Term: PUP [Potentially Unwanted Program]

PUP is an acronym that stands for Potentially Unwanted Program.

PUP is generally used to refer to programs that are accidentally or surreptitiously downloaded and installed, usually as an unexpected or unwanted side effect of installing something else. Most examples involve undesired toolbars, but this class of annoyance can be just about anything.

The term “potentially” is used because sometimes people actually do choose to install software that others would consider unwanted and even borderline malware.