Adware+AS+PH

Adware Adware is adverts popping up on your computer if you go onto a link to a website it could pop up maybe 5 links of advertisement it would come up at the bottle of the screen. Adware is the common name used to describe software that is given to the user with advertisements embedded in the application. Adware is consdered a legitimate alternative offered to consumers who do not wish to pay for software. There are many ad-supported programs, games or utilities that are distributed as adware (or freeware). Today we have a growing number of software developers who offer their goods as "sponsored" freeware (adware) until you pay to register. Adware can slow your computer by adding sites and using memory, you have available on your computer. It can hijack your home page and take you to sites you aren't interested in. It can allow pop up ads that are not only annoying but also disruptive to your system.Adware is a severe security risk. Since they run every time you turn on your computer, they can cause slowdowns and software conflicts that can make your computer unstable.

Threats wiki page Name of threat: Adware

Description Adware programs are programs designed to cause your computer to display popup ads. Adware is NOT a virus and may or may not be detected by anti-virus scanning programs. It does not spread the same way as most viruses spread. I consider adware to be worse than viruses because of the fact that it is deliberately written so it cannot be removed.

Who writes Adware Programs? Adware programs are written by supposedly legal companies. Most of the companies that create them are so low they almost make virus writers look like saints. This is because they attempt to get the program installed on the victim's computer without their knowledge and they deliberately design the program to prevent its removal. In one case an adware program we had to remove would try to respawn itself if you tried to kill its process. This was done to prevent its removal.

How do I get Adware? Most people do not want adware deliberately installed on their computer systems. The creator will usually trick the victim into installing it on their computer system. There are several ways this can happen.


 * The victim may download and install a free program such as a game program and the adware comes with the "free" program.
 * The victim may download and run a movie or video clip form a web site. The site may download and run the adware program.
 * The victim may be tricked into answering a question about downloading and running some software and the description of the software is misleading.
 * The victim may visit a website that will take advantage of browser vulnerabilities or settings which will allow the infection to occur without the victim's knowledge.

How does adware affect my computer performance? Adware can seriously slow down your computer system performance and cause instabilities for the following reasons.


 * It is not "quality" software and is usually poorly written from a performance and stability perspective.
 * It may spawn many processes to prevent removal and ensure an abundance of displayed ads.
 * It will use part of your internet connection speed to display ads and thereby slow your legitimate traffic to the internet.
 * It may download other adware software from the same company or other partner companies.

Is there a computer security risk with Adware?
Yes, adware poses a great security risk to your computer and any network it is connected on. This is because it can download and install other programs from the internet. I even found a hacker tool on one system that had adware on it.

Avoiding Adware Here are some rules of which should help avoid adware.


 * Be very careful before downloading and installing any programs from the internet.
 * Avoid going to sites with an excessive amount of advertising popups. This will help prevent an accidental clicking on a popup which has been known to infect some systems.
 * 1) Set your Active X controls and plugins section as follows:
 * Download signed ActiveX controls - Enable
 * Download unsigned ActiveX controls - Disable
 * Initialize and script ActiveX controls not marked as safe - Disable
 * Run ActiveX controls and plugins - Prompt
 * Script ActiveX controls marked safe for scripting - Prompt

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