Ad Aware Removal

Ad Aware is an Internet protection software that prevents and deletes malware infections. It provides help with backdoor trojans, spyware, keyloggers and rootkits. Ad Aware offers a free basic version and more sophisticated Business, Pro and Plus editions. It's easy to uninstall the program either using the built-in uninstaller or the Windows operating system "Add/Remove Programs" feature. However, errors with these two removal methods have been reported, which might compel you to manually uninstall the application.


Built-in Uninstaller

• Ad Aware has a built-in uninstaller which can be executed to remove the software. Go to the "Start" menu and click on "My Computer." Then double-click the "C:\" drive then "Program Files" then "Lavasoft" then "Ad-Aware SE" and double-click "Uninstall Ad-Aware" icon. This is an executable file, so click on "Yes" to confirm the execution and then follow the instructions of the Installation Wizard to uninstall the software.

Add/Remove Programs

• You can also use the "Add/Remove Programs" feature of the Windows operating system to remove Ad Aware. Go to the "Start" menu and click on the "Control Panel." Double-click the "Add/Remove Programs" icon to open the utility, scroll down and click on "Ad-Aware SE" to highlight. Now click on the "Remove Program" button and follow the guidelines of the Installation Wizard to remove the software.

Manual Removal

• If neither of the two previous methods worked and you get an error message, you will have to remove the software manually. Go to the "Start" menu and click on "My Computer." Double-click the "the "C:\" drive then "Program Files" then "Lavasoft" then "Ad-Aware SE." Once you are in the "Ad-Aware" folder, double-click the "unregaaw.exe" file to execute it. Then delete the entire "Ad-Aware SE" folder and the link to the Lavasoft Ad-Aware SE software in the "Start" menu by right-clicking it and selecting "Delete." Locate the Ad-Aware SE icon on your desktop and delete it as well. Now you will need to delete the "Lavasoft" folder on your hard drive by going to the "Start" menu then the "C:\" drive then "Documents and Settings" then "Your User Name" then "Application Data". Scroll down in the "Application Data" folder to "Lavasoft" directory and delete it. Right-click the "Recycle Bin" icon on your Desktop and select "Empty Recycle Bin." Once all of the items in the "Recycle Bin" have been deleted, restart your computer.