What’s Adaware’s web companion?
I’ve suddenly become aware of an icon in my Taskbar notification area – clicking it brings up a screen pointing to Adaware Web Companion, with some kind of security tool for my web browser. What is this, and is it safe? STUART FENTON
Matt Hanson replies: This almost certainly got on to your computer alongside another program – in other words, a Potentially Unwanted Program, or PUP. The first warning can be found on the program’s own FAQ, with “How do I uninstall Web Companion from my computer” the second article in the list. Click Start > Settings > Apps and scroll down until you find and entry for Web Companion near the bottom of the list – you’ll see when it was installed, giving you an idea of how it arrived on your computer (sort the program list by ‘Installation date’). More importantly, you’ll be able to remove it. Click ‘Yes, I’ll take the chance’ when prompted (the scaremongering is another indicator that this program isn’t necessarily to be trusted). It does leave some leftovers, so if you want a more thorough clean-up, remove it using IObit Uninstaller Free ( www.iobit.com).