Posted on 11/27/2015 7:10:49 PM PST by Utilizer
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So what are the most common types of malware?
They fall into two main categories: those that are basically no more than a nuisance, and those that are aimed at getting money from the victim.
Perhaps the most common example of nuisance malware is adware. According to Oh, this is typically delivered along with free software or by compromised or malicious web sites. Adware rarely does any real damage, but some examples are hard to remove.
The term was once applied to 'advertising supported software.' In return for getting a useful application at no charge, you accept that it will display ads from time to time -- an approach you still see in the free versions of some mobile apps. If you don't want the ads, you buy the paid versions instead - and depending on how much you pay for mobile data, the paid version can work out cheaper than the free one. Seems fair enough, right?
But these days adware has taken on a darker meaning, and more often refers to malware that delivers unwanted ads, changes browser settings to use a different search engine, and so on. The people behind this type of malware benefit by being paid for the traffic their code (re)directs to particular sites.
(Excerpt) Read more at bit.com.au ...
Just something that irritates the crap out of me. Run cleanup daily.
almost thought this was an apologist piece for windows 10...
Is ISIS really that bad?
LOL! Good one.
Yes. Yet it is.
I have an extremely negative view of adware. Anything that makes me deviate from what I am trying to do is an irritant. I am one of those people that will pay money to rid of ads in a free app. (Of course, I also like to buy shareware too. I like the thought of someone writing a nice little app, and getting a little piece of money from thousands of people...)
I have noticed a very irritating form of online ads lately. It pops up in your face on a web page, so...you go to click on it to get rid of it. As you click, the whole thing shifts just a little, and...click...you have now clicked on something that launches some other web page that you now have to get rid of. The timing seems to vary on how it interacts with the mouse before it moves, as if they have programmed in a random value generator or something, so...you can’t quite predict it. It is pretty irritating, but I have to admit, I nearly very nearly admire the deviousness of it.
Agreed. Anything that changes even the most minor thing on a system, especially those that do something and don’t explicitly ask you, is grounds for breaking a programmer’s fingers.
Seriously.
That just makes my hackles go up.
Oh, almost forgot: Windows-related, but not stop-the-presses -type of info, mate.
For Your Perusal...
I remember one that was a little dialog box on a web page from the mid 90’s that every time you got the mouse near the ‘Close’ button the box would move, trying to get you to chase it all around the page. One learned to close the page, instead...
For browsers, I highly recommend AdblockPlus, and Ghostery installations, with a Scriptblocker added on if necessary.
Works wonders. :)
I remember that too.
This is weirdly more insidious and irritating, because you fall for it a few times, figure it out (you think) but you don’t realize the timing changes, and you fall for it a few more times, until you realize the SOB made the response random.
Do the idiots that devise these nuisance ads really think that their victims are going to be inclined to buy their products or services? Furthermore, I have no patience for websites that allow these ads.
I have all and use Superantispyware to clean up the mess left from wife’s coupon searching (of course I don’t cause any of this ((;-)) ... daily.
I think it is more nefarious and irritating, in that they completely don’t intend for you to buy the product due to this insertion of pop ups, ads, and other junk.
What they want to do (in my opinion) is merely make you see the name. I think they subscribe to some weird variant of “There is no such thing as bad publicity”.
That is what I think. And what makes it really irritating is that it DOESN’T work that way, at least for me. When I see something like “Joe’s Brazilian Coffee” pop up a few times while I am trying to read something, I get it into my head (and I remember it) the thought “I’ll be DAMNED if I will ever spend a penny on anything having to do with “Joe’s Brazilian Coffee”.”
Perhaps not everyone is like that, but I am.
I admit to being susceptible to advertising, because I have seen advertising that I like and makes me remember the product, but this annoying stuff reaches me in the most negative of ways.
I fully recognize that many websites need ads...someone has to pay for them. But the kinetic ones that make you have to walk around them bring to the surface in me the same feeling I get when I am walking down the street, enjoying the day, and some sidewalk performer or panhandler actively gets in your way to either engage you or get money from you.
They invade your space, and you can’t ignore them, which is the same thing those damned kinetic ads do.
Wait until you come across a website that pops up a little window asking you to “subscribe”, and if you click not to they automatically send you to another section where you are forcibly shown how much it will ‘benefit’ you to subscribe -and if you attempt to close the window, you will get an annoying little popup that states:
“It seems (such-and-such website) has detected that you wish to leave this site. Are you certain you wish to do so?”
“Are you really sure?”
“Really, really sure? Because it would be so wonderful if you stayed here and browsed more... Would you like to subscribe to our email list?”
“No, really, you would like it very much!”
Etcetera...
Wait until you come across a website that pops up a little window asking you to “subscribeâ€, and if you click not to they automatically send you to another section where you are forcibly shown how much it will ‘benefit’ you to subscribe -and if you attempt to close the window, you will get an annoying little popup that states:
“It seems (such-and-such website) has detected that you wish to leave this site. Are you certain you wish to do so?â€
“Are you really sure?â€
“Really, really sure? Because it would be so wonderful if you stayed here and browsed more... Would you like to subscribe to our email list?â€
“No, really, you would like it very much!â€
Etcetera...
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