The Hidden Dangers of Adware
Adware in the purest sense of the word is not a dangerous thing, designed only to display targeted advertising to you while browsing the internet. It was originally developed by marketers to be non intrusive and use very little system resources. You can easily recognize adware by the display of pop up advertisements on your computer screen, often appearing when you perform searches or land on different websites.
Adware can be very annoying, and in the past few years much of adware’s functional characteristics have begun to resemble spyware. A large percentage of adware today includes code that tells the advertiser something about you. It often relays information about which sites you visit on the internet, how much time you spend on each site, and what type of content you viewed. Although marketing people consider this information to be harmless to you, most users consider this type of data gathering to be an invasion of privacy. Adware that is delivered in the form of email often tells marketers when you opened the mail, how long you looked at it, and what you did with it.
Spyware is similar to adware, but much more dangerous. Instead of transmitting information about your web behavior to marketers, spyware is designed to steal confidential information such as account numbers, names, addresses, etc As adware continues to evolve into a more sophisticated marketing tool, much of it is now capable of gathering “non-marketing” information that is more sensitive in nature. This new type of hybrid adware is sometimes referred to as “adware-spyware”.
Adware is normally included in downloaded software known as “freeware”. In exchange for using free software, you agree to the installation of adware. Most free software includes a statement about the included adware in a license agreement that usually goes unread. Other adware comes in the form of email, with code hidden in embedded graphics or even in the HTML code. If you forward an adware email to someone, they can get it too. Like spyware, adware installs very quickly, often without the users knowledge. Adware is not a virus, so antivirus software will never detect it.
If your computer is suddenly running very slowly, is plagued with pop-up ads, or if your browser home page has changed, chances are you have adware on your computer. If you have adware you probably have spyware too, as they both tend to go hand in hand.
Adware and spyware can sometimes be difficult to remove, and it’s best to use adware removal software. Because the two are so closely related, most good spyware removers will find and kill adware too. Since new adware and spyware is introduced into the internet every day, you may have to try several adware removers before you find one that will detect and destroy all the adware on your computer. Many free adware removers are available, but it’s best to get a paid version of this software that will protect you from future problems.
Due to the danger and prevalence of adware and spyware on the internet today, it is now considered a standard practice to use anti-spyware/anti-adware software. For the best anti-adware software, consider McAfee AntiSpyware, Spyware Doctor, Sunbelt Counter Spy, Adaware, Webroot Spy Sweeper, or eTrust Pest Patrol.
To learn more about internet security risks and what you can do about them, visit http://www.antivirus-firewall-spyware.com Or visit my Adware page directly: Adware.
Blog: Computer Security for Everyone
Tags: adaware, adware, adware remover, anti adware, anti spyware, mcafee, spyware, spyware removerAdware Why is it Different
Advertising supported software, which has come to be more commonly referred to as adware, is a computer program and/or package of software under which advertisements or other marketing material are included or are just loaded automatically and played back to you over and over again after they install themselves. The main way that users are made aware that they have adware on their systems is through banner ads that appear in pop-up windows or a bar that might just appear on your computer screen.
The main reason that adware became as rampant as it did was that in the beginning it helped some developers recover the costs incurred during program development. Often times this was done with a disclaimer stating that if you use the reduced price option for this program, then you will receive periodic pop-up ads from sponsors. Another avenue for adware is under the category of shareware, which is where the user may download and operate an unregistered copy of a program for use completely free and receive pop-ups, or the user can choose to pay a fee and receive the full version free of any pop-ups. This is method is kind of like a status program, meaning the higher up you are the more benefits you receive.
There are some forms of adware that have been accused of including some sort of tracking code that monitors and reports a users habits online, thus making it a variable form of spyware. Other than these spyware types of programs, adware programs do not invisibly and unknown to you collect your data for reporting purposes.
This is where spyware and adware differ and that is the fact that adware does not purposely harm your system of confidence, where spyware while you have no idea it may be on your machine can gather personal and sensitive information about your identity and send it to third party sources.
While it may not be as harmful as spyware and Trojan programs, adware might be the most annoying of the three. There is nothing like surfing the Internet and have to close six pop-ups just because you wanted to check your email.
There are many programs available for free that will scan your system and help repair and remove any form of adware you have on your system. While most adware programs are merely a nuisance, there are those rare varieties that my still do harm to your system so proper maintenance is the key to a healthy system.
When not on his soapbox, Andrew Wroblewski is doing battle with the thousands of spyware programs that can affect you via his ant-spyware and spyware removal website: http://spyware.pcwash.com where you can get a free spyware scan of your computer system.
Tags: adaware, adware, anti spyware, malware, spy ware, spyware, trojan horse
