Adware

Adware is advertiser supported software that displays, plays or downloads advertisements either onto the computer desktop or into the computers web browser as a condition of the software installation. Most Adware is free to use as long as you don't mind annoying pop-up windows appearing at random intervals advertising some product or another. I have seen some Adware that opened a new window about every 1 to 2 minutes, making it nearly impossible to use the system at all until the software had to be removed.

Additionally, Adware will almost always be collecting data about your Internet habits and browsing behavior to tailor ads specifically to best match the data recovered.  In that respect it is actually very similar to many types of Spyware.  In most cases Adware is simply a way to place advertisements in the face of the user although it's a fine line before you could also classify it as Spyware.

With Adware however, in some cases you may actually be given a chance to review and choose whether or not to accept the terms and conditions associated with the software before installing it.

IT WOULD BE ADVISABLE TO READ THESE TERMS VERY CAREFULLY BEFORE CHOOSING TO ACCEPT.

Remember the basics:

• Do not install software you have downloaded from the Internet unless it has come from a known, reliable source.
• Be vary careful if you use any file sharing applications as these networks are known breeding grounds for infectious software.
• Do not open any email attachments from unknown sources.
• Use a good anti-virus/anti-spyware application and scan your system at least weekly.

In some cases your system may have become unable to install anti-virus software or has become completely unusable.  If your computer system has unwanted Viruses, Spyware, Trojan Horse, Malware, Worm, Rootkit, Keylogging or Adware installed on or infecting it and you would like to have one of our San Antonio Virus Removal specialists clean and optimize your system please click the button below.