Spyware

Spyware is a term used to describe a category of computer software designed to collect personal information about the user of a computer without his or her informed consent. Coined in 1994, but not widely used until after 2000, the term spyware is often used interchangeably with adware and malware. Spyware is itself a form of malware, which is software designed to infiltrate and intentionally or otherwise damage a computer system without the owner‘s informed consent.

Spyware utilizes a range of techniques in order to record personal information, including logging keystrokes, recording Internet web browsing history, and scanning documents on the computer‘s hard disk. Spyware is employed for a range of motives, from the malicious (stealing of passwords and financial details) to the more benign (recording Internet search history for the purposes of targeted advertising). Spyware can collect many different types of information about a user. Some benign variants attempt to track what types of websites a user visits and then send this information to an advertising agency. More malicious variants attempt to intercept passwords or credit card numbers as a user enters them into a web form or other application.

An entire industry has built up around combating spyware, and there are many programs designed to remove spyware, to prevent its installation, and to detect and remove it from email. A number of companies have incorporated forms of spyware into their software, primarily for purposes of advertising. While these types of programs are not considered to be malware, they are still spyware in the sense of watching and observing with advertising in mind, making them a cross between spyware and adware. However such applications are still spying (hence spyware) and advertising (hence adware). It is somewhat arguable whether such ‘legitimate‘ uses of adware/spyware are malware, since the user often has no control over whether these ‘legitimate‘ programs are installed on their computers, are generally unaware that these programs are infringing on their privacy, and in any case these programs still use the computing resources of the host‘s computer without permission