Malvertising, or malicious advertising, is the term pertaining to maliciously controlled advertisements on the internet.
These malicious advertisements are gateways for threat actors to deploy malware and cause harm to their victims. This could also be used by threat actors to download unwanted files or apps that load potentially threatening malware or viruses on your devices.
To put it another way, malvertising is the practice of using something that appears to be genuine online advertising in order to distribute malware and other threats while requiring very little to no interaction from the target user.
What is Malvertising?
It is possible for malicious advertisements to appear on any advertisement published on any website, including websites that you are familiar with.
According to Malwarebytes, malvertising typically involves the installation of a small piece of code on your computer that connects it to servers used by criminals for command and control (C&C).
After performing a scan of your computer to determine its location and the software that is currently installed on it, the server will select the piece of malware that it has determined to be the most effective to send to you.
Malvertising Campaigns: How They Attack
According to Malwarebytes, here are the common ways that threat actors deploy the malvertising campaigns:
Survey and Get-Rich-Quick Schemes
This is another marketing campaign used by malicious actors to deploy malware on your devices. These campaigns are usually advertised as you winning the lottery or that you have won a too-good-to-be-true freebie.
These could also market work-from-home scams and numerous surveys. Whether you are using an iPhone or an Android, both devices can be targeted by this type of malvertising campaign.
Scareware
This type of advertisement lures numerous victims in by alerting the owner that their devices are at great risk. It will notify you, saying that your Mac or Windows is infected and you need to download certain software to undo the damage.
Fake Software Updates
Software updates can often be a great thing, especially for our favorite software since this might mean an improved experience at the end, and sometimes this means a new feature is introduced.
However, this is not the most common tactic for actors to lure victims in. The ads masquerading as software updates are intended to entice and aggressively encourage victims to click on them. In certain circumstances, the installation program will download itself onto your computer automatically.
Tech Support Scams
This type of malicious ad can affect both Windows and Mac users. They will choose a target whom they will lure with their social engineering tricks.
They will present themselves as tech support from well-known tech companies like Apple or Microsoft and usually sell their victims hundreds of dollars for worthless or usually fake tech support subscriptions or services.
How To Avoid Malvertising
Seeing how innocent advertising we see on the internet can do so much harm, it is highly recommended to browse carefully, making sure not to install or download from suspicious sources. With that, here are a few recommendations by Norton to avoid malicious ads.
Ad Blockers
An ad blocker has proven to be helpful in blocking these types of ads while you browse. There is certain ad-blocking software that is free to install on your browser. Depending on how you browse the internet, you can also pay for ad blockers.
Although in some cases, not all ad blockers can stop ads while you use the internet. However, you can choose to make a few alterations in your settings and permit a few websites to show ads.
Click-to-play Setting
You can further protect yourself from malicious advertisements by adjusting the settings of your web browser so that the "click-to-play" option is enabled.
You will be safeguarded against malicious drive-by downloads thanks to this. If you check this box, any and all online content that cannot be accessed without the use of plugins, such as Java, Adobe Reader, QuickTime, or Flash, will be rendered unplayable unless you explicitly give it permission to do so.
Antivirus Software
If you were able to click links from these malvertising tactics and they contained a downloadable file, a reputable antivirus software can assist you in protecting your device from unwanted apps.
It is recommended for users to install trust-worthy and reliable antivirus software on their devices. After you have installed antivirus software, you must remember to immediately authorize any software updates.
These updates are frequently designed to defend your device from specific types of malware, including malvertising, which can be harmful to your computer. If you get behind on software updates, you expose the security of your computer to potential risk.
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