PUP malware: find out all about this threat and avoid it

 We currently have a large amount of free software that we can test. However, while most of them are generally legal, they are sometimes used for illegal purposes. In search of profit, cybercriminals sometimes disguise their malware as seemingly harmless applications or programs.

 It is possible that in some cases when scanning your computer with a malware detection tool, you will find something called PUPs on your system. Here we are going to discuss what a malicious PUP threat is and how we can avoid it to keep our computers safe.

What is PUP malware?

To understand what PUP malware is, we must have a good understanding of what each of the two words that compose it means. PUP stands for Potentially Unwanted Program, which stands for Potentially Unwanted Application. These are programs that do not benefit users and can cause:

Slow down, track or overwhelm our team.

Change of home pages.

Redirect to websites.

Modify the result of our searches.

Another distinctive feature of them is that the installation is done with user authorization. This does not mean that the user is not being fooled, as malware is sometimes added with legitimate software.

These potentially unwanted programs often mask unwanted software installation in two ways:

By noting this in the End User Agreement. We often look too closely at these types of documents.

Disguised in various program installation screens or in additional installation parameters.

 When it comes to malware, it refers to malware or any kind of software that can perform malicious activities on our computer system without the user's knowledge. Thus, cybercriminals can steal information using Trojans, cause the computer to malfunction or blackmail a user by encrypting their data with ransomware.

PUP malware can be defined as a potentially unwanted application that will eventually install malicious software on our computer without our permission. The puppy is somewhat less dangerous, but it can affect privacy and attract too much attention. We should both try to exclude them from our teams.