Less than a month after unveiling MBAM 4.0, Malwarebytes has released Malwarebytes AdwCleaner 8.0, a major new version of its standalone adware-cleaning tool.

AdwCleaner 8.0 updates its optional in-app installer to ensure the latest version of Malwarebytes is installed going forward, plus drops support for Windows XP and Vista. Its UI has also been refreshed to chime with MBAM 4.0’s.

AdwCleaner provides a portable, streamlined tool designed to target adware, PUPs and preinstalled software. Its interface is similar to Malwarebytes, but is obviously simpler: after launch, click ‘Scan Now’ and it’ll update its internal database before scanning your computer.

None of these ‘threats’ were picked up by Malwarebytes 4.0…

The tool is even more aggressive than Malwarebytes, flagging items not considered active threats by the latter. Users should be aware that on attempting to quarantine items, the program will also close all running processes.

Be sure to check the Settings area if worried about particular threats – users can opt to perform a wider range of repairs (such as resetting firewall and network settings) when removing threats.

Version 8.0 now includes a download link for the very latest build of Malwarebytes and updates the Qt framework that powers its UI to the 5.13 branch. Also updated is its implementation of OpenSSL and its build toolchain (now Visual Studio 2017).

The program restores full support for the latest versions of Chrome, allowing for proper remediation of issues; unfortunately, Firefox scanning and remediation has been temporarily suspended, with the promise of being restored in an upcoming update.

The update also improves the stability of the quarantining process, making it less susceptible to possible corruption. In addition, the uninstall process for unwanted programs has also been strengthened.

Malwarebytes AdwCleaner 8.0 is available now as a free download for PCs running Windows 7 SP1 or later – Windows XP and Vista support has been dropped as of this build.