Adware turns a tidy profit for those who sneak it into downloads

If you’ve ever downloaded software, chances are you’ve experienced an all-too-common surprise: ads or other unwanted programs that tagged along for the ride, only to pop up on your PC uninvited. Turns out there’s a highly lucrative global industry making it happen, with “layers of deniability” to protect those involved.

That’s according to researchers from Google and New York University’s Tandon School of Engineering, who will present this week what they say is the first analysis of the link between so-called “pay-per-install” (PPI) practices and the distribution of unwanted software.

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