Microsoft to Manage Adware as Malware, Gives Advertisers Three Months to Change Their Ways

Personally, I think this is a great move and one that many Internet patrons will definitely welcome. The folks at the Microsoft Malware Protection Center (MMPC) are introducing new objectives for managing obtrusive and potentially suspect advertisements as part of the overall antimalware plan.

In a blog post on the Malware Protection Center, the MMPC has outlined new rules for advertising engines to follow to keep from being blocked from normal Internet viewing.

The rules are as follows:

If these rules are not followed, Microsoft's antimalware applications will simply block the ads – completely. The new rules take effect on July 2, 2014, giving ad developers three months to retool their ad delivery systems or face lost revenue. When the adware classifications go into effect, ads that don't meet the criteria will be blocked and the user notified, giving the user the ability go ahead and choose to see the ad, or just move on.

Microsoft's Malware objective criteria has been updated to reflect these changes through the addition of a new Advertising section:

How Microsoft antimalware products identify potentially unwanted software