Adware Programs

The Adware application generates advertisements "in" a user’s computer.

The Adware application displays advertisements "on" a user’s computer. These advertisements may come as:

• pop-up advertisements;
• pop-unders;
• banners;
• or hot links on a website.

The authors of the Adware application incorporate additional code to the program to generate the advertisements.

Some variants of the program reportedly collect information on the user’s browsing habits. The data gathered is then used to generate advertisements catering to the user’s search and browsing patterns.

A computer infected with an Adware application may have a slower computer performance and Internet activity. Pop-up advertisements may also appear and banners frequently show up in the user’s desktop. The user may be redirected to another website. Various changes may also take place in the Internet settings and home page browser. Most of the time, unwanted search results occur and new toolbars installed on the browser window.

An Adware application installs itself invisibly in a system without the user’s knowledge and consent. Most of these programs are invisible in the user’s computer. The Adware applications are not seen under the list of programs, and add no icons or processes on the task list.

Some software developers use the Adware applications to gain profit. Some websites gain profit through the number of visits the website accumulates for a certain period. Other developers use the Adware applications to get back the development costs of a certain product.

The Adware applications use the user’s Internet connection to generate these advertisements. A number of Adware applications generate pop-up advertisements even if the user is not connected to the Internet.

Some Adware applications reportedly come with spyware programs as well. This poses more threats to the user’s system. Spyware applications are capable of monitoring and recording a user’s activities such as keystrokes, website history, passwords, usernames and other pertinent information. A third party intruder receives the gathered information.

Some well-known Adware applications include the following:

• Comet Cursor;
• Zango;
• Zango Toolbar;
• Kazaa;
• Bonzi Buddy;
• Direct Revenue;
• Hotbar;
• Smiley Central;
• And XXX Shop Online.

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