What is Adware?

Adware is designed to advertise some service or product. Usually, it is incorporated into a program that is given away free. The idea is that the incorporated advertising will help to pay for the development costs of the "free" software. You are not required to use the program, but if you do, you must watch some of the advertising. Often, the vendor of this kind of software will offer to sell you an ad-free version for a modest price.

A more malicious kind of adware monitors your browsing habits and delivers targeted advertising. When adware is installed without your knowledge and consent, it may be considered a type of spyware. Many vendors disclose this information in the legal consent displayed during the software installation. However, most users don't read the fine print because the information is confusing, full of legal jargon, and poorly formatted.

Behavior of Adware

Adware uses two main methods of accomplishing the serving of advertising: banners and pop-ups.

The banner method of displaying advertising uses some of your screen area to deliver its message. The banner message will change from time to time but you will always be required dedicate an area of your screen to this while using the adware program. If the banner were only a static image, it would not be so bad, but often advertisers cannot resist adding a moving image to attract your attention.

A pop-up is a new window that opens up on your screen. Usually, this new window will contain targeted advertising relevant to what you are currently doing. For example, if you are browsing the web, the pop-up might contain information on the same topic as the web page you are viewing. This behavior can be both annoying and unnerving.

Examples of Adware

Gator (now owned by Claria Corporation) is an adware program that uses pop-up advertising. It helps you with filling in web forms by monitoring your web browser and offering to fill in any forms you encounter. To do this, you have to give this program personal information such as name, address, account numbers, and passwords. In return for filling in this repetitious and tedious information, the adware program will occasionally open pop-up windows with extremely targeted advertising. To add insult to injury, this adware is difficult to remove from your computer once you've installed it.

Netzero is an adware program that uses banner advertising. It provides you with 10 free hours per month of dial-up internet service, and your only cost is to allow them to display banner advertising on your screen.

Malicious Adware

So long as adware sticks to advertising, it is not considered malicious. When adware starts doing malicious things, it stops being adware and becomes malware. Malicious activity can includes things like collecting personal information for the purposes of direct advertising, redirecting browers to new websites, or changing affiliate links.

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