Solved Adwcleaner advice required.

[gordon99]

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]

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

 

[Callender]

ADW Cleaner removal

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"

​

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"



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]

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]

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

 

[gordon99]

Noted with thanks whs.

 

[ThrashZone]

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]

TZ, Useful information to know, thanks.

 

[ThrashZone]

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]

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.

 

[gordon99]

To summarize:

1. I should download a fresh version of Adwcleaner on each occasion I intend to run the operation so that I have the most recent edition.
2. I should download AdwCleaner in 'Bleeping Computer' or 'UKV Ultra Virus Killer'. I understand from other sources that one needs to take care with UKV if using some of its clean-up contents as misuse through misunderstanding can harm the OS.
3. I should download AdwCleaner to the desktop and run as an administrator in order to obtain maximum effectiveness.

Thank you all for you responses to my enquiry.

 

[Layback Bear]

Happy computing Gordon.

We are here to help and open 24/7/365

 

[Callender]

Running AdwCleaner

To summarize:

1. I should download a fresh version of Adwcleaner on each occasion I intend to run the operation so that I have the most recent edition.
2. I should download AdwCleaner in 'Bleeping Computer' or 'UKV Ultra Virus Killer'. I understand from other sources that one needs to take care with UKV if using some of its clean-up contents as misuse through misunderstanding can harm the OS.
3. I should download AdwCleaner to the desktop and run as an administrator in order to obtain maximum effectiveness.

Thank you all for you responses to my enquiry.

Well, use the 'Bleeping Computer' method if you like. Download a fresh copy each time you use it if not using multiple times on the same day - after removing the old copy.

Only use the UVK method if you want to auto-update AdwCleaner and if you want to make use of the other built in third party updaters/ scanners like MBAM, SAS & JRT. Personally I add other third party apps to the list and launch them from within UVK as I find it easier.

Note: Don't use UVK for system repair unless you know the required fix. It's never screwed up my system but if you run a fix in the "system repair" section or use the registry cleaner or process/ service manger utilities without understanding the results or making a backup then you're asking for trouble.