Whether on a Mac, Android or PC, all Internet users are affected by adware. Between April and June, Kaspersky Lab identified more than 100 million adware alerts in Germany alone, that’s almost 8% of all alerts triggered by adware worldwide. The analysis is based on anonymous data, taken from the global Kaspersky Security Network (KSN).
The purpose of adware is to display unsolicited ads on a PC or redirect search requests to commercial websites. On PCs and Macs, adware predominately consists of opaque programs that run unauthorised processes. In the case of mobile operating systems, adware is usually Apps that display additional advertising or replace legitimate advertising with their own ads.
Users can protect themselves against adware by downloading software only from the developer’s official website, and never from alternative third-party stores. The installer window should be monitored during installation. If you install software as an “advanced user” or activate the “installation options”, you should generally be able to simply deactivate any additional installations.
(Source: Kaspersky Lab/bs)