Malvertising
Also known as: Malicious advertising
Malvertising is the use of online advertising — including paid search ads — to distribute malware. Attackers buy ads impersonating popular software so that users searching for legitimate downloads are sent to malicious sites that deliver infostealers.
What is malvertising?
Malvertising places malicious or deceptive advertisements into legitimate ad networks. A common variant abuses paid search results: an ad impersonating a well-known application ranks above the real download, sending users to a lookalike site that serves malware.
Why malvertising is effective for stealers
It targets users at the moment of intent — actively searching to download software — which makes them more likely to run the malicious installer. This has made malvertising a leading delivery vector for families like RedLine, Aurora, and Mars.
VantaPrism does not block ads, but it surfaces the credentials and sessions stolen after a malvertising-delivered infection, closing the loop on exposures that originated from a fake download.
Check Your Exposure arrow_forwardFrequently Asked Questions
How does malvertising deliver infostealers?
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