Hi, I need to uninstall Ad-Aware from my laptop before I'm able to install BitDefender.
I have search on this site and followed all suggestions (i.e. control panel, uninstall, unwise, unreag) and removed lavasoft from the application data folder as well.
But it's still telling me that I've got the software on my laptop and it's causing me problems and I can't install bitdefender.
I've searched through every folder and every document but just can't find any trace of it.
I would be so happy if anyone could help me with this, it's driving me crazy.
Thank you!!!
Full Version: BitDefender Compatability
Lavasoft Support Forums > Archived Topics > Archives: Resolved/Inactive Topics > Ad-Aware SE Resolved/Inactive Issues
I have been using AdAware for years. Recently I installed BitDefender which required that I uninstall AdAware. AdAware will not allow BitDefender's update to work. I had to choose between AdAware and BitDefender. BitDefender won and I uninstalled AdAware. Is there a version of AdAware I can install that will play nice with BitDefender. I imagine that thousands of other BitDefender users are faced with making the same choice. BitDefender is a great AV program. I do not understand why AdAware wants to block certain features of that probram. That just sounds kind of dumb to me.
Thanks
Thanks
Hi rwinegar,
Hope you don't mind me butting in, but I'm kind of in your situation.
I want to install BitDefender but it wont let me as it says Ad Aware is installed when I have uninstalled it.
Did you have this problem? I have tried to uninstall Ad Aware about a hundred times and by searching through my entire hard drive there is no trace of it. But it seems that BitDefender can still spot it.
Thanks
Hope you don't mind me butting in, but I'm kind of in your situation.
I want to install BitDefender but it wont let me as it says Ad Aware is installed when I have uninstalled it.
Did you have this problem? I have tried to uninstall Ad Aware about a hundred times and by searching through my entire hard drive there is no trace of it. But it seems that BitDefender can still spot it.
Thanks
cglon, after uninstalling in Add/Remove I suggest you do hard drive search for "Adaware" and "Lavasoft" and delete everything you see. You also should do the same in the registry. That's what I did.
Back to my original question - is Lavasoft paying any attention to this and does it intend to come up with a version that is compatible with BitDefender? If not it is probably loosing thousands of customers every week.
Back to my original question - is Lavasoft paying any attention to this and does it intend to come up with a version that is compatible with BitDefender? If not it is probably loosing thousands of customers every week.
QUOTE(rwinegar @ Jan 9 2007, 06:17 PM) 
AdAware will not allow BitDefender's update to work. I had to choose between AdAware and BitDefender.
Can you add any additional info on this? Ad-Aware doesn't block other software.
This is the first I have heard of this one.
We had a problem a while back with McAfee demanding customers uninstall Ad-Aware but that was their problem, not ours and they have since fixed it.
Most folks do not want their Antivirus demanding what other software you can use.
Ad-aware should not interfere with Bit Defender at all, unless maybe you are scanning while the AV is running realtime, then you might get multiple alerts but it should not cause any other conflicts.
What version of Ad-Aware do you have? Personal, Plus or Pro?
AdAware positively, absolutely DOES block BitDefender's ability to update. I can attest to this. This is nothing new. Thousands of BitDefender users already know this. Search Google and you will see. Anyone installing BitDefender absolutely must uninstall AdAware. In fact BitDefender will detect AdAware when it is installed and instruct the user to uninstall it. It will not prompt to uninstall any other adware/spyware removal programs. Still have doubts? Just try to install BitDefender on a computer on which AdAware is already installed and try to update BitDefender. The update will fail and the entire update field in BitDefender will be blank. Then uninstall AdAware and try it again.
I used AdAware for years. I uninstalled it last weekend and it will remain uninstalled until Lavasoft rewrites it so that it does not block BitDefender's ability to update itself.
I used AdAware for years. I uninstalled it last weekend and it will remain uninstalled until Lavasoft rewrites it so that it does not block BitDefender's ability to update itself.
QUOTE(rwinegar @ Jan 10 2007, 11:23 PM)
Anyone installing BitDefender absolutely must uninstall AdAware
I'm using both BitDefender 10 and Ad-Aware, and I'm having no problem with any of those softwares...
EDIT: I had no issue with BitDefender9 either
Maybe I only imagined that, during the installation process, BitDefender detected and prompted me to delete AdAware. Maybe I imagined that when I failed to follow those instructions that BitDefender was unable to update itself. Maybe I imagined that when I finally did uninstall Adaware that BitDefender updates worked. Maybe the other poster in this thread, cglon, also imagines the same things.
Come on Lavasoft. There's a problem. You are fully aware of it. When are you going to fix it? I want my AdAware back. But I am not going to throw away a perfectly good, low cost AV program in order to get it back.
Come on Lavasoft. There's a problem. You are fully aware of it. When are you going to fix it? I want my AdAware back. But I am not going to throw away a perfectly good, low cost AV program in order to get it back.
rwinegar,
Sarcasm is not the most useful method of getting help from volunteers here...
So yes, this is the first time that this issue has been raised and appears to relate to the latest version, BitDefender 10.
Neither of you answered LS CalamityJane's question: " What version of Ad-Aware do you have? Personal, Plus or Pro?"
Take a look at all the uproar that happened when McAfee (another antivirus company) produced an up-dated version that conflicted with several programs - initially Ad-Aware users blamed Ad-Aware, until the torrent of outrage forced McAfee to backed down and release a patch that fixed the problem:
Help me remove ad-aware se personal (temporarily), need removal tool and the real biggie
McAfee recommends removal of SE Plus
It affected ZoneAlarm users as well, as described in Zone Alarms Blog from June 06 here: http://blog.zonelabs.com/blog/2006/06/index.html (Section headed: Explanation about the recent ZoneAlarm / McAfee problem).
What I am tring to say is that, as posted above, that was not Ad-Aware SE's fault - nor is it likely to be this time as we have not made any changes to our program for a while. It is hopefully just a simple "bug" in the new V10 of BitDefender or perhaps (just a possiblity) something in you particular system configurations that is causing the block.
Regards,
Spike
Sarcasm is not the most useful method of getting help from volunteers here...
QUOTE
Come on Lavasoft. There's a problem. You are fully aware of it. When are you going to fix it?
As our Forum Moderator said above: QUOTE
LS CalamityJane, Posted Yesterday
Can you add any additional info on this? Ad-Aware doesn't block other software.
This is the first I have heard of this one.
There are only two Topics (yours and cglon's - which I have merged to make assisting you both easier) about this on the Forum. Try typing Bitdefender into the Search box at the top-right of the main forum page. Any other Topics which appear, are only there because the word "Bitdefender" appears somewhere in their logs.Can you add any additional info on this? Ad-Aware doesn't block other software.
This is the first I have heard of this one.
So yes, this is the first time that this issue has been raised and appears to relate to the latest version, BitDefender 10.
Neither of you answered LS CalamityJane's question: " What version of Ad-Aware do you have? Personal, Plus or Pro?"
Take a look at all the uproar that happened when McAfee (another antivirus company) produced an up-dated version that conflicted with several programs - initially Ad-Aware users blamed Ad-Aware, until the torrent of outrage forced McAfee to backed down and release a patch that fixed the problem:
Help me remove ad-aware se personal (temporarily), need removal tool and the real biggie
McAfee recommends removal of SE Plus
It affected ZoneAlarm users as well, as described in Zone Alarms Blog from June 06 here: http://blog.zonelabs.com/blog/2006/06/index.html (Section headed: Explanation about the recent ZoneAlarm / McAfee problem).
What I am tring to say is that, as posted above, that was not Ad-Aware SE's fault - nor is it likely to be this time as we have not made any changes to our program for a while. It is hopefully just a simple "bug" in the new V10 of BitDefender or perhaps (just a possiblity) something in you particular system configurations that is causing the block.
Regards,
Spike
I assure you that Ad-aware is not blocking anything from BitDefender. It is the newer version of BitDefender that will not allow other security software. I found this post by a Bit Defender user in reviewing the new version and they had confirmed with Bit Defender's support team that they would not allow other software to function alongside their Antivirus:
http://www.amazon.com/BitDefender-9-Standard/dp/B000EGYV9G
So there is nothing we can do from this end if they have decided to exclude a user from any other security software in order to run their program. However, I do note above that more than one user is apparently able to do so, so there may be a workaround for Bit Defender users I am not aware of.
http://www.amazon.com/BitDefender-9-Standard/dp/B000EGYV9G
QUOTE
Incompatible with other Antispyware Software, December 17, 2006
Reviewer: Jonathan Archer "ReligBookFreak" (Grand Prairie, TX United States) - See all my reviews
I admit that Bit Defender AntiVirus v10 has a powerful Behavioral Heuristic Analyzer in Virtual Environments, which has been hailed as one of the most powerful available by numerous computer magazines. However, it puts a MAJOR strain on your PC's resources (even with a powerful Pentium IV with 1 GB of high-speed RAM). It slows everything down to a crawl.
In addition -- and this is my MAJOR complaint -- it is imcompatible with other AntiSpyware programs. I recently experienced a Blue Screen after installing Bit Defender on my PC (which also has the free version of Zone Alarm, Webroot SpySweeper, Spyware Doctor, Sunbelt CounterSpy and Lavasoft Ad-Aware). I know that Bit Defender was the culprit because the Blue Screen identified "bdfsdrv.sys" as the problem. Since then, I have received numerous Blue Screens (sometimes 2-3 per day).
Therefore, I immediately contacted Bit Defender customer support. They sent me an email, which stated "We do not recommend using more than one security software. To minimize resources consumption (as all security programs access the same resources at the same time) and avoid any unpredictable situations such as errors, various malfunctions, computer slowdown, etc. we advise to use only one security program."
I was appalled at this attitude that basically says that I should trust Bit Defender for ALL of my security needs - Antivirus, Antispyware (including trojans, keyloggers and rootkits) and Firewall - and that Bit Defender has no responsibility to make sure that their product is compatible with others.
As everyone (including the people at Bit Defender) must realize, there is NOT one single product on the market that can block, find and delete EVERY form of spyware in existence, including trojans, keyloggers and rootkits. Therefore, it is necessary to have more than one antispyware program installed on your computer.
Bit Defender needs to reevaluate their policy, and revise Bit Defender so that it is compatible with at least the MAJOR security products on the market. If they refuse to do this, then NOBODY SHOULD BUY THIS PRODUCT.
Reviewer: Jonathan Archer "ReligBookFreak" (Grand Prairie, TX United States) - See all my reviews
I admit that Bit Defender AntiVirus v10 has a powerful Behavioral Heuristic Analyzer in Virtual Environments, which has been hailed as one of the most powerful available by numerous computer magazines. However, it puts a MAJOR strain on your PC's resources (even with a powerful Pentium IV with 1 GB of high-speed RAM). It slows everything down to a crawl.
In addition -- and this is my MAJOR complaint -- it is imcompatible with other AntiSpyware programs. I recently experienced a Blue Screen after installing Bit Defender on my PC (which also has the free version of Zone Alarm, Webroot SpySweeper, Spyware Doctor, Sunbelt CounterSpy and Lavasoft Ad-Aware). I know that Bit Defender was the culprit because the Blue Screen identified "bdfsdrv.sys" as the problem. Since then, I have received numerous Blue Screens (sometimes 2-3 per day).
Therefore, I immediately contacted Bit Defender customer support. They sent me an email, which stated "We do not recommend using more than one security software. To minimize resources consumption (as all security programs access the same resources at the same time) and avoid any unpredictable situations such as errors, various malfunctions, computer slowdown, etc. we advise to use only one security program."
I was appalled at this attitude that basically says that I should trust Bit Defender for ALL of my security needs - Antivirus, Antispyware (including trojans, keyloggers and rootkits) and Firewall - and that Bit Defender has no responsibility to make sure that their product is compatible with others.
As everyone (including the people at Bit Defender) must realize, there is NOT one single product on the market that can block, find and delete EVERY form of spyware in existence, including trojans, keyloggers and rootkits. Therefore, it is necessary to have more than one antispyware program installed on your computer.
Bit Defender needs to reevaluate their policy, and revise Bit Defender so that it is compatible with at least the MAJOR security products on the market. If they refuse to do this, then NOBODY SHOULD BUY THIS PRODUCT.
So there is nothing we can do from this end if they have decided to exclude a user from any other security software in order to run their program. However, I do note above that more than one user is apparently able to do so, so there may be a workaround for Bit Defender users I am not aware of.
Ad-Aware SE personal has no realtime monitoring features and it totally inactive when not running, therefore any incompatibility is completely artificial in nature and is caused by the program complaining. It is possible for a program to be incompatible with plus or pro since they have real time monitoring.
When an anti-virus program sees ad-aware (or some minor fragment of it), and refuses to install without valid reason (intentional incompatibility), chances are they trying to push out ad-aware as a competitor.
Such action by an anti-virus company does not make that company look good at all.
When an anti-virus program sees ad-aware (or some minor fragment of it), and refuses to install without valid reason (intentional incompatibility), chances are they trying to push out ad-aware as a competitor.
Such action by an anti-virus company does not make that company look good at all.
QUOTE(Ai_Tak @ Jan 22 2007, 05:14 AM)
Ad-Aware SE personal has no realtime monitoring features and it totally inactive when not running, therefore any incompatibility is completely artificial in nature and is caused by the program complaining. It is possible for a program to be incompatible with plus or pro since they have real time monitoring.
When an anti-virus program sees ad-aware (or some minor fragment of it), and refuses to install without valid reason (intentional incompatibility), chances are they trying to push out ad-aware as a competitor.
Such action by an anti-virus company does not make that company look good at all.
When an anti-virus program sees ad-aware (or some minor fragment of it), and refuses to install without valid reason (intentional incompatibility), chances are they trying to push out ad-aware as a competitor.
Such action by an anti-virus company does not make that company look good at all.
This must be the real crux of the matter - realtime monitoring.
After being forced 15 months ago by abominable programming on the part of Teles (SkyDsl) to completely wipe my PC and start all over again, the first thing I installed after XP Pro was BitDefender v9. Hence I had no problems installing Ad-Aware Personal. The problem started about 2 to 3 months ago after upgrading to v10. Deep scanning with Ad-Aware runs through the first 250,000 to 400,000 files and then freezes.
Last night I closed down every application apart from BitDefender v10, deactivated all energy saving options in Control Panel (I originally thought it had something to do with the monitor and HDs running down after 20 mins) and ran Ad-Aware Personal with the latest signatures. I left it running and went to watch a couple of Season 4 episodes of ER!!
On returning, it had frozen at 397,xxx files and wouldn't budge. All I could do was Cancel and ignore the fact it had found 1 critical object. It was too late to start all over again - bed was beckoning.I'll try again this evening after finishing work - this time with everything including BitDefender v10 closed - and report back.
The reviewer CalamityJane quoted is totally right: BitDefender shouldn't stop you from using other AV and anti ad/-spyware programs. As Ai_Tak rightly says, it is an excellent program (although try saving the firewall rules), but no AV software is capable of catching everything - and there's always a possibility of having configured one setting wrongly and letting something through. There are certain situations in which I wonder whether I've caught something despite having BitDefender running and I'd like to install and run Kaspersky to double-check. But obviously this isn't possible. Bombarding BitDefender with mails signed "A.N. Noyed" could possibly get them to reconsider.
Mark
Ad-Aware Personal does not have the real time monitor so if you are having problems with Ad-Aware freezing during a scan the cause of that problem lies on another end.
The issue with BitDefender is that it is possible it is a rebranding of McAfee's suit and therefore suffers from the same problems/lockouts.
Daniel, Lavasoft
The issue with BitDefender is that it is possible it is a rebranding of McAfee's suit and therefore suffers from the same problems/lockouts.
Daniel, Lavasoft
QUOTE(LSDaniel @ Jan 25 2007, 03:40 PM)
Ad-Aware Personal does not have the real time monitor so if you are having problems with Ad-Aware freezing during a scan the cause of that problem lies on another end.
The issue with BitDefender is that it is possible it is a rebranding of McAfee's suit and therefore suffers from the same problems/lockouts.
Daniel, Lavasoft
The issue with BitDefender is that it is possible it is a rebranding of McAfee's suit and therefore suffers from the same problems/lockouts.
Daniel, Lavasoft
Hi All,
As promised, I ran an Ad-Aware SE Personal deep scan last night with everything else closed down - in particular, BitDefender v10. The scan ran a treat - so the problem obviously lies with BitDefender, as the 3 Lavasoft moderators have said.
One point for Daniel - BitDefender isn't a rebrand of McAffee. Over the last 3 or 4 months , I've had to translate from German into English a whole load of comparative magazine articles on the latest AV versions on the market and the test results from all the various publishing houses show clearly that that is not the case. BitDefender's engine is far better than McAffee's.
Mark
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