improve it or discuss these issues on the talk page . learn how and when to remove these template messages the examples and perspective in this article may not include all significant viewpoints . please improve the article or discuss the issue . may 2012 learn how and when to remove this template message this article relies too much on references to primary sources . please improve this by adding secondary or tertiary sources . july 2010 learn how and when to remove this template message learn how and when to remove this template message lavasoft type private limited company founded germany 1999 headquarters montreal canada products ad aware lavasoft digital lock lavasoft file shredder ad aware web companion lavasoft privacy toolbox website www.lavasoft.com lavasoft is a software development company that produces spyware and malware detection software 1 including ad aware . lavasoft software is often bundled into third party installers thus reaching unwilling users in the same way used by the malware they claim to fight . the company offers a free downloadable version of ad aware titled ad aware free antivirus and three commercial versions called ad aware personal security ad aware pro security and ad aware total security . 2 other lavasoft products include ad aware web companion lavasoft digital lock lavasoft file shredder lavasoft privacy toolbox and lavasoft registry tuner . lavasoft s headquarters are in montreal canada having previously been located in gothenburg sweden since 2002 . nicolas stark and ann christine kerlund established the company in germany in 1999 with its flagship ad aware product . in 2011 lavasoft was acquired by the solaria fund . 3 contents 1 history 1.1 1999 2002 1.2 2002 present 2 products 2.1 malware products ad aware 2.2 ad aware web companion 2.3 lavasoft adblocker 2.4 pc tune up products 2.5 data security products 2.6 lavasoft privacy toolbox 3 controversies 4 awards and certifications 4.1 2016 4.2 2015 4.3 2014 4.4 2013 4.5 2012 5 references 6 external links history edit 1999 2002 edit in the late 1990s computer users were beginning to encounter new variations of spyware and malware not covered by existing antivirus products . users were faced with pop ups decreased computer performance and frequent interruptions . in response to the shifting online landscape nicholas stark and ann christine kerlund established lavasoft ab and launched the company s flagship product ad aware . the company launched the first anti spyware product commercially and was the first to provide a no strings attached free security product for home use . lavasoft was a founding member of the anti spyware coalition a trade organization focused on best practices in the anti spyware and anti malware industry . 4 in 2002 they moved the company headquarters to gothenburg sweden . 2002 present edit in 2011 lavasoft was acquired by the solaria fund and moved its headquarters to montreal canada . the company has continued to expand on its free antivirus solutions and added malicious url filtering products ad blockers and a secure web browser to its product line . 5 in october 2013 lavasoft released ad aware 11 . the new version of its flagship product incorporated bitdefender s award winning antivirus engine and combined it with lavasoft s existing anti malware technology . the partnership signaled a new direction for the company finding and licensing the best technology solutions for use within its existing suite of products . 6 in 2015 lavasoft partnered with avira and licensed their cloud based malicious url murl database and program classification service auc . the cloud based malicious url list was used as part of the company s web companion malicious url filter . avira builds its own murl lists by analyzing samples collected through automated sandboxes and the malicious sites encountered by the 100 million users of avira antivirus . avira further applies advanced heuristics in real time to assess new threats submitted to the avira cloud . 7 at present time lavasoft s flagship commercial application ad aware has been downloaded over 390 000 000 times on download.com 8 products edit malware products ad aware edit ad aware free antivirus ad aware personal security ad aware pro security ad aware total security ad aware web companion edit lavasoft adblocker edit pc tune up products edit lavasoft tuneup kit lavasoft pc optimizer lavasoft driver updater lavasoft registry tuner data security products edit lavasoft file shredder lavasoft digital lock lavasoft encryption reader lavasoft privacy toolbox edit contains file shredder digital lock and encryption reader controversies edit the company was acquired in january 2011 by the solaria fund a private equity fund . 3 it was soon discovered that the fund was actually a front for the entrepreneurs daniel assouline and michael dadoun behind upclick and interactive brands . 9 sc magazine discovered that lavasoft had been acquired by the same entrepreneurs who have been accused of selling software that is available for free such as the free version of avg antivirus to unwitting users under the guise of premium support . 10 assouline and dadoun used to sell the free version of lavasoft s security program prior to acquiring the company itself . this has been well documented by security consultants such as dancho danchev . 11 lavasoft is now used to hide hard to uninstall programs into third party software to trick the users in installing them like in the k lite codec pack and the lavasoft web companion changes your browser home page without asking first . although the company shields itself behind the complete legality of bundled software and claims that their software is only used to fight malware several users are starting to brand their products as malware . 12 awards and certifications edit 2016 edit av comparatives advanced three star rating file detection test march 2016 13 av comparatives advanced two star rating performance test april 2016 14 2015 edit virus bulletin vb100 certification 15 cyber defense magazine editor s choice anti virus solution 2015 16 2014 edit downloadcentral.dk award 17 downloadcentral.no award 18 findthebest smart choice award antivirus software 19 av comparatives advanced three star rating file detection test march 2014 20 av comparatives advanced three star rating file detection test september 2014 20 2013 edit virus bulletin vb100 certification 21 five star rating giga software 22 programosy five star rating 23 softpedia excellent rating five stars from editor s review 24 2012 edit ad aware free antivirus 11.10 download3k 25 new free ad aware surfaces softpedia 26 references edit about lavasoft . lavasoft . retrieved 2012 05 25 . ad aware antivirus software with virus and spyware removal . lavasoft . retrieved 2012 05 25 . a b solaria fund acquires software business from lavasoft mannheimer swartling . mannheimerswartling.se . 2011 01 18 . retrieved 2012 05 25 . anti spyware coalition publishes spyware guidelines . anders bylund . retrieved 2016 01 13 . solaria fund acquires software business from lavasoft . mannheimer swartling . retrieved 2011 01 18 . lavasoft announces release of the all new ad aware 11 . business wire . retrieved 2013 10 09 . lavasoft and avira to deliver ad aware web companion . euan viveash . retrieved 2015 10 09 . ad aware free antivirus . tuong nguyen . retrieved 2014 12 08 . daniel assouline sc magazine . scmagazineus.com . 2011 08 05 . retrieved 2012 07 14 . danny bradbury 2006 03 03 . money for nothing media . london the guardian . retrieved 2012 05 25 . danchev dancho 2008 03 20 . dancho danchev s blog mind streams of information security knowledge cybersquatting security vendors for fraudulent purposes . ddanchev.blogspot.com . retrieved 2012 05 25 . danchev dancho . how to remove securesearch.lavasoft.com redirect virus from your computer removal guide . frances . retrieved 2013 04 23 . file detection test of malicious software pdf . av comparatives . retrieved 2016 04 14 . performance test pdf . av comparatives . retrieved 2016 05 23 . last ten vb100 tests for ad aware free antivirus . retrieved 2015 . check date values in access date help cyber defense awards 2015 . retrieved 2015 . check date values in access date help ad aware free antivirus . dlc.dk . retrieved 2014 . check date values in access date help ad aware free antivirus . downloadcentreal.no . retrieved 2014 . check date values in access date help ad aware free antivirus . software insider . retrieved 2014 . check date values in access date help a b list of awards av comparatives . av comparatives . retrieved 2014 . check date values in access date help last ten vb100 tests for ad aware free antivirus . virus bulletin . retrieved 2013 . check date values in access date help ad aware free antivirus . giga software . retrieved 2013 . check date values in access date help ad aware free antivirus 11.10.767.8917 . programosy . retrieved 2013 . check date values in access date help ad aware total security 11 review . softpedia . retrieved 2013 . check date values in access date help ad aware free antivirus 11.10 . download3k . retrieved 2012 04 25 . new free ad aware surfaces . softpedia . retrieved 2010 12 07 . external links edit official website official blog support center retrieved from https en.wikipedia.org w index.php title lavasoft & oldid 737576245 categories computer security software companiescompanies based in montrealsoftware companies established in 1999hidden categories cs1 errors datesarticles needing more viewpoints from may 2012articles lacking reliable references from july 2010all articles lacking reliable referencesofficial blog not in wikidata navigation menu personal tools not logged intalkcontributionscreate accountlog in namespaces article talk variants views read edit view history more search navigation main pagecontentsfeatured contentcurrent eventsrandom articledonate to wikipediawikipedia store interaction 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