Introduction
In this post, you will learn what is Adware? And you will also learn how Ad wares work and how it is spread over the Internet.
In addition, you will also learn how to protect yourself from Adware.
What is Adware?
Adware stands for Advertisement software. Ad wares is a type of Malicious software created by cyber-criminals to harm users computers. Generally, Cyber-criminals use Ad wares to generate income or to get the personal information of a user.
Ad wares throw unwanted Ads on the user’s web browsers or on their screens. Mostly, the Ad wares Ads will be pop-ups. In simple words, Ad wares is a Malicious software designed to Advertise Malicious Ads.
How Adware works!
Ad wares generate income from Ads. But how? When a user is infected by Ad wares. The Ad wares automatically generate Ads on the user’s device and in some cases, the Ad wares force users to click on the Ads. This is because when users click the Ads the user get Click per view that means he can earn more. When the user clicks the Ads, the Ads will redirect to a malicious website which is injected by various other Malware.
Mostly when users click on the Malicious Ads it will redirect to Porn sites. Most of the human-being weakness is porn, and these cyber-criminals are made as to their Advantage. A survey says people have more subscriptions to porn sites compared to Google’s newsletter subscription.
Sometimes, Ad wares are also spread through some trusted software. So, I recommend you use Anti-malware and go through regular scans.
An Ad wares infected device not only slows down your device. It also Hijacks your files and sometimes the OS files also.
How Adware is Spread
The Ad wares can spread through only two methods;
- Installing Malicious Software
- Visiting Malicious websites
Also Read: Malicious definition? What exactly is Malicious!
Installing Malicious Software
Ad wares are mostly spread through Malicious software, sometimes even trusted software’s spreads Ad wares malware. When a trusted software is downloaded to an APK site, then there is lot of chance to get Ad wares Malware. The APK sites can alter the software system with different codes.
So, Stop installing unwanted App and use a trusted Anti-malware Software and do regular scans.
Also Read: What is reCAPTCHA?
Visiting Malicious sites
Sometimes, even trusted sites spread Adware, When a user visit a trusted site and when the site is injected by Adware Malware the site will also inject the Adware into your device once you visit the site. Once you visit the infected site, the site will automatically redirect to some NSFW sites, or they will continuously show pop-under or pop-up Ads.
When the user, unfortunately, clicks the Ads, the Adware Malware will get started to download on your device without your knowledge.
Types of Adware Malware
There are many types of Adware Malware, some most common are;
- MAC Adware
- Mobile Adware
- Windows Adware
And even Adware are available for Linux and other operating systems. Why I say these are different types of Adware is every OS uses its own algorithm. And the Algorithm varies for each OS and phone, then Obviously there should be a specific Adware Algorithm for different types of OS(operating system).
How to find you are infected by Adware
I have mentioned some possible signs;
- Advertisement appearing too often.
- Ads appearing in unwanted places.
- If there is a website redirection, then, I am 100% sure the site or device is infected by Adware Malware.
- Web browser becomes very slow comparably before.
- Sometimes your device gets slow, that may be reason for Adware malware or the file size of the device is large. If you have any doubt, run an Anti-malware scan, and you will know is there any Malware?
- Web browser or device crashes often.
How to remove Adware?
Firstly, take a backup of your files and then give a complete factory reset, and now you should either buy an Anti-malware or download one for free. There are some Anti-malware companies giving free scans and removal but for only a particular time. I personally use Malware bytes or Malware fox. The Anti-Malware software is available for different types of devices.
After you have done a backup, install the Anti-malware and run the scan, and it will find the threats and delete it permanently. There is a possibility for the Adware malware to be in the backup. So, keep your device up to date and terminate all other activities. Once you insert the backup, the Anti-malware will automatically delete the Malware found, or it may find the threat, and you should go and delete it manually.
In this process, there is a high possibility for a file to get deleted because of the Malware attached with a file. So, when you delete malware attached to a file, it will delete permanently.
So, there is a lot of risks. Precaution is the best strategy to get away from Adware malware. I recommend users use an Ad-free browser and stop installing unwanted Apps.
Also Read: What is CAPTCHA?
Conclusion
In conclusion, I recommend users to use an Ad-free browser like brave or to learn how to browse Anonymous [click here].
In addition, I recommend everyone to use at least a free Anti-malware. I suggest you to use Malware bytes or Malware fox.
Also Read: What is bar code and difference between Bar Code and QR Code.
Also Read: What is QR Code? Full form of QR Code!
