Spyware

Spyware is malware built for surveillance. Its entire purpose is to watch a person or an organisation, quietly gather information about them, and pass that information on to someone else — all without the user ever knowing. The victim goes about their normal work, while in the background the spyware records activity and ships it out to an external entity. That entity could be an individual, a company, or any third party, and it receives the data without the user's consent or even awareness.

The defining feature of spyware is secrecy. Unlike a virus that announces itself through damage, or ransomware that demands payment, spyware operates silently. It does not disrupt your system, delete files, or show pop-ups. Its success depends on you never noticing it is there. The longer it remains hidden, the more information it can collect and the more valuable that information becomes to whoever is receiving it.

The most common use of spyware is tracking internet usage. It monitors which websites you visit, what you search for, what you click on, and how long you spend on each page. This browsing data is then sold to advertisers, who use it to build a profile of your interests and habits. That profile lets them target you with specific ads. This is the commercial face of spyware — a business model built on harvesting your behaviour without your permission. …