Lavasoft was founded in 1999, and has been described as "the original anti-spyware company", being the first company to deliver software to the general public to address spyware threats.[1] It has had two business aims, first to product anti-malware products, and second to provide an education about malware to the general public,[2] primarily via internal research and information hosted on or distributed from their corporate site.[1]

In 2004, Lavasoft was brought to court by New.net with the claim that inclusion of New.net in its blocking database, thereby making users Ad-Aware anti-spyware software not subject to involuntary download of the New.net software, was injurious to New.net and actionable under state and federal law.[3] The dismissal of this case set a precedent under which courts have subsequently "rejected attempts to obtain preliminary injunctive relief against internet speech."[4]

As of 2009, Lavasoft's CEO was Jason King.[1] The company's flag-ship product was Ad-Aware,[1] also known as AdAware.[2]

In 2010, the company entered the personal firewall market with Lavasoft Personal Firewall.[5]

Ad-Aware Releases

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  • version 5.83 was current as of March 2003[6]
  • SE Personal Edition 1.06 was available in 2006[7]
  • version 10 beta became available in May 2012[8]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d Zorz, Mirko (March 2009). "Q&A: Jason King, CEO of Lavasoft". [In]secure Magazine (20): 80–83 – via Internet Archive.
  2. ^ a b Lee, Mark (2007). Securing Your PC in easy steps. United Kingdom: Computer Step. p. 69. ISBN 978-1-84078-336-0 – via Internet Archive.
  3. ^ New.net, Inc. v. Lavasoft, CV 03-3180 GAF (C.D. Cal May 20, 2004).
  4. ^ Dietz Development, LLC and Christopher Dietz v. Jane Perez (Va. December 26, 2012), Text.: 8  — via Internet Archive
  5. ^ "Even Lavasoft". Proactive Defenses and Free Tools. Haking. 5 (10). Warsaw, Poland: 41. September 2010 – via Internet Archive.
  6. ^ "Scumware Sucks". Maximum PC. California, United States: Future Network USA: 53. March 2003 – via Internet Archive.
  7. ^ Criddle, Linda; Muir, Nancy (2006). Look both ways : help protect your family on the Internet. United States: Microsoft Press. p. 184. ISBN 978-0-7356-2347-7 – via Internet Archive.
  8. ^ "Ad-Aware 10 Beta". Tech Support: Updates & Drivers. Smart Computing. 23 (5): 72. May 2012 – via Internet Archive.