Which of the following best describes spyware?

Spyware is best described as malicious software that monitors user activities. It is designed to gather information about a user without their consent, often by tracking browsing habits, collecting personal information, or capturing keystrokes. This data is typically used for advertising purposes or identity theft, making spyware a significant cybersecurity threat.

Unlike antivirus software, which is intended to protect and remove harmful software, spyware operates covertly and has the opposite goal of exploiting user information. Additionally, encryption software protects sensitive data by encoding it, preventing unauthorized access, while firewall technology serves to establish a barrier between trusted internal networks and untrusted external networks, controlling incoming and outgoing traffic. These distinctions highlight how spyware is fundamentally about surveillance and data collection rather than protection or prevention.