The Not-So-Black-and-White of Grayware

We hear a lot about malware, and fair enough — malware is behind some of the world’s largest data breaches. However, malware has a cousin. This cousin is known as grayware.

Grayware, as the name suggests, sits somewhere in the middle between purposely malicious and not. At best, this software is annoying; at worst, it can act as an open doorway to actual malicious programs. As grayware apps are unlikely to have been developed using secure coding practices, they leave your IT resources, including mobile devices, open to Internet-borne threats.

Grayware, also known as Potentially Unwanted Program or Potentially Unwanted Application (PUP/PUA), is on the rise. According to Symantec’s Internet Security Threat Report 2018, there was a 20 percent increase of grayware in 2017. The report also found that 63 percent of grayware on mobile apps leaked the device’s phone number. Grayware, then, is more than an annoying pop-up: it is a threat to the security and privacy of our data.

Three Shades of Grayware

Grayware is a coverall term for a number of software programs, sometimes intentionally installed in the belief they are safe. As well as being a risk because of poor coding and lack of attention to security, they also cause other issues on a computer, including:

• Slow performance. Grayware is usually poorly coded, and so uses up large amounts of computer resources to run
• Showing almost continuous pop-ups on your computer screen
• Your browser homepage is suddenly set to an unknown page
• An unknown search engine opens in your Web browser
• Web browser toolbars have new toolbar items installed that you weren’t aware of

Some of the most prevalent grayware types include:

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Adware

Adware does what it says on the box: it shows you ads. The ads are usually displayed when you open your browser.

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