Elena Lacey reports:
When you think of malware, it’s understandable if your mind first goes to elite hackers launching sophisticated dragnets. But unless you’re being targeted by a nation-state or advanced crime syndicate, you’re unlikely to encounter these ultra-technical threats yourself. Run-of-the-mill profit-generating malware, on the other hand, is rampant. And the type you’re most likely to encounter is adware.
[…]
Strains of adware regularly infect tens of millions or even hundreds of millions of devices at a time. Even though adware detections have declined year over year, security firm Malwarebytes still ranked it as the most prevalent type of consumer malware in 2018. Check Point published findings on one example last week, dubbed Agent Smith, which infected more than 25 million Android devices around the world.
Read more on Wired.