PUMs, PUOs, PUPs and More

Modern antimalware products do not only try to protect you from viruses, worms, trojans, RATs and ransomware, but also from programs that behave in a undesirable way. Some try to scare you into buying their pro-version, others secretly install programs you never wanted to install in the first place.

There are many sinister-sounding acronyms floating around the Internet. What do they all mean?

Enter: A GLOSSARY

BYOVD [Bring Your Own Vulnerable Driver] - BYOVD is an adversarial technique where attackers implant a vulnerable legitimate driver into a targeted system. They then exploit the vulnerable driver to perform malicious actions.

MUNG [Mash Until No Good] - A term coined in 1960 to describe for a series of potentially destructive or irrevocable changes to a piece of data or a file.

PHO [Potentially Hazardous Object] - PHOs are Near-Earth Objects – either asteroids or comets – with an orbit that can make exceptionally close approaches to the Earth and large enough to cause significant damage in the event of impact. See here.

PIR [Poor Industry Reputation] - Software that has a poor industry reputation because other programs made by a particular company use your device to mine cryptocurrency, display ads, promotions or survey prompts.

PSA [Potentially Suspicious Application] - PSAs are programs compressed with packers or protectors, which are exploited by malware authors to evade detection. The term was coined by the people from ESET's Antivirus.

PUFT [Potentially Unsafe File Types] - PUFTs are types of files that can contain programs or commands, and which can, if opened or run, make changes to your system. Because of this ability, these files are potentially 'unsafe'. Examples include program files (*.exe), batch files (*.cmd and *.bat) and script files (*.vbs and *.js). Open these files with caution.

PUA [Potentially Unwanted Application] - PUAs are essentially the same as PUPs. See there.

PUC [Potentially Unsafe Component] - A term coined by Java. Java Web Start applications and applets sometimes contain components that could potentially be unsafe. When a program contains such components, a warning dialog is raised.

PUC [Potentially Unwanted Content] - A term coined by ESET. Websites that have a reputation for promoting PUAs or that have a reputation for misleading users into performing actions that might have negative implications on their system or browsing experience will be blocked by ESET's Antivirus as potentially unwanted content.

PUM [Potentially Unwanted Modification] – PUMs are modifications of your settings to re-direct your browser to another website. This website might simply exist to generate income via ads, but also to harvest your login and password to empty your bank account.

PUO [Potentially Unwanted Optimizer] – PUOs are programs that purport to optimize your computer, such as registry cleaners, registry optimizers or driver updaters. Usually there's very little increase in performance, but they could damage your computer so badly as to require a re-installation of the operating system.

PUP [Potentially Unwanted Program] – PUPs are unwanted software programs often installed along with legitimate applications (piggybacked). They can be spyware or adware programs. Some may simply display annoying advertisements, while others may run background processes that cause your computer to slow down. As most users download and install these programs (un)willingly, McAfee coined the term to avoid labeling such programs as malware. However, the term is often seen as a euphemism for malware since most users want to remove PUPs immediately after they have been installed. 

PUS [Potentially Unwanted Software] - This acronym can be used to describe any type of software that is unwanted. It can be used for many of the above.

UAP [Unidentified Anomalous Phenomenon] - This acronym is a catch-all term to describe objects detected in the air, sea and space that defy easy explanation. It was preceded by UFO [Unidentified Flying Object]. The acronym UAP originally stood for 'Unidentified Aerial Phenomenon' until December 2022, when the Pentagon updated its terminology to encompass 'submerged and trans-medium objects'.

PAR [Prevention and Removal]
How do you remove these pesky programs from your computer, you might ask.

Well, the first line of defense is always an up-to-date antivirus program, such as Windows Defender (which is free).

You might also give the Malwarebytes AdwCleaner a whirl to remove all those unwanted PUAs, PUMs, PUOs, PUPs, and more.