What is Malvertising? A Complete Guide to Protect from It

Nwachukwu Glory  - Tech Expert
Last updated: February 22, 2024
Read time: 23 minutes
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Malvertisement is a sophisticated web threat that infects your device while you surf online. Here's all about what is a malvertising attack and how to prevent the threat.

THE TAKEAWAYS

Advertisements, especially intrusive ones, are seldom welcome in public on any media. But online advertisements are not just intrusive but may also spread malware – that is, execute malvertising. What makes malvertising popular among adversaries is the stealthy mode of malware transfer. Often, the users’ devices get malware even without interacting with an ad. Therefore, using robust ad and popup blockers is the key to preventing malvertising. Moreover, users also need to follow safe browsing practices and avoid visiting websites from untrusted sources.

antivirus-software

Ads can be frustrating and annoying, especially when they keep distracting you. But have you ever wondered if the ads you see on your web browser are legitimate and safe? The unsafe ads you encounter are called Malvertising.

Malvertising is a growing trend in the cyber world, and it deploys ads to end-user systems for carrying out cyber attacks. As a result, it can infiltrate your device and cause harm.

Worry no more, though, as this detailed guide will teach you to defend against malvertising attacks. But, to better prevent malvertising, you must understand the basic principles first. So, let’s start with them.

Can you get malware from ads?

Yes! You can get malware from ads. The research carried out in 2019 found that hackers imbed malicious codes with disruptive intent in one out of every 100 ads.

Ads

Nonetheless, tech giants like Google have been working hard to eliminate intrusive and malicious ads from their platforms.

According to reports, Google removed as many as 100 malicious ads every second in 2017. Of these, 66 million were trick-to-click ads, 79 million redirected people to malicious sites, and 48 million tried to persuade internet users to install a malicious program.