Ad-Aware 2008 Beta released with redesigned interface, Vista compatibility

Filed under: Security, Utilities, News, Windows, Freeware, Beta

Ad-Aware 2008 Beta released with redesigned interface, Vista compatibility

by Simon Kerbel Apr 16th 2008

Spyware beware: Lavasoft has just announced a beta of its popular anti-spyware software Ad-Aware.

Ad-Aware remains one of the most popular free anti-spyware solutions out there, with over 280 million downloads worldwide. That a big, hard to visualize number, but we'll put into context for you: that's four times the downloads of any laughing baby on YouTube.

The new features of Ad-Aware 2008 include:

New rootkit removal system
Reduced use of computer memory
Faster updates
64-bit platform support and full Vista compatibility

What's not to love?

Actually, we don't love the redesigned interface, which looks like it took some hints from the web 2.0 designers: lots of big round buttons, and text that reflects itself, as if it were sitting at the edge of a still summer pond. That was cool, like, five years ago.

If you want to take a closer look at Ad-Aware 2008, you're in luck: everyone is invited to be a beta tester.

Ad-Aware 2008 is Windows only.

Tags: ad-aware, beta, spyware

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

keeves said 6:12PM on 4-16-2008

"Actually, we don't love the redesigned interface"

I haven't downloaded the beta yet, but the screen shot you have of it here looks pretty much identical to the 2007 version...

aanidaani said 6:48PM on 4-16-2008

I hated the new interface in 2007 and it seems that they've kept it (See pic here: http://i26.tinypic.com/nn32vk.jpg). The whole program seems to be a bit faster, but otherwise I don't really notice anything different from 2007.

georgia said 1:33PM on 4-17-2008

Featured Time Waster

Civiballs is a beautiful, soothing physics puzzle Time Waster

I have an absolute weakness for physics games, and while Civiballs isn't the strongest physics-based game, what it lacks in the physics department it makes up for a few times over in style and fun.

In Civiballs, you are presented with a few colored balls, and your goal is to get those balls into the same-colored urn on the level. The "civi" part of Civiballs is that there are 3 sets of levels to play, each representing a different civilization. While the civilization doesn't affect gameplay, the artwork for each level is beautifully themed to it's appropriate era.

To play the game, you are given only one tool - a sword with which to cut the chains that are holding the balls. The puzzle part of the game is in figuring out what order, and with what timing to cut each chain. Do it right, and all the right balls end up in the right urns, with no stray balls entering an urn (a no-no). Do it wrong, and you get to start over again.

Civiballs is not terribly deep on gameplay; the entire game can be completed in about 15 minutes. But if you enjoy this type of game, it will be a very enjoyable 15 minutes.

View more Time Wasters