Everything You Need to Know about Spyware, the Malware that Stalks Your Online Activity

Spyware may sound like something James Bond or another secret agent might use in the latest spy thriller movie. But it’s very real, and it’s way more common than most people think. Part of spyware’s method is to be hard to detect, so you may not even realize your device is infected – especially if you don’t know what spyware is, how it works, or what to watch for.

In this comprehensive article, we talk everything spyware, from what exactly it is to the different types to what someone could do with it once it’s on your device. If someone asks you “What is spyware?” you’ll have the answer after reading this. Even better, we’ll tell you what to do if your device is infected and how to keep it off your devices in the first place.

What Spyware Is

Malware, or malicious software, are programs that have some kind of malicious intent. Spyware is a type of malware. As the name implies, spyware’s goal is to spy on you. Spyware programs infect your device and do their best to keep their presence hidden. Then they watch what you do on your device – what websites you visit, what you download, what you type, the emails you send and receive, and more. After collecting and storing all that information, they usually pass it on to the person who created the spyware program, who can then exploit it.

Spyware can infect PC devices, Macs, and mobile devices, including tablets. If it has a way to connect to the internet, it’s at risk of spyware. Spyware is actually one of the most common threats on the internet. It’s easy to get it on your device, very hard to detect once it’s there, and often very hard to get rid of once it’s installed.

What Spyware Isn’t

Not all programs that track your activity are actively malicious. Some programs track your device activity for purposes like remembering your login information or customizing your website experience. Programs like parental control software and employee monitoring software can also be considered forms of spyware. After all, they do watch what’s happening on a particular device and report that to someone else.

But these programs are not truly spyware, for a couple reasons. One is that most of the time, you’re at least somewhat aware of them. You have to click a button to allow a website to save your password, and your boss should let you know if there’s some sort of monitoring software on your work device. And the intent isn’t malicious. The website is saving your login information to make the customer experience more convenient. And your boss isn’t trying to steal your identity or blackmail you, they just want to make sure you’re doing your job instead of scrolling through Instagram. What spyware is designed to do is stay hidden, steal your data, and profit from it. That’s a very different goal.

What Spyware Does

As we’ve previously said, spyware is designed to run quietly in the background, monitor your activity, collect your information, and send it to someone else so they can profit. But what the particular spyware program actually does or collects differs. There are a lot of different types of spyware. These include:

• Adware: Spyware that tracks your activity to determine what products or services you might be interested in and then serves you ads.
• Password stealers: This type of spyware is specifically waiting for you to type a password into a program or website so it can steal it. The person who receives the data can then access your account or sell your passwords to someone else.
• Banking trojans: An even more specific type of spyware, this type specifically tries to steal your banking account information. The criminal behind it wants to access (and steal) your money.
• Infostealers: These spyware programs scan your whole device as well as monitoring your activity. They look for any sort of private information they can steal – anything from passwords and browser history to documents and media.
• Keylogger: Keyloggers specifically track input on your keyboard. This means that whoever gets your data can see everything you’ve typed, including websites you’ve visited, forum messages, emails, and login credentials.
• Mobile spyware: This is less a type of spyware than a category, but spyware on mobile devices has its own risks. In addition to what other types of spyware can do, they often record from your microphone, secretly take photos, steal your contacts or photos, or track your location through your phone’s GPS. Some types of mobile spyware can even control your device.

The Goal of Spyware

An important part of considering what is spyware is thinking about why people use it. The most common use of spyware is criminal. Spammers steal email addresses or buy them from spyware creators in order to spend fraudulent emails. Criminals of all kinds love your financial information so they can drain your accounts or commit other types of financial frauds. Social media account logins let scammers use your accounts to target your friends. Fraudsters could get enough personal information about you to steal your identity. And if spyware gets installed on a company device, it could result in a data breach or criminals stealing and selling trade secrets. The criminal’s goal is ultimately profit. And someone will pay for any information they can steal from you.

Though stealing your information is by far the most common use for spyware, it’s not the only use. Another reason someone might put spyware on your device is stalking. If someone is stalking you, they can use spyware to track you and figure out what you’re doing and where you’re going. By tracking your device, a stalker can always know where you are and what you’re up to.

It’s important to recognize that spyware targets everyone. In most cases, spyware isn’t targeted. The criminals who create it cast as wide a net as possible to infect as many devices as possible. Once the devices are infected, they see what they can get to profit from. Even the tiniest bit of information might find a buyer. No one is immune, and attackers generally don’t care whose devices they’re infecting. Which means that spyware is a risk for you, too.

How Your Device Gets Infected

There are many different ways that spyware can get onto your device. One of the more common ways is actually for you to download it yourself. Criminals often disguise their spyware program as a useful tool like a download manager, hard drive cleaner, or alternative web browser. When you download it, the spyware program installs itself and starts running in the background. Even if you uninstall the fake tool, the spyware remains. They may also include the spyware in legitimate software as “bundleware” – additional software programs that install along with the program you actually wanted.

Other ways spyware can get on your device is through malicious links or websites. These are often sent through email or text message, but can also show up through online ads or even malicious QR codes. Once you visit the site, your device is infected. Emails could also include infected attachments that download the spyware when you open them. Security vulnerabilities in legitimate apps and software programs, or even in your device’s operating system itself, could allow hackers to sneak in and add spyware to other programs. Clicking pop-ups, pirating media, and connecting to unsecured wifi networks are all other things that could infect your device with spyware.

How to Tell if Your Device is Infected

Part of spyware’s goal is to remain as hidden as possible. So it’s extremely difficult to tell if your device is infected. Regardless, all malware requires some of your device’s processing power to function. And many types of malware, including spyware, may make changes to your device that you can notice. If you see any of the following signs on your device, it could be infected.

• Your device is slow, crashes unexpectedly, or gives you unexpected error messages.
• The device’s hard drive is full, you get notifications about running out of storage space, or you notice a sudden reduction in bandwidth, memory, or processing power.
• Frequent, persistent pop-ups.
• Your browser takes you to pages you didn’t go to, your browser homepage has changed, or your browser has new plugins or toolbars you didn’t install.
• Apps or programs you didn’t download show up on your device.
• The device gets hotter than usual while operating.
• You have a hard time or get errors while logging into secure websites.
• Your security or antivirus software isn’t working properly.

These may all be signs that your device is infected with spyware. But they could also indicate other kinds of malware or issues with your device. So once you identify problems, it’s important to take steps to identify what the actual issue is, and if it’s any form of malware, get it off your device.

How to Get Spyware Off Your Device

The best way to deal with spyware is a robust antivirus program. One of the things spyware often does is disable your antivirus’s automatic scans because it doesn’t want to be detected. If you have a good antivirus program and you suspect you have spyware, run a manual scan. It will tell you if there’s anything malicious on your device. Once it’s been identified, many programs allow you to remove it with just a few clicks. If you’re not confident in your ability to manage this process yourself, or if you want to be extra sure there’s nothing malicious left on your device, most computer repair professionals or shops offer computer scanning and malware removal for reasonable prices.

If you had spyware on your computer, be aware of what kind of information it can steal. A big one is passwords. You often have no way of knowing how long the spyware has been on your device and how much data it’s had time to collect. So it’s safest to change all of your passwords. It’s also a good idea to freeze your credit to help protect from identity thieves opening fraudulent accounts. And you may want to call your financial institutions and tell them to be on the lookout for potential fraud.

If the infected device was a work device, report it to the IT or security team right away. They will need to look into what kind of information the spyware stole and take steps to protect the company. If customer or client data was or might have been affected, they are legally required to file certain reports. And your company’s IT team can help you ensure there’s no spyware left on the device.

How to Avoid Spyware

It’s important to be aware of spyware, watch for signs of infection, and deal with any problems that arise quickly and thoroughly. But what’s even better is keeping your devices from getting infected with spyware in the first place. You may not be able to affect what kinds of vulnerabilities and back entrances hackers can exploit in the legitimate software you use. But there are steps you can take to protect yourself regardless.

To start, make sure you have a good antivirus program. (If you don’t, here are our recommendations – pick the one that fits your needs and install it right away.) Set it to run regularly, and check its reports every so often to make sure it’s still running. Be very careful of emails and texts from unknown senders. It’s best not to open them at all. At the very least, never open any links or attachments in such messages.

Check websites to determine if they’re legitimate before you visit. Install a pop-up blocker and avoid clicking on pop-ups. Be very careful downloading programs and software from the internet. Only download apps for your phone from either the Apple App Store or the Google Play Store. Avoid connecting to public wifi when you can; if you have to, use a VPN. And install updates as soon as you get them. Updates are how developers fix vulnerabilities that hackers might use to put spyware onto your devices, so keeping all your apps and operating systems up-to-date will give them fewer opportunities.

Finally, don’t keep this knowledge to yourself. Spyware is one of the most common threats online, and everyone is a target. But many people don’t know the risks or what to watch for. Share this article with them to help them protect their devices from malicious online spies.