What is "spyware"?
Spyware is software that usually comes attached to, bundled with, or as part of something else so you never think, "I'm gonna install this spyware." It usually is something that comes as a consequence or a byproduct of installing something else, and what it does is it basically collects data about how you use your computer. It may help in providing advertisements that might seem applicable to you and your interests. It might send information to you. It typically doesn't affect your computer but it's not something that you asked for. It's not something that you opted into and you didn't consent to use it initially. You can get out of it, you can uninstall it, and you might not want somebody following the whereabouts on your computer of what you're doing and what you're looking at. Spyware is installed with other software, bundled software, by people who are looking to collect information about how you use your computer typically for commercial purposes such as what can they sell you, what can they advertise, or what types of things are you interested in. This is information that they're able to collect essentially anonymously because you have not opted into doing this; this was done without your consent. Often it's by ad agencies, or marketing agencies. It could also be by content producers, by software producers, anybody that wants to ascertain information about how people use computers, websites, or certain publications that are online. And if you imagine the millions and millions of users that have this installed unknowingly, that's a lot of information that they can collect. This is information that they can sell to specialized marketing groups or agencies, or they can use this information in their own production of their own product.
