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Spyware is software that seeks to gather information about a person or organization without their knowledge, who can send that information to another entity without the consent of the consumer, or who claims control over a device without the knowledge of the consumer.

"Spyware" is categorized mainly into four types: adware, system monitors, cookies crawling and trojans, examples of other notorious types include digital rights management capabilities that call home, keyloggers, rootkits and web beacons.

Spyware is primarily used for the purpose of tracking and storing the movements of Internet users on the Web and serving pop-up ads to Internet users. Whenever spyware is used for malicious purposes, its presence is usually hidden from the user and can be difficult to detect. Some spyware, such as keyloggers, can be intentionally installed by the owner of a shared, corporate, or public computer to monitor users.

While the term spyware suggests software that monitors a user's computing, spyware functions can be extended beyond simple monitoring. Spyware can collect almost any type of data, including personal information such as Internet surfing habits, user logins, and bank or credit account information. Spyware can also interfere with a user's control of a computer by installing additional software or redirecting web browsers. Some spyware programs may change your computer's configuration, which can lead to slow Internet connection speeds, unauthorized changes to your browser settings, or changes to your software settings.

Sometimes, spyware is included along with the original software, and may come from a malicious website or may have been added to the intended original software functionality (see paragraph on Facebook, below). In response to the emergence of spyware, a small industry has emerged dealing with anti-spyware software. Running anti-spyware software has become a widely recognized element of computer security practices, especially for computers running Microsoft Windows. Several jurisdictions have passed anti-spyware laws, which are usually directed at any software that is surreptitiously installed to control a user's computer.

In German-speaking countries, spyware used or made by the government is called govware by computer experts (in the common parlance: Regierungstrojaner, literally "Trojan Government"). Govware is typically a Trojan horse software used to intercept communications from the target computer. Some countries, such as Switzerland and Germany, have a legal framework governing the use of such software. In the US, the term "police" has been used for similar purposes.

The use of the term "spyware" has declined as the practice of tracking users has been pushed ever more into the mainstream by major websites and data mining companies; They generally do not violate known laws and force users to be tracked, not for fraudulent practices per se, but for the default settings created for users and the language of the terms of service agreements. In a documented example, CBS / CNet News reported on March 7, 2011, about a Wall Street Journal analysis that revealed the practice of Facebook and other websites to track users' browsing activity, tied to their identity, far beyond user visits and activity within the Facebook site itself. The report says, "This is how it works, you go to Facebook, you go in, you spend some time there and then ... you move without leaving the account, let's say the next place you go to is the New York Times.These buttons, without you clicking on them, you just report back to Facebook and Twitter that you were there and also your identity within those accounts. Let's go to something like a site about depression. This also has a tweet button , A Google widget, and those, too, can report who you are and who went there. " The WSJ analysis was investigated by Brian Kennish, founder of Disconnect, Inc.