GridMapper
Researchers came across GridMapper while analyzing Potential Unwanted Programs (PUPs) and identified it as an unreliable application. Upon closer inspection, it was revealed that GridMapper is a type of adware specifically tailored for Mac systems. Furthermore, investigations confirmed its association with the AdLoad malware family. This application is crafted to execute intrusive advertising campaigns and may harbor additional detrimental functionalities.
GridMapper Could Expose Users to Unsafe Content and Web Destinations
Adware typically functions by presenting advertisements on visited websites or other interfaces. These advertisements often promote online scams, unreliable or hazardous software, and, in some cases, even malware. Clicking on these ads can trigger the execution of scripts, leading to stealthy downloads or installations.
Any seemingly legitimate content encountered through these advertisements may be endorsed by scammers exploiting affiliate programs to gain illegitimate commissions.
Advertising-supported software, like GridMapper, often possesses data-tracking capabilities. This means it may collect various information such as visited URLs, viewed webpages, search queries, internet cookies, usernames/passwords, personally identifiable details, and financial data. This sensitive information can then be shared with or purchased by third parties, posing a significant privacy and security risk.
Adware Applications Often Utilize Shady Distribution Practices for Their Installations
Adware applications frequently employ dubious distribution practices to infiltrate systems and carry out their installations. One common method involves bundling, where the adware is packaged with seemingly legitimate software downloads. Users unsuspectingly install the desired software but unknowingly also install the adware along with it.
Another tactic is the use of deceptive advertising, where ads are designed to resemble legitimate system notifications or prompts. Users may click on these misleading ads, thinking they are performing a legitimate action, only to end up unwittingly installing adware.
Some adware applications also resort to misleading marketing techniques, presenting themselves as useful utilities or promising desirable functionalities to entice users into downloading and installing them. These deceptive tactics manipulate users into unintentionally accepting the installation of adware.
Additionally, rogue websites or compromised online platforms may host disguised download buttons or links that, when clicked, initiate the download and installation of adware without the user's knowledge or consent.
Adware applications often rely on bundling, deceptive advertising, misleading marketing, and disguised download methods to carry out their installations, taking advantage of users' unsuspecting actions to gain access to their systems.
