Ad-Aware, at 10, rolls out its leaner, meaner Anniversary Editions

What is most likely the first stand-alone anti-adware program in the business is celebrating its tenth anniversary this week with the unveiling of a new set of rollouts this morning. Added to Lavasoft's Ad-Aware Anniversary Edition are new features that the company claims will detect malware not just by its signature but by its behavior.

The new AE edition also promises to be less resource-intensive than its predecessors, while at the same time providing more integration with Windows Security Center in Vista. Now, ever since Ad-Aware emerged on the scene, the security industry's definition of "malware" has evolved. Very few security products, including anti-virus and firewalls, fail to include some kind of anti-adware option similar to what Ad-Aware pioneered. So it will be important for Lavasoft to distinguish itself once again; it's important that it be perceived as valuable unto itself, and that its anti-virus and other features be seen as useful add-ons.

The pricing tiers will stay pretty much the same: The free version is, of course, free; for single user licenses, a one-year license for the Plus version with anti-virus protection will sell for $26.95; and the Pro version with the new "Live" network-enhanced protection will sell for $39.95.