Click here for “free” software

Conor Myhrvold over at Ars Technica did a really interesting experiment recently regarding “free” downloads. In essence he searched around for free wallpapers, free screensavers, etc; whatever a technologically inept person would typically search for. Unsurprisingly, bundled along with his free download came a lot of 3rd party software, many of which was adware. His experiment demonstrates the relative ease it is for a user to get infected with all sorts of unwanted programs; some of which the user may not know they have downloaded.

This leads us to a few trends:

1. Technologically illiterate users tend to follow predictable trends
2. Technologically advanced users prey on these predictable trends
3. This has been spreading from computers to facebook and mobile platforms

Tips:

1. Don’t just download anything that is slated “free”
2. Check to find if the source of the download is reputable
3. Have strong antivirus and anti-adware software
4. When installing bundled software, uncheck the additional installers

Free Software to help you:

Malwarebytes

Original Story

http://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2013/06/download-me-saying-yes-to-the-webs-most-dangerous-search-terms/