YourAdExchange Popups in Chrome, Safari and Firefox on Mac OS X
YourAdExchange is the handle and name given to a potentially unwanted application that may land on your Mac without your knowledge and explicit consent. It exhibits some of the qualities of a browser hijacker and some of the qualities associated with adware.
Potentially unwanted applications or PUAs are a type of software application that occupies the area between legitimate software and dangerous malware. While PUAs will not damage your system directly, they will almost always diminish your user experience in some way and may often expose you to other potentially dangerous websites and malware that may have a more serious impact on your computer's security status.
YourAdExchange will often cause your browser to redirect to pages hosted at youradexchange dot com. The PUA may also collect your browsing information, including pages you visit and your search queries. You may also see a very obvious increase in the amount of pop-up advertising you encounter across the web.
If you look at your browser's status bar while the ads load, you may notice that your computer is contacting youradexchange dot com to serve them. A lot of those pop-ups will contain warnings for fake software updates and may push additional potentially unwanted programs, posing as system optimizers.
YourAdExchange may affect any browser you use on your system, regardless of whether that is Chrome, Firefox or Apple's own Safari. The PUA will most commonly manifest itself as a browser extension.
Similar potentially unwanted apps usually end up on your system when you run bundle installers, commonly obtained from free download websites. Those are software packages that contain multiple apps, often a legitimate flagship application and one or more potentially unwanted apps piggy-backing inside the same installer. Bundle installers have notoriously poor disclosure of their full contents and you will often end up with one or more PUAs installed on your system without your explicit consent.
That is why it's a good idea to download your applications from strictly curated storefronts and official developer and publisher websites, instead of any free download website you may run into online, because a lot of those carry bundle installers that have PUAs in them.
