Has there ever been a time you were enjoy web surfing only to be asked out of nowhere if you would like to play online poker, or maybe to buy a $500 foot massager? Have you ever had one, two, three, even ten popups obscure your view of a page? If this has happened to you, then you know all too well what it is like to have adware on your computer. Adware blocks your use of the web and slows down your PC’s performance, but it can also be an early warning sign of worse things to come. Where there is adware, spyware and viruses often follow. Spyware might just tell some software vendor how you are using their program. But spyware might also email your credit card numbers to a criminal’s office half way around the world. And viruses can destroy your computer altogether. Even if you avoid the very worst damage these three kinds of malware can do, chances are your hard drive will slow down to a crawl on the simplest of applications.

That’s the reason why the majority of computer users seek to block adware downloads altogether. Most users want to remove every trace of adware from their hard drives. There are many programs that do this, but how can you tell which one is the best? How can you be totally sure you will never have to deal with adware ever again? These are the critical questions that are hard to answer. Let’s take them one by one.

Adware prevention programs have to accomplish three basic things. First, any program that effectively blocks adware from your computer must be up to date on every definition of every adware program circulating on the Internet. The program must give you with regularly updated libraries of definitions of malicious code. What is the meaning of a “regular” update? If your adware prevention protection program is a week or two behind the adware programs released to the World Wide Web, then it is not going to do you very much good.

Secondly, effective adware blockers need to work without a prompt from you. They should scan your hard drive on a regular schedule even if you do not click on a “scan now” button. The program has to run 24/7/365. It has to scan every file you download, every email you open, and have information on every site you visit.

Finally, modern adware programs should be integrated seamlessly into your web browser. This is the only way they can protect you in real time from annoying pop ups. Their list of questionable sites has to be updated all the time, relying on reports from other people who have been attacked, but also on the program developer’s judgment. You want a program that will protect you from adware before it ever strikes your PC.

It is not as hard as it sounds to block adware from your computer. Buy an anti-adware program that keeps its definitions up to date, stops you from clicking on problem websites, and checks every file that comes into your computer. Buy software that analyzes your hard drive without your having to remind it to scan. With the right software, annoying popups and slow performance on your PC will soon become a distant memory.