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Strictly defined, spyware consists of computer software that gathers and reports information about a computer user without the user's
knowledge or consent. More broadly, the term spyware can
refer to a wide range of related malware products which fall outside the strict
definition of spyware. These products perform many different functions, including the delivery of unrequested advertising
(pop-up ads in particular), harvesting private information, re-routing page
requests to illegally claim commercial site referal fees, and installing stealth phone dialers.
Spyware as a category overlaps with adware. The more unethical forms of adware tend
to coalesce with spyware. Malware uses spyware for explicitly illegal purposes. Data
collecting programs installed with the user's knowledge do not, properly speaking, constitute spyware, provided the user
fully understands what data they collect and with whom they share it. Exceptionally, some browser toolbars may count as
spyware.
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