few weeks or once a month uninstall and download a fresh copy,
It's just like anything it has updates to it definitions but does not update when installed,
Cheers.

gordon99 · 31 Dec 2014

TZ, Useful information to know, thanks.

ThrashZone · 31 Dec 2014

No problem,
Also if you read the install instruction by many security experts around this forum they will instruct to download the scanner to your desktop and run it as administrator and not run it from the downloads folder or another location,
The scanner will find more corruption by doing that simple step :)
Cheers.

Layback Bear · 31 Dec 2014

I personally download AdwCleaner fresh every time I use it. Then I know it has all the new updates and then remove it and the garbage it finds if any when I'm done.

Adwcleaner advice required.

Adwcleaner advice required.

ADW Cleaner removal