What are Potentially Unwanted Applications (PUA)?
In this case, the name Potentially Unwanted Applications (PUA) is fairly self-explanatory. Also known as Potentially Unwanted Programs (PUPs), they are programs that may create security concerns and be unsuitable for use in a networked business. Unlike many other items on this list, these are generally not malicious programs in and of themselves, but they can open the door for problems.
How to Recognize This Threat: Examples of PUA include remote admin tools, adware, and vulnerability scanners. A computer with many of these applications can suffer from performance issues.
How to Prevent This Threat: Administrators can set policies requiring privileges for users to load software on their computers, which can keep PUAs off of your network. But if some may already be there or get through some other way, endpoint security solutions can detect and report PUAs to help eliminate the threat they pose.