[4] The practice is widely considered unethical because it violates the security interests of users without their informed consent.
Some unwanted software bundles install a root certificate on a user's device, which allows hackers to intercept private data such as banking details, without a browser giving security warnings.
The United States Department of Homeland Security has advised removing an insecure root certificate, because they make computers vulnerable to serious cyberattacks.
[5] Software developers and security experts recommend that people always download the latest version from the official project website, or a trusted package manager or app store.
These activities declined after the companies were investigated, and in some cases indicted, by authorities for invasive and harmful installs.
These companies are responsible for a large part of the download and install tools,[7] which place unwanted, additional software on users' systems.
Many Android devices are targeted by malware that use premium SMS services to rack up charges for users.
However, the Enterprise controlling the computer or the antivirus vendor may consider the program unwanted due to the activities they allow.
Peer-to-peer file sharing programs are sometimes labelled as PUA and deleted due to their alleged links to piracy.
In March 2021, Windows Defender started removing uTorrent and qBittorrent, causing widespread user confusion.
The main problem is the confusion between Download.com-offered content[29][30] and software offered by original authors; the accusations included deception as well as copyright and trademark violation.