Beware Of Google Ads, It Could Be A Security Risk: Here’s Why

We all see a lot of Google Ads these days, and clicking them usually takes you to a shopping website or a product page that Google is selling based on your web activities. But there’s a new kind of Google Ads out there that can be dangerous in a different way for the users and their PCs.

According to a new security alert from Microsoft, hackers are pushing malware and ransomware under the guise of Google Ads through fake websites.

The biggest worry about the ransomware called Royal (DEV-0569) is that it poses as installers and updates for legitimate apps like Microsoft Teams, Zoom, Teamviewer and other platforms.

If that isn’t a concern itself, then Microsoft mentions that if the malware downloaders are launched in the system, it has the power to disable the security systems like the anti-virus apps, which makes it vulnerable to further attacks.

In addition to this, the attacker now has the SYSTEM rights which gives them complete access to the system and any data stored in it. You can get more details about the warning from Microsoft in this security threat post.

But thankfully, since the warning comes from Microsoft, it has already taken note of the issue and updated its Microsoft Defender security solution to help it fight such malware and ransomware on Windows devices. The company has also made its Microsoft 365 suite capable of alerting users about such threats and even removing them from the system.

Microsoft has also provided security support via its Edge browser and it says users can enable the ‘network protection’ option to fight such attacks..