Adware

Adware↗ is software that automatically displays or downloads unwanted advertisements, often bundled quietly with free software downloads or browser extensions. While much adware is more of a nuisance than a serious threat, some variants track browsing behavior without consent or serve as a gateway to more dangerous malware↗.

Adware commonly manifests as excessive pop-ups, a hijacked browser homepage, or new toolbars that appeared without the user installing them intentionally. Downloading software only from official sources and carefully reviewing installation prompts for pre-checked bundled offers helps avoid it.