MTA On Line Self Help Page
What is a Adware?
Adware is a program designed to gather ads and display them on your monitor during various times of the day (and night).
Adware typically comes with free software. It's not hidden but it's not openly mentioned either. Most Adware is legally installed when a user accepts the "User License Agreement" which is part of the installation process for a program.
Once installed, Adware collects advertising banners known as PopUps.
- As a user surfs the internet, these banners are downloaded in the background and stored on the users hard drive (note, this is a double whammy as it also slows down your browsing speed).
- These banners are then displayed on your monitor at random periods of the day.
- A victim of Adware programs does not even have to be connected to the Internet to get a "PopUp" banner.
- Adware programs also monitor your web usage and upload that information to the programmer.
- The programmers then "Taylor" their advertising based on your web surfing habits.
- Victims of Adware often report leaving their computer unattended (turned on but not connected) and returning only to find as many as 50 PopUp Banners being displayed.
- The primary reason people write Adware programs is to gather and sell Marketing Profiles. These Profiles are extremely valuable and are hot commodities in the business world today.
Here are some of the types of information an Adware program might collect is:
- What sites do you visit?
- Do you like knits or silks?
- What is your favorite color?
- Do you shop on line?
- What kind of car are you shopping for?
- The type of Credit Card do you use (possibly it's number)
- Your email address (so they can send you SPAM)
- Your friends email address (so they can send them SPAM)
- Your home phone number so they can call you.
- Anything else of commercial value.
Because of it's invasive and often undetected behavior, today's Adware could also be considered as a minor form of Spyware.
The Team