What is a common characteristic of adware?

Adware is a type of malicious software that primarily focuses on delivering unwanted advertisements to users. It typically operates by displaying pop-up ads, banners, or by redirecting users to sites that feature advertisements. This behavior is driven by the goal of generating revenue for the adware creator, often at the user's expense, by interrupting their experience and sometimes leading them to click on ads that they otherwise would not have engaged with.

The presence of ads can be intrusive and degrade the user experience but does not necessarily involve malicious intent to harm the user’s system as a primary function. Adware might gather data about user behavior to target ads better, but its hallmark characteristic is the display of unwanted advertisements. This distinguishes it from other types of malware that have more malicious intents, such as encrypting data, creating backdoors, or stealing credentials.