Page Styles Adware

The 'Page Styles' browser extension claims to provide users with powerful tools that will allow them to 'style pages of the Web.' In practice, this functionality consists primarily of modifying the color scale of visited websites. What users may not immediately realize is that the browser extension also has adware capabilities. If installed, the 'Page Styles' will proceed to deliver unwanted advertisements or cause browser redirects to unfamiliar or dubious websites. Such intrusive functionality is often associated with applications classified as PUPs (Potentially Unwanted Programs).

The issue with the advertisements generated by unproven sources is that they could easily be used as a way to promote unsafe destinations. Users could see advertisements or be taken to websites spreading PUPs, running fake giveaways, technical support frauds, phishing schemes, or deploying malware threats. At the same time, many PUPs also are equipped with data harvesting processes. They could monitor users' browsing activities silently, collect the search history, clicked URLs, IP address, geolocation, other device details and transmit them to their operators. Even sensitive information, such as account credentials or banking info could become compromised, as some PUPs have the ability to access the information saved at browsers' autofill data.