Hello, I am using the Ad-Aware 2007 Free Edition 7.0.2.6 using Windows XP Home Edition on a Dell computer.

I don't know why on trying to update the definitions, as I frequently do without problem, I get this message:

"SSL download Failed. Run webupdate"...

Before I posted here I wanted to try the "webupdate" but...where do I find it and how to do it? I tried going to the lavasoft site and searched for "webupdates" and it gave me a bunch of options, many commercial.

Please some kind soul help me find this elusive webupdate so I may try it before I throw my arms up?

Thanks so very much! Adela

i did the same thing and got the same error message on all three of my computers. i tried the webupdates and i get the same error message. i have two dells and a geniceric computer. it has to be something with the server on lavasoft's end.

I, too, have gotten the "SSL" error message. I tried the Web update - and got the same message.

Help!!

Same here,

Two different computers at two different locations and with different servers. I know it's not my firewalls or anti virus as they are totally different on both computers. Reading through the forum posts it seems to be a wide spread problem. The 'fixes' I have seen posted don't work either.

Please Lavasoft, how far away from rectifying this problem are you???

Regards
SEQ

When using Webupdate I always find the message "SSL Download failed" ! How can one obtain the latest 0059 update ? Why is it not possible to download the updates directly from lavasoft.com ?

Hi All
Start here > http://lavasoft.com/ <
Scroll down to Security Center / DOWNLOAD Current Definition File
Download to desktop.
You need a Zip-program ( Win.Zip./ Win.Rar./ FilZip/ IZArc ).
Open the def. with IZArc ( for ex.) and unzip/extract/unpack to this location
>> Docs and settings /All Users/ Application data / Lavasoft / Ad-Aware 2007 <<
If you need further advice, feel free to post back.
Regards
Raziel

Did all that, restarted PC and it still shows the last update as 4th March and Web Update won't work!

Tried that; Still cannot update 0059 Help

Cannot update to 0059 even using directions shown

Hello and thank you Raziel. Before I go to try what you suggested, may I ask 2 questions:

1. How do I find and how do I go to webupdates, so that I can try first this step?

2. In the steps you so kindly give above, I believe I have Win.Zip, but how do you "unzip/extract/unpack"? Also, how do you put it in here and how do you find: "Docs and settings /All Users/ Application data / Lavasoft / Ad-Aware 2007"?

So sorry about this, but I find the technical side of the computer very difficult for me. I hope I hear from you about my questions, maybe like a step by step as if you were talking to a 5 year old? LOL! I'm serious though! )

Thanks so much again! Adela

fundamentally: why does Definition file update(or web update, or whatever) work every day for me, then stop working (several days ago).
It can't even make up its mind whether the version number is outdated or not. TWEAKY INCONSISTENCY! Fix your software! (pretty please? ) customer erniesparks (who just learned today that LAVASOFT planned to stop transmitting Definition file updates to SE freebies as of New Years 2008. Trouble is, they didn't notify me in advance. It just all came to a coughing halt early in the year. Well, I became a proper paying customer since then, and just waiting for you guys to flub up. with infinite sadness E-mail Serial Number Download Software Renew at 35% off! Backup CD -Ad-Aware 2007 Plus Software Ad-Aware 2007 Plus Order #{never you mind!}Purchased January 27th, 2008 member #53,810 signing out now

Hey y'all, I don't usually post things but I found out from trial and error that I had to manually go in and allow Ad-Aware update to access the Internet, this is using the Free version, I am not sure if it would make a difference on any of the others or not.

Mind you this is using the Comodo Personal Firewall, I had to go in and allow a new trusted application (which is under the firewall and common tasks settings) I selected browse and went to C:\Program Files\Lavasoft\Ad-Aware 2007\lsupdatemanager. For good measure I also went through the same process and allowed Ad-Aware 2007. After I did that, all seems to be well. I imagine as long as you do this with the firewall it will work.

Hope it helps!

Adelap--This topic is covered in several other recent threads. One is http://www.lavasoftsupport.com/index.php?showtopic=16907
The site from which you can get the download for the reference file is http://www.lavasoftusa.com/support/securitycenter/blog/
You click the left side of the green icon near the top right.
Note that the latest reference file is now 0060.0000 .
But I was able to get it installed automatically from the AA program window today. Although slow, it did work. Maybe Lavasoft is starting to fix things.
P.S. If you want to learn how to Extract using WinZip, it might be best to click Help on an open WinZip window and click on Tutorial.

Thank you so much for your suggestion jcimarron, I'm going to try this and hopefully will be able to get those blessed updates once and for all. I'm surprised Lavasoft is so negligent with the free version. I wouldn't buy a thing from them. If I can't use their free version, I'll buy another program but not from the one I tried and didn't work. Don't you agree?

Thanks again. Adela

I just ran the update after getting the SSL error for days. I was able to update one computer but the other one got the same error message. I was told that I should make sure I could connect to the internet on this page. If I couldn't connect to the internet, I could not get on this page. The information I got was that it was my computer. These kinds of answers remind me of why I left AOL many years ago. Always blame the customer. it's never the company's fault! I see posts today that lavasoft is working on the problem! So apparently it is not any of their customer's computers!

Hello All:

I'm so sorry we are all wasting our time and our emotional energy asking how to update since Lavasoft has declared that they have stopped updates as of 12-31-07 for Free and SE versions: [email="]http://www.lavasoft.com/support/supportcenter/ [/email]. It also says:

But of course they are playing merry-go-round with us since they send us to their forums where no one who's associated with them is in to help us. Isuggest everyone to stop trying - the door is locked!

I'm blacklisting them and am starting to search for another program who cares how they treat the free version users so we can assess whether it's worth to buy it or not.! Adela

Hi,


Seven more cases here with the same problem. They all applied the solution it worked for a while and then nothing.

Wow, there is a lot of confusion in this thread.

First of all, in the most recent cases over the last couple of days - it has been a problem with some of the update servers. That you will just need wait out. You can keep trying when you get the SSL download error and it will evenutally update. This is already working for some.
See my post here:
http://www.lavasoftsupport.com/index.php?s...ost&p=71848

Next, for SE users - that is now obsolete but Ad-Aware still offers the free version of Ad-Aware 2007. Just uninstall the SE and download a fresh copy of Ad-Aware 2007

Third, some users have had a corrupted program and uninstall/reinstall seems to solve the problem (but it still might have some trouble updating in the next day or so until the update servers settle down)

Fourth, the old problem of other security software or firewall blocking your connection could also cause this error.

I suspect in most cases, if your program has been working fine up until the last couple of days, it is just wait and try again and it should update. For other problems that doesn't resolve, it is probably best to start a new topic because we can't solve a dozen different things in this single thread.

For adelap, since you were the initial topic starter and this is really YOUR thread. I'll try answer some of your questions and concerns

The webupdate button is a menu choice on the left hand side of the main screen when you open Ad-Aware. See here (from the help manual). The help manual is the "question mark" icon on the upper right of your main screen when you open the program.

You may need to click on this image for easier viewing.

Click to view attachment

You should soon if not now, be able to update your program the regular way. If you get an SSL download error, just try again a bit later and it should work. I just tried it and it seems to be working better now than it was earlier

This is because day before yesterday when the first update came out a couple of our download servers were down (yes there are 7 or 8 of them and it rotates checking different ones each time you try again) and people resulted in trying again and again, further stressing the load on the servers which is why the problem continued into today (and may still for a bit longer).

I try to recommend to just wait a bit and see if it won't update later because the manual update method is a bit of a learning curve if you aren't really savvy with computers. Usually these occasional update problems will get worked out. And these will happen with any software program. Ours is used by hundreds of millions of users so you can see when things get "out of kilter" on the updates, the stress on the servers of millions of folks trying to download all at once again and again is going to knock things out of their normal plane.

No, we haven't abandoned the free users. Of course we can't offer official support for the free version (hence, this support forum for the free users to get peer-to-peer help from the many volunteers who enjoy doing so).
See this article where our Vice President of Marketing, Michael Helander (and Michael IS a woman, by the way she just has a man's name LOL). She is quoted speaking about our free version in that very recent article just this month:
http://itmanagement.earthweb.com/secu/article.php/3732236


and again, respected Spyware researcher, Ben Edelman who said:


So, No, Adela - we really do try to make sure the freeware users get resolutions to problems like this just the same as we do for the paid users. We aren't giving up on the free users at all.

Thanks so much, CalamityJane, for a very clear and easy explanation of what is happening and how I can try those things. Also thanks for your reassurance that Lavasoft hasn't abandoned the Free users. I'd like sometime in the near future to upgrade to the more effective version.

I finally found the webupdate thanks to you, and the results showed a number of routine ads, cookies, etc. and some CPUs (whatever these mean) :-) but when I clicked on "Remove" it did so only for the CPU's and not for the much longer list of ads, cookies, etc. But this may be due to the same disfunction we are having now.

I'm very impressed with your kindness in explaining so nicely and effectively what is happening with Lavasoft. It makes sense to wait, which I'll do of course.

Again, thanks ever so much! Your post speaks very well of your company! Adela

Good, glad you found the webupdate (and it worked ok?)

MRUs (most recently used lists) not CPUs- these are not important really and sometimes are actually helpful. They are covered under "Privacy objects" a separate tab on the results screen. Unless this is a shared computer and you have extreme privacy concerns, I usually recommend you can just ignore those.

Those are covered also in the help manual. It's a good reference for these types of questions

Click to view attachment

As for scanning and removing the free version is just as effective as the paid ones.

The upgrade to a paid product would be for the "realtime" protection if you feel that is a need or for advanced features and official customer support which is available in those versions. Take some time and get comfortable with the free one and then if you think you want one of the upgrades, do that later is my recommendation for you right now.

Here is the product comparison chart so you can see some of the differences.
http://www.lavasoft.com/download_and_buy/p...rison_chart.php

I always start my friends and family member on the free version first

Of course! There are a bunch of us angry custs that are confused at once. That represents a lapse in software ROBUSTNESS. The update should be able to state that it isn't working efficiently and recommend a definite wait interval of time. "SSL download failure" sounds like something wrong with the client/server handshakes, certificate signatures or such stuff customers have no real control over. Good news: by late WED 3/12/2008 the update was miraculously cured and returned to normal operation again. But it is hard to keep up confidence in products that go sick suddenly (as opposed to choosing wrong combinations of settings and concurrent products, another matter entirely). member # 53,810 signing off

Hi Calamity and oops, sorry I used the wrong MRU letters. I get very confused with the technical part of the computer and internet. LOL!

Yes, when I went to the webupdates for which you so kindly gave me very clear directions, it surprised me that it worked, but as mentioned, all the bad stuff it found is still there as it wouldn't delete them. It deleted only the MRUs but not the long list of ad spies, cookies,...

I'll make it a practice to consult the manual now that I know where to find it and special thanks for showing it to me with a graphic!


I'm glad to know this as I'm having some economic difficulties these days, so I appreciate the generosity of Lavasoft's owner. I'm also glad that I never need to use advanced features so I guess it's ok. Actually, this is the reason too that I can't now hire a techi to fix my computer with which I have to endure strange and unpleasant things... What is "realtime"?


The above link said "404 - Page Not Found" and pointed to Home which I did but didn't seem to find the comparison chart. But it's all right as you already told me the main differences.

Again, thanks so much for being so kind and helpful! You would make a heck of a great computer insturctor!!! Adela

Hmmm maybe I copied the link wrong. Try this (it's the product comparison chart):
http://www.lavasoft.com/download_and_buy/p...rison_chart.php

Now, on the cookies removal, are you putting a check in the boxes next to the ones you want to remove. Also make sure you have ALL browsers closed. That way none are in use by windows. Those don't quarantine either, so they won't show what was removed afterwards. You can only remove or ignore (and yes some cookies you may want to keep).
Click to view attachment

When you have checkmarked any you want to remove, then press the *remove* button and then the finish button.
I don't even bother scanning for MRUs as those aren't really a threat. Neither are cookies really. The only ones that are a real concern are under that first tab for critical objects. If you have questions, just consult that manual and it has some great explanatory screen shots on all the different functions.

I just remembered that I forgot to answer that one.

Security scanners usually have two main modes

1. Realtime (sometimes also called "Resident" scan) and

2. On-demand

Realtime is your scanning constantly on guard during anything you do. Your antivirus programs almost always are "on" when the realtime scanner is running waiting to pounce on any malicious activity or opening of a known malicious file. It is looking for "active" malware. This mode is to protect your computer in "realtime" from infections trying to run or enter the system.

On-demand means just that. You choose to run a scan on your system. That usually hunts for existing files that may be on a system and may not be "active". When the scan is done it is then off until you choose an "on-demand" scan again. This type of scan is looking for all files of malicious nature, active or not. It will not protect you from future infections, but it will remove any existing ones.

Here is a screenshot of my antivirus so you can see what I'm talking about.

Click to view attachment

The free version of Ad-Aware is a fully functional on-demand scanner. You use it to scan your computer for any existing malware. By fully functional I mean that it will both show you the files found AND remove them.
Always be wary of software that offers to scan your system for free and says that it "finds" malware but makes you pay or register to remove it. Those are usually fakes (also called Rogues).

The paid version of Ad-Aware includes the realtime protection that run continuously to prevent infections. Here is a screenie of Ad-Watch (the realtime scanner in Ad-Aware Plus and Pro)


Click to view attachment

Hi Jane, and thanks again for the link. I went to see the comparison and it's very easy to follow. There's quite a bit that the pay program has over the free one. Hopefully, when I'm in a better position I'll upgrade.

Yes, I right click and chose "Check All" and then click on "Remove" and "Finish". It did remove the the MRU's, but ignored the ad spies. However, I don't recall whether my browser was closed. I must try agan this time making sure to close IE...and oh thanks for the graphic again, it's identical to my screen!

I didn't intend to scan the MRUs, I chose the "Smart Scan" and it gave both results. :-)

Thank you Jane! Adela

You're welcome.

It should remove them. I've tested it time and again on the free version. I happen to be on another machine right now with the Pro Version but the scan settings options are pretty much the same for both free and Pro.

The reason it found MRUs is because of your scan settings. There are the settings I have (because I'm the only user on this machine I don't want MRU's to be scanned)

See? There is lots to learn about this. The more you play with it the more you find you can customize to your liking. That's true for the free version as well. You'll need to click on the image to get a larger view that's readable

Click to view attachment

I think this topic is now becoming the Ad-Aware 101 thread

Hi Jane, you're so thorough! Are you a teacher??? :-) Dont mean to take so much of your time, but thanks so much for explaining so well about the "Realtime"!

Oh then, "Realtime" (pay version) catches always and automatically any intruders while "On-demand" (free version) cathes them only when we scan it...Mystery solved! It's a good function to have among others I saw in the comparison chart.

Thanks for this alert too, I was going to scan with either Norton or Panda on their own sites as I was told they are VERY strong. I was hoping a strong scan might get rid of several glitches in my computer as I simply can't afford pumping more money into techis... :-) but wanted first to backup all my files...for months now... LOL! Not too sure how to do it and intimidated (I even bought a flash drive which I still have to learn how to use), but will consult with some forums and start once and for all as backups are highly important, I know. However, I'll remember your words of warning about these other site scans so it's a good thing I procrastinated my backups!

Thanks again Jane for all your valuable information!!! Adela

Backups are extremely important. You are a quick study and I'm impressed. So do pursue that one

Yes, I teach security on probably a couple dozen forums like this one and help users with malware removal for many years now.

Norton online scan is not so great (last I tried it didn't scan compressed files). Panda is good but pretty spammy and some users I have referred there have been getting spammish emails from them for quite a while. (I should stress they are SAFE, but I just have a better one I use these days)

I like and use and recommend this free online AV scanner these days. I think it is better than either of those (and they don't want an email addy and they don't send you marketing emails for using it)

This set of instructions will produce a log only and I want you to copy that at the end and post it back here. I'll review it for you and let you know if a second scan (with instructions to remove threats) is needed.

* Go here to run an online scannner from ESET.

• Note: You will need to use Internet explorer for this scan
• Tick the box next to YES, I accept the Terms of Use.
• Click Start
• When asked, allow the activex control to install
• Click Start
• Make sure that the option Remove found threats is unticked, and the option Scan unwanted applications is checked
• Click Scan
• Wait for the scan to finish
• Use notepad to open the logfile located at C:\Program Files\EsetOnlineScanner\log.txt
• Copy and paste that log as a reply to this topic

We have now just progressed to "Security 101" and that's a passion of mine

Hi Jane...thanks for your nice words but I'm rather a slow learner that's why probably I have so many glitches. LOL! But you are a REAL expert in internet security consultation! I bet people fight to get you to help them. :-) You say you progressed to "Security 101", is it a course?

And thanks a lot for your new help. I just made the ESET scan and it said... "No threats found". Just as you said it was easy and took only around 30 minutes. Spybot scan takes 2-1/2 hours by the clock!!! Yet it always says "Congratulations - no threats!" I'm SO puzzled! But with Lavasoft I get long lists of trash which I just delete; makes you feel you're REALLY cleaning up. LOL! Of course I also delete from time to time temp files, empty delete folders, compact them, etc. Yet the glitches thrive on my computer!

Thanks so much for the info on Norton and Panda scans. That's how so many people fall into traps I guess. I'll use ESET from time to time and when it shows threats, perhaps if you aren't too busy you could let me know if they can be removed without causing some mess (as I usually do)?

Many thanks for all your generous help Jane! Adela

P.S. How do you like to be called? Jane? Calamity? Or both? :-)

Well, good for you. With the eset second opinion I think we can safely say your "glitches" are not due to malware.

In fact, the cookies and MRUs that Ad-Aware is finding do NOT affect system performance, so you probably have some issues with system performance. I'm going to give you some reference that will help. These are really good for the non-technical user who wants to learn more but go slowly.

Review the tips on this page:
http://users.telenet.be/bluepatchy/miekiem...owcomputer.html

That is from a good friend and fellow malware fighter who also volunteers in this forum (she goes by miekiemoes). She really knows her stuff and those tips are written with simple steps to follow to make sure you can get some help with simple maintenance that you can do.

This forum is just for Newbies and they are terrific. I belong to this forum as well and I highly recommend it for starters
http://www.newbie.org/help/

And this forum has some terrific self-help tutorials that is worth bookmarking in your favorites list:
http://www.bleepingcomputer.com/

That's all I'm going to start you with for now. I don't want to overwhelm. And I don't want you to think that when you have a problem with your computer, throwing more security software at it is going to solve all your problems. Sometimes it is performance issues that need to be investigated. We've ruled out malware really at this point. And we now know that the updating problems you had when starting this topic was really at the servers and not your program. So those "glitches" are probably something other than what we started with here

And I'll emphasize once more that the cookies and other "trash" being found by Ad-Aware at the moment is not the culprit. Those do not affect the way your system runs.

Oh thanks so very much Jane for all the great beginners links. I'll contact them right away. It's good to know that at least I don't have to fight with the malware since apparently I dont' have much! I'll keep all of your advice so I won't be wasting time with "petty" trash, cookies, etc. LOL!

Again my deep gratitude for all your help! I wish you the best of luck in your life! Adela

Right, you don't have any malware running on there. Cookies don't run or do anything at all to affect your system. This is why we put them into a different category (Privacy threat) rather than in the Critical Objects like we used to in the old Ad-Aware. That is why I was saying that I wasn't too worried because you have NO critical objects showing your reports. And the online AV scan which checks for different threats like virus, worms and other nasties came up clean too.

Here is our definition and explanation about Tracking cookies (from our glossary page in the Spyware Education Center
http://www.lavasoft.com/support/spywareeducationcenter/

Tracking Cookies
http://www.lavasoft.com/support/spywareedu...TrackingCookies


and definition of a cookie:
http://www.lavasoft.com/support/spywareedu...sary.php#Cookie
Cookie


A cookie is quite simply a text file and does not run or do anything else than contain text information that can be read by the website that deposited it and recorded the info on it. There are, of course, some "good" cookies that are helpful and you want to keep. So cookies in general tend to be widely misunderstood and mistaken for true malware. In that sense you do not have any.