Undertanding Spyware

What is Spyware?

Spyware is a colloquialism developed within the realm of Cyber Law that has been accepted in traditional, legal jargon. The notion of Spyware is classified as any illegal computer program that is transmitted and subsequently implanted within the personal computer terminal(s) or networking system(s) belonging to an individual or group.

Upon the presence of Spyware within a computational system, the owner of that specific Spyware program will be granted the unlawful access onto the digital system(s) ranging from digital communication to virtual data belonging to a private citizen or entity. As a result of this unlawful collection of data, the perpetrator of such Spyware will be privy to personal and private information to which they are unauthorized. This type of information can range from personal communication to financial information.

The Etymology of Spyware

Spyware is comprised of two words that have been joined into a single word. ‘Spy’ constitutes the clandestine nature and assumed unlawfulness engaged by an individual who is gathering information unbeknownst the individual or group who are being observed. ‘Ware’ is a colloquialism that entails the presence of software.

Trojan Spyware

The Trojan Horse was a ploy utilized to deliver the Greeks into Troy through a deceptive ruse masking a hollow horse containing Greek soldiers as a gesture of surrender on the part of the Greeks to the Trojan government. This tale was told in Homer’s Iliad. Spyware that is classified as a ‘Trojan horse’ makes its way into the computer terminal belonging to the victim without any prior knowledge on the part of the victim in question.

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