are major signs you’ve been infected with malicious adware.
What are the Signs that You Have Adware?Īs we mentioned in the last section, any change to your web browser that you didn’t make such as a different homepage or search engine, added toolbars, changed settings, etc. If you’ve been infected, there are a few tell-tale signs. However, adware allows the installation of spyware, malware, and internet backdoors, exposing you to all kinds of IT security threats such as man in the middle attacks. Most adware seems to be just a harmless nuisance. The researchers at Checkpoint discovered that Fireball was embedded in freeware like Soso Desktop and FVP Imageviewer in some cases.
Unfortunately, many of these programs have spyware installed, like Fireball, designed to change your search engine, change your browser homepage, and record your keystrokes to track your online habits and serve you targeted ads, or worse – steal your emails, passwords, addresses, credit card numbers, etc. Some adware operates like freeware, whereby you may only have access to some of the software’s features, but if you buy the full-priced version, the ads will be removed, and you will have access to all the software’s features.Īdware is usually legitimate and harmless.
What is Adware and What Does it Do?Īdware is a free, downloadable software that shows the user ads within the software itself in order to generate revenue.
If you want to learn how to get rid of adware that carries malware like Fireball, we’ll go over a few specific methods by the end of this post.īefore we get to that, let’s look at what Adware is, and what are the signs that it’s been installed on your machine. It had the capability to take over any code on the victim’s computer or download additional malware, turning your computer into a zombie that’s easily manipulated by an opportunistic hacker. Īccording to Checkpoint, it was designed to change your default search engine and track your web traffic on behalf of a digital marketing firm in Beijing named Rafotech. The malware was known as Fireball and was packaged within numerous types of adware.
How to get rid of adware and protect your computer, company, and informationĢ50 million PC’s were infected with malware earlier this year that seemed benign but turned out to be extremely dangerous.