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I think we can all agree that pups, the friendly, loyal, man’s-best-friend kind are cute and lovable and make everyone smile. PUPs, aka potentially unwanted programs, not so much. PUPs are usually distributed as part of a bundled free software package and despite the claims of free software developers that PUPs benefit users, they are at best annoying and at worst a threat. The ‘unwanted’ part of the name ‘potentially unwanted programs’ should make that pretty clear.

Some PUPs, for example, will create new toolbars for shopping sites in your web browser, or change your search provider, or even intentionally slow down your computer so you’ll be tempted to buy the tools for speeding up your computer that they later start advertising. Other more malicious PUPs have been known to distribute applications for spying, for performing denial of service attacks, and for mining cryptocurrency. Not so beneficial now, are they? And they’re prevalent:

**[Reason Labs](https://labs.reasonsecurity.com/insights)**, which has one of the most powerful AV engines in the industry, reported over 18 million PUPs in the month of September of this year alone and recently listed PUP.Web companion, PUP. Ask, PUP. Browser plugin, PUP.Generic and PUP.Mindspark as top malware threat families.

It’s not just a consumer problem either; PUPs threaten the cybersecurity of businesses too. Once installed, they can take up massive amounts of bandwidth, CPU, disk space, RAM etc., and worse, are frequently used by hackers to steal data or spy on company activity. To respond to this growing nuisance/menace (take your pick which word you want to use), some [**small business antivirus**](https://www.reasonsecurity.com/reason-for-businesses) wisely offer protection from PUPs.

**But if they’re unwanted, how do PUPs get installed on a system in the first place?**

When we buy a computer or computer hardware, or when we purchase a software program, we often get along with it, bundled software. Many of the software in these bundled packages are valuable and necessary such as operating systems, utilities, and applications, but many are not. Nor are they necessarily related or complementary to the software that is wanted by the user. For example, you might see a search toolbar bundled with an MP3 player or a word processor bundled with a file-sharing application. 

**Every****thing clear as San Francisco fog now? Wait, it gets worse**. 

PUPs exist because developers of free software are paid to bundle third-party software with their software. This third-party software gets downloaded by users who unknowingly agree to download it with the bundled package. They agree unknowingly because they race through the end-user licensing agreement (EULA) of the wanted software and hurriedly click on all of the ‘accepts’ just to finish the installation process quickly. Hidden within this bundled software can be spyware, browser hijackers and other software that can cause problems like slowing down your computer and stealing sensitive data. Since the bundled software is included in the installer file of the software that the user wants, once the EULA is completed, everything gets downloaded together. And voila! The PUPs are on the PC and the software developer is protected from legal action because of the signed EULA.

**How can businesses protect themselves against PUPs?**

Businesses can protect themselves from PUPs by carefully reading Wizard instructions to catch unwanted programs that will be installed and by using customized installation settings rather than default settings. In addition, software should only be downloaded from trusted sources. Adware and PUPs are often disguised as legitimate programs, so users have to be savvy and knowledgeable about the software they are downloading and the sites they’re downloading them from. First and foremost, however, businesses should install antivirus software with unwanted software blockers that automatically uncheck unrelated software offers. Unwanted software blockers can save users time and catch PUPs that might otherwise get through, and which might contain malicious files. 

![](https://cms.reasonlabs.com/cdn/shutterstock_1297517851-1375844364-1572348559937-300x225.jpg)

**Parting thoughts**

Back to this post’s title about why business need unwanted software blockers… We can confidently state that PUPs have the potential to compromise privacy or weaken a computer’s security. We also know that they eat up system resources and can threaten the cybersecurity of businesses. Some PUPs, for example, will install a root certificate on a computer that allows hackers to access private data without the user ever being notified. Root certificates like these and other programs installed by PUPs can make computers vulnerable to serious cyberattacks, and sometimes all it takes is one successful breach to bring a business, especially a small business, to its knees.

![](https://cms.reasonlabs.com/cdn/shutterstock_1095422036-300x222.jpg)

Finally, we know that it’s not enough that businesses protect themselves from malware; they need to protect themselves against PUPs too. Powerful and effective unwanted software blockers are the best form of protection against PUPs. They can automatically uncheck agreements to download unrelated software offers that come as part of a bundle and they can warn users when an installer tries to covertly download potentially unwanted and potentially harmful programs.

Considering that the amount of malware created is expected to continue to grow and that potentially unwanted programs will continue to target systems and pose greater and greater threats, it becomes abundantly clear why small businesses need an unwanted software blocker.

The right to privacy has a long, sometimes contentious history, but today it is recognized as a fundamental human right in over 130 countries. In more recent times, and especially with the advent of the Internet, the right to privacy has been extended to include the right to privacy of our personal data. Yet, individuals aren’t the only ones that need to protect their privacy today; businesses too must protect their privacy, and specifically their data privacy. The need for data privacy, in fact, has become so paramount, that businesses have come to understand that they must be proactive in their approach to keeping their business and data privacy from eroding away. Fortunately, the [top business antivirus in 2020](https://www.reasonsecurity.com/reason-for-businesses) are responding to this need by making the protection of data privacy a primary feature of their antivirus solution.

![](https://cms.reasonlabs.com/cdn/shutterstock_372379228-e1579442263992.jpg)

**But just what is data privacy?** 

To answer this question, we first need to understand the difference between data privacy and data security. Data privacy is about _authorized_ access to data, how that data should be handled, and compliance with the latest government regulations on data privacy. Several countries and governments established these regulations because they recognized the need to prevent the unauthorized disclosure, misuse, and abuse of private information. Europe, for example, recently passed the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) to give EU citizens greater control and say-so over their personal data as well as assurances that their data is kept secure. California also passed the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) with similar goals in mind. Other US states and other countries will soon be following suit if they haven’t done so already. 

Data security, on the other hand, is about securing data against _unauthorized_ access. In other words, businesses must keep their customer data, financial information, trade secrets, new product development, business patents, HR information etc., private, but they need data security to achieve privacy. Data security then, is the technology that keeps the data private. 

**Data democratization**

Making the need for data privacy and data security even more urgent is the trend toward data democratization. Data democratization is the process of making data accessible to everyone, including non-technical users, not just tech experts in the IT department. The easy access grants employees a better understanding of company data so that they can then harness that information for better decision-making and business discoveries. To be sure, democratization of data is a welcome development for businesses, especially for smaller businesses that don’t have the budget for large IT departments, but the greater access also creates a much larger attack surface for cyber criminals. All businesses, therefore, need to think in terms of defending that data, and the ability to defend data must be available to businesses across all industries and of all sizes, including small businesses. 

In point of fact, in some ways small businesses are actually at greater risk than large enterprises because they often don’t or can’t invest in the type of cyber defense they require for protection, so cyber criminals see them as soft targets. According to a Forbes.com article on cybersecurity and small businesses, 58% of malware attack victims are small businesses. 

**So just how can small businesses protect their data privacy?**

It starts with data security. To successfully maintain data security and thwart cyber attacks, small businesses need cybersecurity tools and procedures that are commensurate with their budget and resources. Fortunately, these tools and procedures do exist and are easy to implement. A good place to start is to install an enterprise-level antivirus that can provide critical endpoint protection and data security by keeping business’ computers and devices safe from malware and other threats. Improving employee cyber training and awareness, following strong password protocols, and keeping software current, so it has the latest software patches for vulnerabilities is also critical. Once the proper safeguards for preventing data breaches have been implemented, businesses will then be able to confidently comply with data privacy regulations. Indeed, the path to data privacy is via data security; data privacy is meaningless without it. 

![](https://cms.reasonlabs.com/cdn/shutterstock_659004328-300x250.jpg)

**With challenges come opportunities**

While a small business owners might find data privacy regulations to be a challenge, it should be remembered that with challenges come opportunities. These regulations present businesses with the opportunity to show that they value their customers’ privacy, which can in turn help build greater customer trust and loyalty. However, protecting that privacy starts with strong data security. Luckily, there is powerful antivirus technology and effective cybersecurity protocol to follow that even small businesses can readily put into effect.

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