Glossary
Adware
Adware fills your screen with pop-ups and ads you didn't ask for. It often sneaks onto your computer bundled with free software. While not always dangerous, it slows down your computer and can track what you do online to show you 'personalized' ads.
What is Adware?
Software that automatically displays or downloads advertising material, often installed without clear user consent, and may track browsing habits to serve targeted ads.
Why Should You Care?
Adware degrades both endpoint performance and user productivity while creating security gaps that attackers exploit. Organizations face increased help desk costs from infected machines, reduced employee efficiency due to system slowdowns and pop-up interruptions, and heightened risk of credential theft since adware frequently harvests browsing data and login information. Beyond user frustration, adware infections can serve as entry points for more dangerous malware, transforming what appears to be a nuisance into a serious security vulnerability.
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Real-World Example
Adware is frequently bundled with free software downloads—a PDF reader or media player installed for personal use becomes an infection vector on a corporate machine. The adware captures browsing activity, which can include internal web portal logins, and may pull down additional malicious components that give attackers a foothold for lateral movement. Cleaning it up often requires full endpoint remediation and raises questions about what data was exposed in the process.
How to Protect Against Adware
- 1.
Be careful when installing free software
- 2.
Use ad-blocking browser extensions
- 3.
Run adware removal tools
Related Terms
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