Josh George

The Top 5 Misconceptions of Adware

Many do not truly understand what adware really is.  This is partly due to the media, since they usually use adware in the wrong sense themselves.  To help clear things up, this article talks about the top five misconceptions of adware and straightens out the facts from the fiction.

With all of the different media sources and opinions that  are available at everyone’s fingertips, it seems that the term "adware" has  been misconceived into something it is not.   Some people may feel confident that they know exactly what adware is  while others may not even know how to pronounce the word.  To help set the record straight, below are  some of the biggest misconceptions people have about adware.

1. Adware (also know as "ad ware") Causes Harm To Your Computer.

On the contrary, adware was actually designed to benefit the  users who install it.  While some (well,  probably most) people may think this is absolutely absurd, adware was designed  with two goals in mind: First, to cut down expenses from advertising groups and  second, to bring targeted ads that users would find relevant.  Initially, it was never supposed to harm or  infect your computer in any manner.

2. Adware Installs Itself Automatically

This is probably one of the biggest misconceptions.  Whether you want to believe it or not, you  usually give adware permission to install itself on your computer.  This is because adware is usually attached to  programs that are freely available to download and use from the Internet.  In fact, adware is usually responsible for  making these downloads free for you.   Next time you download something, make sure to read the entire use  agreement and see if you can find anything regarding any additional software  being bundled with the download.

3. Adware Tracks Everything I do

This is sort of true.   Over time, adware has actually been modified to become spyware, which is  used to track what users do on their computer.   While it seems like more adware is developing this characteristic, it  was initially developed do have nothing to do with tracking.

4. Adware Is A Pain To Get Off of a Computer

Depending on the adware, this can be true as well.  Adware that naturally comes with free  downloads is usually pretty easy to get rid of.   All you need to do is uninstall the program you downloaded and it will  usually get rid of the adware.  Then  again, if the software was maliciously modified, then it will usually be much  for difficult to get rid of.  In this  case, you will need to use security software used to eliminate it and other  malicious software from your computer.

5. Adware Is Going To Be Discontinued In The Future

While many would probably like to think this, it is a  pretty unlikely.  Even if you don’t click  on the pop ups or advertisements supplied by adware, many others do, making it a very  successful tactic to deliver advertisements.   If anything, this form of software will probably be more abundant in the  future, for it will help fund many of the free software that is available for  downloading.

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