Spyware
Spyware is a type of malware that is designed to collect and forward information regarding a victim’s activities to an interested party. The defining characteristic is that the application acts behind the scenes to gather this information without the user’s consent or knowledge. The information gathered by spyware can be anything that the creator of the spyware feels is worthwhile. Spyware has been used to target ads, steal identities, generate revenue, alter systems, and capture other information. Additionally, it is not unheard of for spyware to open the door for later attacks that may perform tasks such as downloading software and so on.
