What Is Adware?

When people think about those annoying programs that get onto their PC they just think "damned spyware". Spyware is a catchall term for what is really 3 separate problems spyware, malware and adware. We're now going to discuss the problem of adware and how it affects your computer usage, data security and indeed your privacy.

What is adware?
Adware are those annoying windows that popup while you're online. They advertise a product or some other website (usually porn). You close the window down and another one pops up and then another. Before you know it your computer has slowed down to a crawl because there are dozens of flashing adverts all over your screen. Does this sound familiar? That's adware folks.

How Did It Get There?
How did it get onto your computer in the first place? This is a sensitive subject at the best of times but we need to discuss it so you have a better understanding of what adware is and how it got on your computer in the first place. For the parents out there reading this the spyware may have come from adult sites that your child visited. There is no adware fairy and it doesn't just appear so take appropriate steps to restrict use of the computer in future.

Your computer became infected with adware in one of two ways:

1. Software install
Many freeware and shareware authors are now bundling adware with their "free" software products. This is their way of making money whether or not you buy or even like their software. The adware is installed onto your PC while you're installing the freeware or shareware. Sometimes you'll get a warning about this and sometimes not. It's a case of potluck really.

Once the adware has been installed the next time your PC goes online it will start retrieving ads and displaying them on your screen. Some of the smarter adware will even "learn" what types of sites you tend to visit and just display ads for products related to those subjects.

2. Online
More and more websites are doing their best to trick users into installing adware on their PC by a number of methods. Three of the most popular are:

Scare tactics
You go online and within 30 seconds you get a popup saying "Stop!!! Your PC might be infected with spyware! Click here for a free scan!" If you clicked on that popup you'll have adware, spyware and possibly a virus now sitting on your hard drive ready to do damage. It's amazing how many people actually click on these ads.

The Yes/No Scam
Again you're online and a popup window appears asking you to accept content from XYZ company. There are two choices - "Yes" or "No". Your instinct and even your experience online is to just hit the Enter key to select No. Right? What you didn't notice is that the popup had been programmed to have "Yes" set as the default choice on this window. Legally you just agreed to receive adware and spyware on your PC. Never, ever assume that you're selecting No - you'd be surprised as just how easily this might catch you out.

Free Porn
This is incredibly common. A male teenager goes to an adult website. He finds a link that says "Download XXX Jenna Jameson Clip Free!!!" Curiousity and hormones get the better of him and he clicks on the link. Nothing happens. Panic. Close down website and turn off computer. Pretend it never happened. The problem is that the link he clicked on has defintely installed both adware and spyware on your PC, probably a virus and potentially a porn dialler. Education on online safety from parents is becoming increasingly important.

Where Does It Come From?
Adware is big business. For the millions of people who don't click on the ads there are millions who do. Those millions of clicks generate money for some of the following companies (some of the biggest offenders out there):

Gator
Winfixer
180 solution
Comet Cursor

So as long as novice computer users click on these ads and allow adware onto their PC in the first place these companies can keep making cash.

Regardless of how the adware got onto your PC once it's installed you're about to get buried underneath a mountain of popups, popins and popovers. They lie dormant until you go online and then torment you with a flood ads for everything from Disney Holidays to porn sites. Worse again is the fact that information on your web viewing habits - what sites you've visited, how often, what you've purchased online etc. This data is then sold to marketing companies (spammers) who will proceed to send you more junk email and popups than you ever thought possible.

Learn how to remove adware

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What Is Adware?

Your computer became infected with adware in one of two ways:

Once the adware has been installed the next time your PC goes online it will start retrieving ads and displaying them on your screen. Some of the smarter adware will even "learn" what types of sites you tend to visit and just display ads for products related to those subjects.

2. Online
More and more websites are doing their best to trick users into installing adware on their PC by a number of methods. Three of the most popular are:

Where Does It Come From?
Adware is big business. For the millions of people who don't click on the ads there are millions who do. Those millions of clicks generate money for some of the following companies (some of the biggest offenders out there):

So as long as novice computer users click on these ads and allow adware onto their PC in the first place these companies can keep making cash.

What Is Adware?

Your computer became infected with adware in one of two ways:

Once the adware has been installed the next time your PC goes online it will start retrieving ads and displaying them on your screen. Some of the smarter adware will even "learn" what types of sites you tend to visit and just display ads for products related to those subjects.

2. Online More and more websites are doing their best to trick users into installing adware on their PC by a number of methods. Three of the most popular are:

Where Does It Come From? Adware is big business. For the millions of people who don't click on the ads there are millions who do. Those millions of clicks generate money for some of the following companies (some of the biggest offenders out there):

So as long as novice computer users click on these ads and allow adware onto their PC in the first place these companies can keep making cash.

2. Online
More and more websites are doing their best to trick users into installing adware on their PC by a number of methods. Three of the most popular are:

Where Does It Come From?
Adware is big business. For the millions of people who don't click on the ads there are millions who do. Those millions of clicks generate money for some of the following companies (some of the biggest offenders out there):