Perhaps you've heard the term “adware” before being thrown around the technical literate or even the internet. The term itself seems to make sense, saying something about 'advertising' but you are not sure what it actually means.

Well, adware is software that installs itself on your computer and advertises to you constantly. Sometimes, it can be legit – something you have installed. Most times, it is not legit and cannot even be removed from your computer without an adware killer.

Most people may think the adware is useful in the beginning, especially if it seems to be scanning whatever website you are browsing and popping up with adverts related to that industry. When the 'pop-ups' seem to pop-up everywhere and anywhere, however, it can get disconcerting. There's nothing worse than working on a document and having an advert constantly popping up while you are trying to work. No amount of closing will make it go away, and no amount of popup blockers seem to help either.

If this is your experience, you have got adware; and it is especially of the more annoying and even malicious kind.

Why malicious? How dangerous is it?

Well, adware can often be pretty non-dangerous (well, especially if it is legit) but sometimes it can be very dangerous. Firstly, it is a waste of your time and resources to have to read popping up adverts or needing to close them all the time. Furthermore, however, they can become an easy doorway for hackers to get into your computer regardless of a firewall or network security (moreso, hackers can then get onto your network too.)

Most adware won't get to that level, but it will slow down your computer as time goes by, and cause some hard drive space problems as it collects cookies etc. Some adware borders on being spyware, as well, which is unwanted software that collects information about you (your internet browsing history, or more personal info) and passes this on to third parties. Adware can sometimes open you up to this as well.

So, what you need is an adware killer to get rid of the adware. There are plenty on the market, but the trouble is that they can range from plain useless (even fake) to actual adware or even spyware disguised as an adware killer. After installing the so-called 'free' adware killer that can remove any adware “in a matter of seconds” you may find you are presented with a bigger problem than before – and your technical friend is telling you just to 'reinstall Windows'.

However, if you ensure that any adware killer software is from a legit company then you cannot really go wrong. Furthermore, make sure that the adware has ways and means of keeping itself up to date, so that it can track and destroy the latest adware programs that are out there. Adware is always updating itself, and if it has installed on your computer and is removed, it could come back unless it is completely removed from your registry files as well. So, make sure that whatever adware killer you have got your eye on can clean the registry files too.

Another way of ensuring the adware killer is legit is just doing a search on it on the internet or checking out the many spyware, adware and virus forums on the internet, where these kinds of programs are discussed.