Adware: Defined.

What is it, and how it is unique compared to spyware and malware?

Before there was spyware and malware, there was adware. The purpose of adware was to do one thing: deliver targeted advertisements to customers. This whole notion of having software deliver advertisements that could be tracked was completely revolutionary in the advertising business, and there is no doubt that adware resulted in a paradigm shift for advertisers all around the world.

Back when adware was at worst a nuisance to have on a computer, advertisers were able to accomplish a couple of things:

1. Advertisements were being delivered to customers in a more cost-effective manner, and
2. Advertisers would be able to track consumer response rates for the advertisements to see which ones were getting reactions and which ones weren't.

Initially, advertisers did not want to cause any harm whatsoever when they developed adware. Heck, why would they want to? If advertisers knew adware was irritating people, that would make it quite difficult to earn the respect of new customers.

Adware is unique compared to spyware and malware because, as stated earlier, adware's only intention was to deliver advertisements to people's computers. Spyware and Malware take the idea of adware one step further by enabling sensitive information tracking (i.e. user accounts, online banking, etc.) and the installation of destructive software (i.e. viruses, trojans, worms, etc.), respectively. Granted, some spyware may still contain mechanisms to deliver advertisements, but malware usually takes the advertising perspective out to make it more stealth-like.

To learn about how adware spreads, make sure to read the section regarding where adware comes from.