spyware
noun
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Definition of spyware
: software that is installed in a computer without the user's knowledge and transmits information about the user's computer activities over the Internet
Examples of spyware in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Lookout believes the espionage campaign was orchestrated by a spy agency that outsourced software development work to coders who charged about $50 an hour to develop a spyware tool. — Robert Mcmillan, WSJ, "Mobile-Phone Malware Is Rising. Blame Spies.," 7 June 2018 Many of those spyware apps were served in third-party app stores that are not authorized by Google. — Brian X. Chen, New York Times, "Unknown Tech Brands Aren’t Like Groceries. Don’t Just Grab Them.," 4 Apr. 2018 The company that offered Soniac, Iraqwebservice, had published other spyware apps on the Play store. — Brian X. Chen, New York Times, "Unknown Tech Brands Aren’t Like Groceries. Don’t Just Grab Them.," 4 Apr. 2018 And the Mexican government has purchased tens of millions of dollars’ worth of the spyware, using it to eavesdrop on lawyers, journalists and government critics, as the New York Times reported last year. — Derek Hawkins, Washington Post, "The Cybersecurity 202: Spyware theft case offers a cautionary tale for encryption debate," 6 July 2018 The increase is being driven by the proliferation both of low-cost smartphones and of companies selling spyware and hacking tools to access them, said Claudio Guarnieri, a security researcher with the human-rights group Amnesty International. — Robert Mcmillan, WSJ, "Mobile-Phone Malware Is Rising. Blame Spies.," 7 June 2018 Installing powerful spyware is just a few clicks away. — Nicki Dell, Karen Levy, Damon Mccoy, Vox, "How domestic abusers use smartphones to spy on their partners," 21 May 2018 Peña Nieto, who ran as a reformer, was involved in a scandal in which his wife obtained a luxurious house from a developer with connections to the government; later, his administration was accused of using spyware to eavesdrop on opponents. — Jon Lee Anderson, The New Yorker, "A New Revolution in Mexico," 25 June 2012 In fact, Talos found that one element of VPNFilter's code overlaps with BlackEnergy, an all-purpose piece of spyware that was used in the first stages of hacker intrusions that hit Ukraine in 2014. — Andy Greenberg, WIRED, "Stealthy, Destructive Malware Infects Half a Million Routers," 23 May 2018These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'spyware.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
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More Definitions for spyware
spyware
noun
English Language Learners Definition of spyware
: computer software that secretly records information about the way you use your computer
See the full definition for spyware in the English Language Learners Dictionary
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