Adware was among items consumers least wanted on their computers, security company McAfee reported this week when it published lists of the 10 most common "malicious" threats and "non-malicious" programs in the first quarter, writes MediaPost. The illegal, malicious threats included viruses and others that exploit security lapses in browsers. The non-malicious variety consisted mostly of adware, which is legal, and which McAfee said has continued to proliferate. It reported that 1.5 million of the more than 5 million online users of its VirusScan reported at least one potentially unwanted program (PUP) on their computers, with an average of three per machine. In the past, McAfee didn't differentiate between malicious and non-malicious unwanted programs, and adware from companies such as Gator (Claria) were included alongside virus threats.