If you've surfed the web for more than a few days, you computer is probably infected with adware. With today's internet, you simply can't hope to surf the web and keep your computer safe from the slowdowns and popups associated with adware.

If you notice that the home page in your browser has changed, or popup ads appearing (especially on sites that don't normally have ads) you're probably a victim of malware. Adware, simply put, is a classification for malware (bad software) that displays ads on the victim's computer, generating a profit for whoever installed the adware.

What's worse, there are probably just as many adware removal programs out there as actual adware. Many programs advertised as adware removal actually infect your computer with more adware (or remove competing adware and replace it with their own). This is why you simply cannot trust free removal programs, because nothing really is free.

Quality adware removal programs do come at a price, but the good ones also let you scan your system for free and only make you pay to remove adware. Some of the better ones also include various other types of system protection, including spyware filtering, popup blocking, and other features.

As a matter of course, you should install a quality anti-adware program on even a new system, to prevent it from ever becoming infected with malware. Prevention is the best cure in this case, because there are some particularly malicious adware programs that are extremely difficult to remove once they have infected your system.