Spyware is a special type of software that monitors user’s online activity without his or her knowledge, collects information about user’s activities, and intercepts personal data. The data obtained by spyware can be used both by cybercriminals and advertising marketing networks to show relevant advertisements to the user. Traditionally, spyware is divided into 2 types:
- Trackers: track a user’s actions and location on a local device, collecting information about movement by accessing geo-data.
- Keyloggers: programs that in their early stages of development tracked keyboard keystrokes and mouse clicks. Over time, the capabilities of keyloggers have increased. They are now able to intercept information stored in the memory buffer, take screenshots of the monitor, scan email exchanges, and do many other things. In their current form, keyloggers have become similar in functionality to Trojans.
Some legitimate Google services that track user behavior and location can also be classified as spyware, despite the fact that they are presented under the pretext of improving the quality of service. The data obtained from these services is used by Google for marketing purposes. At the same time, unlike classic spyware, almost all of Google’s covert surveillance services can be disabled.