: 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
Kenneth Baldauf and Ralph StairSmartphones 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
Dan GoodinExamples of spyware in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Phishing emails, malware-laden attachments and fraudulent schemes now lurk within spam messages, tricking unsuspecting users into clicking malicious links, revealing sensitive information or even infecting their devices with ransomware and spyware.
—Kurt Knutsson, Cyberguy Report, Fox News, 23 Feb. 2025
The spokesperson said that the company’s security team and Citizen Lab, a cybersecurity research lab based out of the Munk School of Global Affairs at the University of Toronto, helped track the spyware campaign.
—Bruna Horvath, NBC News, 31 Jan. 2025
But Trump has close relationships with the countries fueling the spyware industry, including major customers Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates and major exporter Israel.
—Eric Geller, WIRED, 16 Jan. 2025
This is the niche user group targeted by highly sophisticated spyware attacks, users that might receive one of Apple’s infamous alerts, U.S. campaign staffers allegedly compromised in the recent elections, others of that ilk.
—Zak Doffman, Forbes, 31 Dec. 2024
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Kurt Knutsson, Cyberguy Report, Fox News, 23 Feb. 2025
The spokesperson said that the company’s security team and Citizen Lab, a cybersecurity research lab based out of the Munk School of Global Affairs at the University of Toronto, helped track the spyware campaign.
—Bruna Horvath, NBC News, 31 Jan. 2025
But Trump has close relationships with the countries fueling the spyware industry, including major customers Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates and major exporter Israel.
—Eric Geller, WIRED, 16 Jan. 2025
This is the niche user group targeted by highly sophisticated spyware attacks, users that might receive one of Apple’s infamous alerts, U.S. campaign staffers allegedly compromised in the recent elections, others of that ilk.
—Zak Doffman, Forbes, 31 Dec. 2024
See All Example Sentences for spyware
Cite this Entry
“Spyware.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/spyware. Accessed 9 Mar. 2025.
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