This can help it run more smoothly and make sure you get the latest updates installed regularly. Tip: Reboot your PC at least once a week. For more information about turning on protection from potentially unwanted apps see Protect your PC from potentially unwanted applications. Potentially unwanted apps (PUA) aren't malware, but they might display unwanted advertising, secretly use your PC for cryptomining, offer other unexpected apps, or do other things you'd prefer they not do.įor the potentially unwanted apps, Windows can let you know that we have concerns, and let you decide if you want to proceed with installing them or not. Its goal may be to steal your personal data, steal your identity, use your system to launch attacks against others, or commit other cybercrimes. Microsoft Defender Antivirus tries to block malware before it can infect your device. It may be a self-replicating virus, a 'trojan horse' that pretends to be something it's not in order to trick you into installing it, or some other kind of attack. We call that software in the grey area 'Potentially unwanted apps' or 'PUA'. On the spectrum of software there’s clean apps on one end, malware on the other, and a grey area in between of apps that we don’t have a lot of confidence in, or that may display some disturbing behavior, but don’t fall to the level of malware.

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