No AdWare Net

Posts Tagged ‘threats’

Adware is simply software that is downloaded to your PC and it comes disguised as an advert ranging from noninvasive banners embedded in programs to invasive pop-up windows which you cannot control. Other names given to Adware are adware and advertising-supported software and it gets into your computer piggybacking on programs you download, especially freeware, without your knowledge. You should be aware that they sometimes come as Microsoft like error alerts and even if you click on cancel, it installs itself into your computer.

The most common programs that come embedded with Adware include 123 Messenger, 180SearchAssistant, 888bar, AOL Instant Messenger, Bearshare, Burn4Free, ClipGenie, Crazy Girls, Comet Cursor, Smiley Central, PornDigger, Instant news and weather updates, Mirar Toolbar, some applications claiming they can improve your PC’s efficiency and Kazaa which is a P2P program containing Adware. You should therefore be very careful with these and other suspicious looking programs.

Some Adware are not harmful at all while others will cause you serious problems. They are designed to find holes in your computer and they exploit these holes in your PC’s security and this can lead to identity theft. It is seen by these developers as a way of making enough money to cover the development costs and so they allow the software to be provided free or cheaply.

Other Adware monitor your activities and create a user profile – information which they use to give targeted adverts. This info can be sold, and has been sold, to third parties. Adware also slows your system and makes it unstable, necessitating the use of adware removers or formatting of the partition infected.

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