thinQmaster Virtual testing partner Adaptive practice exams that find your weak spots and drill them. Every answer explained. From $69
Enroll

thinQmaster

Find your exam

Five questions free, before you decide.

Step 1 · choose a vendor

In one of our camps? Your practice exams come with the tuition — they are on your study page already.

Security Operations · Foundational

Spyware

Malware that secretly monitors user activity and collects information without consent.

Definition

Spyware may capture browsing history, keystrokes, credentials, location, screenshots or microphone audio and send it to a third party. It is commonly bundled with free software or delivered through malicious apps. Commercial spyware such as Pegasus has been used against journalists and officials.

Example

A free toolbar that records every site a user visits and sells the data.

Exam tip

Spyware's purpose is covert data collection; adware's purpose is displaying ads.

Related terms