Ad-Aware 2009 Beta: Sign Up Now!

Lavasoft, the creator of Ad-Aware, one of the first true anti-adware in the software market, recently dished out an official invitation telling users to join their beta-testing community to assist in the final development of the new Ad-Aware 2009.

After some time of beta testing going on around, Lavasoft announced around December 18, 2008 that the company is widely urging users to join the final beta-testing program of their new Lavasoft Ad-Aware 2009 Beta Release 3. The beta-testing offerings can be accessed through its official website, and Lavasoft has widely spread the beta-testing invitation to several online news agencies for publications.


Lavasoft Ad-Aware 2009, which is scheduled to be released on January 20, 2009, is entering the final phase of beta development and according to a spokesperson of Lavasoft, there is going to be a major overhaul compared to their last few years of Ad-Aware offerings. The most noticeable overhaul is the additions of an antivirus module with heuristic-based protection alongside its signature-based spyware detection. Other overhaul includes promises that the software will look and feel different and it will be 'smaller' than previous releases in terms of system resources usage and signature updates.

After joining the beta-testing program and tested Ad-Aware 2009 Beta, i was both impressed yet skeptical. Yes, Lavasoft seems to have succeeded in giving us a 'smaller' release, with a more nimble installation, faster application launch and smaller memory footprints. I must also admit as a GUI enthusiast, that the new Ad-Aware's user interface is SERIOUSLY cool yet well-organized. However, another part of me was very disappointed of the beta software, particularly as it was already reaching the final stages of development. The software somehow has some annoying bugs and it even crashed on me during the second day of testing. The scans are much faster....but so fast even on a deep scan that i couldn't help suspecting whether both its signature and heuristic engines are doing a good job or not. IF the scanning engines are really bad, with less than a month from now till its final release, i can't be sure what better protection the final Ad-Aware 2009 can offer.

The other thing i can be 100% complimentary for the new Ad-Aware is that at least after 3-4 years of gradually deteriotating detection quality, finally the software is taking on a fresh new concept and that Lavasoft has successfully realized more than half on it. Famous security software nowadays such as MalwareBytes which are so much younger than Ad-Aware has already applied heuristic scanning before the new Ad-Aware does, and it was good of Lavasoft to have finally realized the need for change.

Here are some of the screenshots taken during my personal testing:

The Installation Wizard

The tabbed Ad-Aware 2009 Beta 3 Main Page with the new interface. By updating to the latest Beta 3.2, the skin changes from black into a sea-blue color

The tabbed Scan Page. Scans offered including Quick Scan, Full Scan and Custom Scan

ThreatWork, the Ad-Aware 2009 suspicious file submission service

The glassy settings configuration window for Ad-Aware 2009 Beta 3

My message to all: If you are deluded by Ad-Aware in the past but still reserve some hope that it will improve, then contributing to this beta program by testing and submitting bugs are your best way to start. If you are a loyal fan of Ad-Aware, then helping to develop the beta program is definitely a must! There are still less than a month until the final release, so grab your chance now! Remember: you CAN now officially assist in the building of the new program!

To sign up as a beta tester, visit this official Beta Center page from Lavasoft.