University Computer Help Desk

Before You Begin

Use Ad-Aware Free by Lavasoft to remove malware from your computer.

There are several steps you should take when cleaning an infected computer. Before running Ad-Aware, we recommend you review all the steps involved. Refer to 1550: How to scan and clean an infected computer.

Download and Install Ad-Aware

To download and install Ad-Aware Free, do the following:

1. Download Ad-Aware and install it.
2. Restart your computer.

Scan Your Computer with Ad-Aware

Before you scan your computer with Ad-Aware, you should update it to make sure it can detect any recent malware.

Update Ad-Aware

To update Ad-Aware, do the following:

1. Open Ad-Aware. Click Start > All Programs > Lavasoft > Ad-Aware > Ad-Aware.
   • When Ad-Aware opens, you may be presented with a Manage License window. You are not required to buy or register a license. Click Close.
2. Click Web Update to update Ad-Aware.

Scan Your Computer

To scan your computer with Ad-Aware, do the following: 

1. Open Ad-Aware.
2. Do not click the Scan System button. Instead, click the Scan icon at the top of the window.
3. Click Full Scan.
4. Ad-Aware will begin scanning your computer. This may take several hours to complete, depending on your computer.
5. When Ad-Aware is finished scanning, it will show a list of all the malware it found.
6. Click Perform Actions Now to remove the malware detected by Ad-Aware.
7. When Ad-Aware has finished removing the malware, restart your computer.