Running quietly in the background, spyware can also use up your computer’s resources, slowing it down or causing it to crash. Often it can be hard to undo these changes.
Spyware can alter your settings – change your default home page or redirect your browser, for example, or install add-ons that you don’t want. Spyware has been used to record instant messages and Skype chats, control webcams, take screenshots and even make changes to your hard drive. Spyware can gather lots of different sorts of information, from your game, social media and email account logins to sensitive financial and business credentials. Collecting your valuable personal information and sending it on to fraudsters.Sending you unwanted and annoying pop-up ads.Redirecting you to advertising sites, and distasteful or compromised sites.Tracking your browsing habits and monitoring program use for marketing purposes.Spyware collects useful information for commercial benefit.
Mostly, though, it’s malicious, aiming to exploit personal information such as your credit card details, user names and passwords. Sometimes spyware can be used legitimately.
