Thanks to the significant growth of the computer industry in the past couple of years, thousands of new applications are hitting the software market every day. Instead of being placed in the traditional good or bad category, a potentially unwanted application (PUA) is introduced to help classify some of the gray area applications. Generally speaking, a PUA is a very broad category that covers various types of applications including toolbar add-ons, public file sharing, instant messaging, cloud storage and rogue security software.
Potentially unwanted applications usually provide users with certain functionalities or features, but in return, they can contain potential security holes, annoying pop-up messages and slow down the user's system. Even more dangerous, since most of these PUAs lack software protection and solid maintenance, some hackers can create specific viruses against them and use them as an entry point to gain access into the targeted system. Inserting viruses into PUA installers, then posting them online for public downloading is one of the most common tricks of malware-writers.
As most users understand, it is not a good idea to download and use potentially unwanted applications in general. While some users consider the infected applications just a minor add-on, they underestimate the security risk of downloading software installers online. In situations such as this, how much of a risk are users facing if they have to use these PUAs? For research purposes, we downloaded 60 PUA installers from random websites and scanned them using the fastest cloud-based multi-scanning solution, Metascan Online.
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Scanned by 40 commercial anti-malware engines, 30 out of the 60 PUA installers were reported as containing threats, with 12 of the 30 infected installers detected by multiple anti-malware engines. In the other words, if users are trying to download a PUA from a random website, there is a fifty-percent chance they would get their system infected by the downloaded installers, and a twenty-percent chance they would be infected by a well-known virus.
The ultimate suggestion is to avoid installing and using a potentially unwanted application at all costs. Realistically, some users may still want to take advantage of the "free" functionalities which are offered by certain PUAs. Downloading a PUA from their official website would be a more preferred choice, but if this is not an available option, try downloading a PUA from a reputable software sharing website such as CNET or Softonic. However, these tips would not be able to guarantee any safety for using a PUA; they are just for helping users reduce the risk associated with PUAs. The only way to thoroughly eliminate the dangers associated with PUAs is not to use them!
