From LQWiki

Adware

Def 1: software which is free (gratis) to download and use but includes pop-up banner ads (among other nasties) somewhere. See also -ware. (this defintion used mostly in this context before the Mid/late 1990's)

Def 2: software that is regarded as a legal form of malware, since, in theory, the user agreed to have their computer infected in the small print of some EULA.

Linux is largely unaffected by the adware and spyware menace, with the exception of cookies, which are fairly benign. (Cookies can be used for good, and for the most part are, so turning off cookies is generally a cure worse than the disease.) Good anti-adware and spyware programs for the windows operating system include the gratis Lavasoft's Ad-Aware and Spybot:Search & Destory.

This article is based, in whole or in part, on entry or entries in the Jargon File.

External Links

• Spyware Information (www.spywareinfo.com)
• Help for removing spyware (forums.spywareinfo.com)