What Is Spyware? Types, Risks & How to Protect Yourself

Spyware is malicious software that slips onto a device and starts recording activity. It might track the sites you visit, the details you type into a login page, or the numbers in your online banking. All of it gets passed along to someone else, usually without you realizing anything has happened.

Spyware surveillance symbol displayed on laptopIt doesn’t throw up warnings the way ransomware or a virus might. Most of the time, it hides. That’s what makes it dangerous: it stays out of sight while pulling data that can be used for fraud, identity theft, or to pry deeper into your systems.

Most infections today still come through phishing emails or shady downloads — the kind of everyday activity that looks safe until it isn’t. That’s what makes spyware one of the most stubborn and expensive problems for both individuals and organizations.

In this guide, we’ll cover what spyware is, where it started, the types you’ll run into, the warning signs to watch for, and the defenses that actually work