spyware

noun

spy·ware ˈspī-ˌwer

: software that is installed in a computer or mobile device without the user's knowledge and that transmits information about the user's activities

Jan should scan her computer for viruses, worms, and spyware …—

Kenneth Baldauf and Ralph Stair

Smartphones belonging to more than three dozen journalists, human rights activists, and business executives have been infected with powerful spyware that an Israeli firm sells, purportedly to catch terrorists and criminals, The Washington Post and other publications reported.—

Dan Goodin

Examples of spyware in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

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Disguised as account-hacking tools, the attackers were primarily distributing spyware. —

Alex Vakulov, Forbes, 31 Oct. 2024 While Poland launched an inquiry into the previous government’s spyware use earlier this year, a probe in Spain over the use of spyware against Spanish politicians has so far led to no accusations against those involved, and one in Greece has cleared government agencies of any wrongdoing. —

Vas Panagiotopoulos, WIRED, 21 Oct. 2024 Meanwhile, Indian lawyers and journalists looking into this case are among dozens or hundreds of people in India who've found Pegasus spyware on their devices. —

Lauren Frayer, NPR, 2 June 2024 There’s a spyware scandal in Italy, where 44-year-old IT consultant called Nunzio Samuele Calamucci is accused of abusing his access to Interior Ministry systems that his company had been tasked with maintaining. —

Thomas Brewster, Forbes, 5 Nov. 2024 See all Example Sentences for spyware