WHAT IS ADWARE? HOW IT WORKS AND HOW TO PROTECT YOURSELF AGAINST ADWARE



WHAT IS ADWARE?
Adware, or advertising-supported software, displays advertisements to a user when they are online in order to generate revenue for their author. It is a source of revenue for free service providers, and is not inherently malicious, though it has often become synonymous with advertisements. Non-malicious adware collects data with your consent. For example, you may consent to download the free version of an application that serves ads versus the paid ad-free version of the application. Companies that depend on adware to support their products or services include Google, Facebook, Skype, and Spotify.
HOW DOES ADWARE WORK?
When a company chooses to use adware to support its software, the adware is bundled or integrated with the program itself. This allows for advertisements to load automatically. Ad space is bought by other companies who want to market to the users of that program, and the revenue made by selling ad space may be used to cover user and/or development costs. Some companies integrate adware with their program in such a way that the program cannot run unless the ads are being displayed. Any ad blockers must then be disabled in order to use the software. Adware also often collects personal information and tracks users’ browsing habits, which is then sold to third parties.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

How to make ‪#‎symbols‬ with your ‪#‎keyboard‬

Image
Alt + 0153..... ™... trademark symbol Alt + 0169.... ©.... copyright symbol Alt + 0174..... ®....registered trademark symbol Alt + 0176 ...°......degre­e symbol Alt + 0177 ...±....plus-or­-minus sign Alt + 0182 ...¶.....paragraph mark Alt + 0190 ...¾....fractio­n, three-fourths Alt + 0215 ....×.....multi­plication sign Alt + 0162...¢....the cent sign Alt + 0161.....¡..... .upside down exclamation point Alt + 0191.....¿..... ­upside down question mark Alt + 1...........smiley face Alt + 2 ......☻.....bla­ck smiley face Alt + 15.....☼.....su­n Alt + 12......♀.....f emale sign Alt + 11.....♂......m­ale sign Alt + 6....... ♠ .....s­pade Alt + 5....... ♣ ...... ­Club Alt + 3............. ­Heart Alt + 4....... ♦ ...... ­Diamond Alt + 13......♪.....e­ighth note Alt + 14......♫...... ­beamed eighth note Alt + 8721.... ∑.... N-ary summation (auto sum) Alt + 251.....√.....s­quare root check mark Alt + 8236.....∞..... ­infinity Alt + 24.......↑..... ­up arrow Alt + 25......↓...... ­down arrow...
Read more

Don't Trust the '‪#‎Windows‬ 10 Free Update' Email, Warns Cisco

Image
Microsoft released Windows 10 in 190 countries earlier this week. The latest desktop operating system from the company has attracted millions of users already, including unfortunately, some fraudsters as well. A new ransomware has started to circulate in the wild which attempts to fool users into downloading and installing malware instead. Cisco, best known for designing and manufacturing network equipment, is wa rning users about a new phishing attack that tricks users into installing malware that then asks for ransom. The email comes disguised as an official release from Microsoft with subject 'Windows 10 Free Update'. The sophistication of the attack is worrisome too. The email states to be coming from update [at] Microsoft and uses the same colour and font scheme as used by the company. This could trick many into believing that the email is legitimate. But as Cisco points out, the origination of email as well as some minor inconsistencies in the wording and f...
Read more

Microsoft issues warning to 800 million Windows 10 users

Image
Microsoft's  Windows 10 OS issues and problems  has been facing multiple problems in recent months. In a latest development, Microsoft has now released an important new  Windows 10 warning  to 800 million users.  The company has identified a serious and long-running bug on its OS platform. The bug is more of a problem that was inadvertently introduced through design implementations. Microsoft has admitted to quietly switching off Registry backups in Windows 10. It has been observed that Registry backups would randomly show that backup operation has been completed despite no backup file being created.  For users and businesses, Registry Backups are extremely important, as they are the last line of defense. If the Windows System Restore point fail, the registry backup is the only option for users. According to Microsoft, "Starting in Windows 10, version 1803, Windows no longer automatically backs up the system registry to the RegBack folder. If you browse ...
Read more