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Adware (Generic)

Classification

Category:

Spyware

Platform:

W32, Android

Type:

Adware

Aliases:

  • Adware generic
  • adware.generic.[variant]
  • gen:adware.[variant]
  • gen:adware.heur.[variant]
  • gen:variant.adware.[variant]
  • Gen:variant.adware

Summary

A generic detection has identified a program or file that has code or behavior for displaying third-party advertising content.

Security programs use generic detections that look for broad patterns of code or behavior to identify similar programs or files. If you suspect the file was incorrectly detected, go to: Removal: Suspect a file is incorrectly detected (a False Positive)?.

Removal

Technical Details

Adware is software that displays advertisements on the computer to which it is installed. The advertisements may be displayed on the desktop or during a web browsing session.

Adware is often bundled with free software that provides some functionality to the user. This is especially true on mobile platforms such as Android, where developers typically rely on third-party advertising to provide users with free applications. If a user is unaware of the 'ad-supported' nature of such programs, they may cause considerable annoyance.

If the functionality provided by adware outweighs the potential inconvenience of advertisements being displayed, the user may elect to keep the adware installed.

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