Adware

Adware is an unwelcome program which installs itself with little or no user consent and after a short period starts displaying content of promotional nature, usually advertising banners and pop-ups with irrelevant information. Adware can accompany the main installation package of many “utility” or media player software, or be embedded inside a web download. Typically, the reference to aware is buried within the user license so it cannot be clearly recognized or prevented from installation.

Adware can modify numerous browser settings such as the start-up page or default search engine, advertising goods or services that its creators have agreed to promote. Adware is a form of “web spam”, delivering unwanted information and intruding upon users’ normal Internet surfing. In extreme cases, adware can perform more nefarious activity such as relaying users’ browsing patterns for the purpose of targeted advertising or opening a backdoor leading to the installation of other malware.