I think almost all of us are aware of the term spyware. How does this spyware infect a computer and how to prevent it? Let’s try to understand that.

What is spyware?

Spyware is a type of malware that infects a computer stealthily and then keeps collecting information about user behavior, like Internet surfing habits, user logins, or even the bank account or credit card information of the victim. Sometimes, it collects information on the web browsing habits of the victim and serves pop-up ads to the user. Sometimes, it even asserts control over the computer without the user’s knowledge.

How does spyware infect a computer?

• If a user visits an unsafe website, spyware can get downloaded from the website and it can infect the system.
• spyware can infect a system when the user clicks on an unsafe link.
• When a user clicks on any malicious link or opens a malicious attachment of an email sent by an unknown sender, spyware can infect the system.
• Sometimes, users accept the End User License Agreement of unsafe software without properly reading it. Please note that it is very unsafe and can infect a system with spyware.
• Spyware can infect a system when a user shares unsafe links on instant messages or social media.
• If a user installs software from untrusted sources, spyware can infect the system.

Many a time spyware infects a computer by exploiting security vulnerabilities present in the browser or other commonly used software. When a user visits a website controlled by a spyware attacker, spyware infects the browser by taking advantage of the security vulnerabilities of the browser and gets downloaded on the computer without the user’s knowledge. Spyware does not usually self-replicate itself. So, it may not transmit to other computers like the way viruses or other malware programs do.

Threats of spyware

Spyware programs are usually used to spy on the victims. They may use a microphone or webcam of the victim to record his activities. They can even use keyloggers (What are keyloggers and how to prevent them?) to log keystrokes of the victim and steal sensitive credentials. Later, that can even cause heavy financial losses.

Spyware may change the web browser settings, redirect websites, change search results, or change the settings of other software on the computer. Sometimes, it slows down the computer and makes the computer almost inaccessible.

A spyware program rarely infects a computer alone. Sometimes, it disables the firewall or anti-virus …