Some of the most popular anti-virus and anti-spyware tools in the vnunet.com ‘most popular’ downloads list are free tools that do not require either a subscription or revenue in order to use. This includes the free version of Ad-Aware, which is one of the oldest and most trusted anti-spyware tools and recently received a major revision.

However, can you be completely content with using free technology? Software developers aren’t going to spend time developing the latest applications to maximise protection and live off vapourware, rather than accept revenue for the time they’ve spent working on these tools. Producing definition updates is also an ongoing activity, which requires constant development, which is why most developers of free anti-virus and anti-spyware tools produce a paid-for upgrade, with more pro-active protection against the latest threats.

Ad-Aware AE Plus is a step up from the free version and the key difference is the automatic proactive detection of the latest threats. It will auto-scan your system, rather than you manually having to configure a system scan.

There is also a Pro version of Ad-Aware, with network scanning and more, although there is no trial version available.