Typically, it uses an underhanded method to either disguise itself as legitimate, or piggyback on another program to trick you into installing it on your PC, tablet, or mobile device. Some security professionals view it as the forerunner of the modern-day PUP (potentially unwanted program). What is adware? Adware definitionĪdware is unwanted software designed to throw advertisements up on your screen, most often within a web browser. Below, we offer a short primer on adware, what it is, how you get it, what it tries to do to you, how to deal with it, and what to do in the future to avoid this irritant. And just as your picnic food attracts the pests that come after it, money-or the revenue generated by unbidden ads-is what draws adware to your PC or mobile device. That bothersome phenomenon results from adware, short for advertising supported software. And no matter how much you click to close those windows, they keep buzzing you like flies at a picnic.
You go online with your nice, well-behaved browser, only to see it fly into a virtual tantrum, as an onslaught of advertisements either pops up, slides in from the side, or otherwise inserts itself to interrupt and even redirect your intended activity.
