Adware is software that displays any advertising on your computer. This can include popups, banners

Adware is typically bundled with free software. Adware is commonly bundled with free screensavers, weather reporting software, and free toolbars. The Eudora email client is a great example of an adware program. After a short trial period the user is offered a choice of either a free version which displays ads or a paid version which doesn't display ads.

Adware is sometimes confused with spyware, and often times spyware is a term used to describe general malware like: adware, Trojan horses, hijackers, malware, keyloggers, worms dialers, rootkits, rogue anti spyware, and unwanted toolbars.

There are two main ways of adware detection. You can do it manually or better yet buy anti spyware software. The advantage you have with anti spyware software is you know for sure that the adware is safely and completely removed. Plus top quality antispyware software has guards in place that prevent future adware and spyware infections.

The best antispyware software identifies spyware based on file names and a cryptographic algorithm like crc32 or md5. If you're not a computer nerd, what this means is the antispyware software digs down to the programming level of the computer to identify spyware and adware. Using this method even the toughest to remove spyware that automatically changes file names are removed.

Spyware detection companies use three main methods to find spyware. The most common is employing researchers to manually surf the internet and download spyware. When they find spyware they name it, identify all the files associated with the spyware, and add it to the database of known spyware.

Some spyware detection companies will use reports from its customers to find new spyware. Typically a scan report is sent to the company after each scan.

A few companies like BluePenguin Software, Webroot, Sunbelt Software and PC Tools use a robot to surf the internet 24/7 to download new spyware and analyze it. When the spyware is analyzed researchers add it to the spyware database. This is the best way to reliably add new spyware to the database. I only recommend using spyware detection software from a company that uses a robot to collect definitions because it means a much better database of known spyware.

I have included some free tips below on what to look for when choosing antispyware software to completely remove your spyware and adware.

I recommend getting an adware remover software to remove your current adware and prevent infection in the future. Here are the features to look for...

Full scan: Antispyware software should do a Full Scan of your entire computer. This feature is extremely important because a lot of spyware will change file names to avoid detection. A full scan will find and remove spyware based on a cryptographic signature like md5 to remove hard to remove spyware that changes file names.

Guard feature: Quality antispyware software will have an extensive guard system to prevent spyware from getting on your pc.

Spyware Database Updates: with new spyware being released constantly a good spyware remover should download new updates automatically at least once per day.

Real Customer Support: Tech support that speaks English and answers your questions within a few hours (not days).

100% removal: Independent testing by leading sources like PC World magazine confirm that no antispyware software can remove all your spyware on the first scan. That's why it's important to choose antispyware software that provides you with a free custom update to remove all your spyware if it wasn't removed on the first scan.

Simple to use: Antispyware software should be simple to use and automate common tasks like scanning and downloading updates. You should be able to set it and forget it.

Highly awarded: The antispyware software you choose should have won legitimate awards from independent organizations.

Better Business Bureau member: With so many anti spyware scams on the internet I would only recommend buying from a company that belongs to the BBB. In order to be a BBB member a company must be in business for at least one year and satisfactorily resolve any customer complaints.

I'm a computer programmer by trade and I read up a lot about computer security issues. Whenever a friend has a computer problem they always call me. So I know great software when I see it.

The only antispyware software that I've been able to find that meets all the above criteria is SpyZooka. SpyZooka is the only company that guarantees 100% spyware removal.

When you go to the SpyZooka website you can download a free version of their software. Here is the link for SpyZooka:

SpyZooka Adware Remover