Ad-Aware by Lavasoft

I switched my AV software after 3 different virus infections. I chose Ad-aware (free) due to a good review in PCmag and it proved a very good decision; it has already caught 2 pieces of malware, one of which was potentially serious. What impressed me was it's ability to clean up and remove malware. Many AV products can detect malware but then cannot remove it. Ad-aware can.

This software IS a virus. Most disruptive I've ever seen. Had to uninstall it. Now trying to get my money back.

I have used Ad-Aware for years. The anniversary edition looks nice and offers Ad-Watch Live free with the new install. I have always been impressed at the cleanup job it performed. I especially liked the feature that allowed me to view the problem files before deciding to remove them. Sometimes the threats were minimal and if removed would cause some of my other programs to stop functioning because they were in a package with that program. I could actually see the names of the threats and how dangerous they really are. The new Ad-Aware version found many threats, and I followed there recommended actions. I was amazed to see that my computer was relatively free of adware threats! Disappointing!