[FLACer]

Has anyone here upgraded from Ad-Aware 2008 Free to Ad-Aware Anniversary Edition Free and if so, what are your impressions?

Every time you start 2008 Free the nag screen to upgrade pops up and I'm just wondering if there is any noticeable improvement. I notice that the size of the install file for the Anniversary Edition is approximately twice that of 2008 so I assume this also means much more bloat as well.

Thanks.

 

[Exid0r]

I have used the various freeware versions of Ad-Aware as a secondary anti-spyware program since 2000 but finally uninstalled it last night.

It has steadily increased in size...and bloat...over the years offering more "features" but less functionality, in my opinion.

Not to fault it, but Ad-Aware never really found anything on my systems anyway, but false-positives and [generally] benign tracking cookies --- which are easily disposed of through other means.

It bothered me that, on my system setup anyway, the Ad-Aware Anniversary Edition Free version would keep adding a Scheduled Task to check for updates even after disabling the auto-update option within the program. As well, the actual updater would consistently hangup after downloading the defintions and, after updating or during scans, the program would overwhelm the memory on my computer freezing it temporarily.

The Ad-Aware Anniversary Edition Free version installs a number of additional related programs that are useless/inactive unless you opt for a paid version. Furthermore, the program did not uninstall cleanly and required additional manual cleanup.

Having said all that, apparently it is a very popular program and others may have a better experience using it. I enjoy playing around with different programs of this type although I really don't need to use them. I have my system fairly well locked down, stay to known sites and don't use P2P, warez or cracks.

 

[FLACer]

Thank you for your most informative post Exid0r, as this is exactly the kind of info I was looking for. I guess I'll stick with the 2008 Free version until such time as it becomes obsolete.

I agree about the increased bloat finding its way into the program over the years. For me, Ad-Aware has only ever found benign things too, but I can't recall ever having getting a false positive. I suppose this is a good thing and is due to always making sure I have a fairly secure system. Since I also use Ad-Aware as a secondary anti-spyware program, maybe it's something that's not even required by me any longer.

BTW, does anyone know how to disable the nag screen in 2008 Free?

 

[EmmEff]

BTW, does anyone know how to disable the nag screen in 2008 Free?

Umm, buy the commercial product? I think the intention of the nag screen is to get the user to buy the commercial version.

 

[FLACer]

Umm, buy the commercial product? I think the intention of the nag screen is to get the user to buy the commercial version.

Umm, no.

It's an "upgrade" from Ad-Aware 2008 Free to Ad-Aware Anniversary Edition Free. There's no need to buy anything. I was simply wondering if there was some way to disable this screen in the settings panel or some other hack that I might have overlooked.

 

[Exid0r]

I believe EmmEff was correct in saying that the nag screen was/is intended to "encourage" (nag) the user to buy a paid [2008] version, which are likely no longer available anyway with the release of the new version (there were Plus and Pro versions for Ad-Aware 2008 if I recall correctly). I don't believe there was an easy way to disable it though.

Apparently the Ad-Aware Anniversary Edition Free version has been "upgraded" with a new nag screen:

"Buy something special for your Valentine...and Get 12 months of Ad-Aware Plus, with integrated anti-spyware, FREE with TrialPay."

This has been characterized as "adware" behaviour on another forum. (I can't post a link as it may be considered a competing forum to this one.)

The Lavasoft Support Forums seem to be very active with complaints about the new program version as well.

 

[Nighthawk 1]

I have used the various freeware versions of Ad-Aware as a secondary anti-spyware program since 2000 but finally uninstalled it last night.

It has steadily increased in size...and bloat...over the years offering more "features" but less functionality, in my opinion.

Not to fault it, but Ad-Aware never really found anything on my systems anyway, but false-positives and [generally] benign tracking cookies --- which are easily disposed of through other means.

It bothered me that, on my system setup anyway, the Ad-Aware Anniversary Edition Free version would keep adding a Scheduled Task to check for updates even after disabling the auto-update option within the program. As well, the actual updater would consistently hangup after downloading the defintions and, after updating or during scans, the program would overwhelm the memory on my computer freezing it temporarily.

The Ad-Aware Anniversary Edition Free version installs a number of additional related programs that are useless/inactive unless you opt for a paid version. Furthermore, the program did not uninstall cleanly and required additional manual cleanup.

Having said all that, apparently it is a very popular program and others may have a better experience using it. I enjoy playing around with different programs of this type although I really don't need to use them. I have my system fairly well locked down, stay to known sites and don't use P2P, warez or cracks.

I uninstalled my version as of a year or so ago. With one "upgrade" the old Ad-ware seemed to have morphed into the bloated program that so many of these things become. With the upgrade at that time, all of a sudden nothing was being found anymore. I've reinstalled since then a few times to find that nothing much had changed and now completely given up on it. Its too bad, for in its early days it was quite effective.

 

[EmmEff]

It's an "upgrade" from Ad-Aware 2008 Free to Ad-Aware Anniversary Edition Free. There's no need to buy anything. I was simply wondering if there was some way to disable this screen in the settings panel or some other hack that I might have overlooked.

I understood what you were saying, however consider the "free" version to be more of an unlimited trial version of their COMMERCIAL (read- you must pay for it to continue using it) software.

What incentive is there for Lavasoft to release free software? How do they make money if their software was fully-functional and free?

 

[FLACer]

Just to be clear here, as of right now, Ad-Aware 2008 Free (v7.1.0.12) is still a fully functional product and still receives updates to its spyware definition database (if available) when you request them. The latest version of these, which I just downloaded, is 0146.0007.

I realize the purpose of an ordinary nag screen, but in this particular case, the nag in the 2008 Free version is not to upgrade to the Plus or Pro paid version of the 2008 product, but rather to a new updated version of the free edition of it:

This particular update to Ad-Aware 2008 Free can be found here.

The new nag you mention Exid0r, popped up in the lower right corner of my screen a couple of days ago when checking for definition updates for 2008 Free, but it went away and never returned with a simple click of the "X" on the top right corner of its screen. All I'm saying is, if the Anniversary Edition Free splash nag screen could be made to disappear just as easily, this would not be a bad thing.

As for the incentive for Lavasoft to release free software EmmEff, I can't really comment on this because I don't know what their specific reasons are. All I can do is guess that it's done to provide people with a basic version of anti-spyware software that otherwise might not be able to afford it, simply don't want to pay for it or don't need any of the extra protection offered by the Plus or Pro versions. Obviously their real money would be made from their business customers as opposed to the average single home user, but again I'm just guessing.

The one thing I do know though is based on the reviews of the new "upgraded" Ad-Aware Free Anniversary Edition, I won't be installing it any time soon and, as I mentioned previously, I'll stick with 2008 Free until such time as it becomes obsolete.

As always, thank you to everyone for your comments and insight on this topic.