Adware
What is adware?
Adware, or advertising-supported software, is a type of software that causes adverts to appear in order to generate revenue for the software developer.
Since the advertising part of the program is usually kept a secret from the user until it is actually installed, many consider it, and for good reasoning, a subtype of malware.
While some programs show adverts only during the installations process, some will keep them running for the entirety of using the program itself.
While this in itself is nothing more than a visual nuisance, adware itself can open your PC to an entire host of other vulnerabilities, especially spyware.
🛡️ How can I protect my PC from adware?
Unfortunately, the only way to get rid of adware is to either buy the premium versions of the program itself which are always ad-free or use an antivirus program.
The latter solution is far more efficient, since most antivirus tools come with real-time scanning, allowing you to detect installation kits that have adware before you even launch them in the first place.
Here’s a list of the best antivirus tools that you can use against adware:
Avast Antivirus • Bitdefender Antivirus
Bullguard Antivirus • Kaspersky Antivirus • Norton Antivirus
Additionally, adware can also be manually removed from your PC using more common methods, although specific steps need to be followed.
Fortunately enough, most of the time it is enough to simply uninstall the program that hosted the adware for it to go away as well.
❓ What are some of the most common adware that I can encounter?
Adware can come in a variety of shapes and sizes and act out differently. However, we’ve covered some of them in the articles below, as well as some methods of how you can remove them:
For a more complete list of how you can make your PC malware-proof, head over to our Cybersecurity Hub.