Adware is software that is designed to display ads on your computer, redirect search queries to advertising websites, and collect marketing information about you (for example, what kind of sites you visit) so that advertising matches your interests.

Adware programs that collect data with your consent should not be confused with Trojan spyware programs that collect information without your permission and knowledge. If an Adware program does not notify about the collection of information, it is considered malicious, for example, the Trojan-Spy malware.

What You Need to Know about Adware Programs

With the exception of advertising and data collection, such programs, as a rule, do not show their presence in the system. Usually such a program does not have an icon on the taskbar, and it is also missing from the program menu.

Adware programs can get to your computer in two main ways.

With free or shareware software

Adware programs may be legally included in some free or shareware programs as an advertising component. The revenue from such advertising helps to finance their development.

Through infected websites

Visiting an infected website may lead to unauthorized installation of an Adware program on your computer. Hacker technologies are often used for this purpose. For example, a browser vulnerability and a Trojan program designed to imperceptibly install Adware can be used to infiltrate a computer. Adware programs operating in this way are often called Browser Hijackers.