Adware is software that displays advertisements on your computer.
Adware, or advertising-supported software, displays advertising banners or pop-ups on
your computer when you use the application. This is not necessarily a bad thing. Such
advertising can fund the development of useful software, which is then distributed free
(for example, the Opera web browser).
However, adware becomes a problem if it:
• installs itself on your computer without your consent
• installs itself in applications other than the one it came with and displays advertising
when you use those applications
• hijacks your web browser in order to display more ads (see Browser hijackers)
• gathers data on your web browsing without your consent and sends it to others via
the internet (see Spyware)
• is designed to be diffi cult to uninstall.
Adware can slow down your PC. It can also slow down your internet connection by
downloading advertisements. Sometimes programming fl aws in the adware can make
your computer unstable.
Advertising pop-ups can also distract you and waste your time if they have to be closed
before you can continue using your PC.
Some anti-virus programs detect adware and report it as “potentially unwanted
applications”. You can then either authorize the adware program or remove it from the
computer. There are also dedicated programs for detecting adware.
Adware, or advertising-supported software, displays advertising banners or pop-ups on
your computer when you use the application. This is not necessarily a bad thing. Such
advertising can fund the development of useful software, which is then distributed free
(for example, the Opera web browser).
However, adware becomes a problem if it:
• installs itself on your computer without your consent
• installs itself in applications other than the one it came with and displays advertising
when you use those applications
• hijacks your web browser in order to display more ads (see Browser hijackers)
• gathers data on your web browsing without your consent and sends it to others via
the internet (see Spyware)
• is designed to be diffi cult to uninstall.
Adware can slow down your PC. It can also slow down your internet connection by
downloading advertisements. Sometimes programming fl aws in the adware can make
your computer unstable.
Advertising pop-ups can also distract you and waste your time if they have to be closed
before you can continue using your PC.
Some anti-virus programs detect adware and report it as “potentially unwanted
applications”. You can then either authorize the adware program or remove it from the
computer. There are also dedicated programs for detecting adware.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
0 comments:
Post a Comment