Spyware

Spyware records any type of activity performed on a system, from what a user types to what files are printed. Spyware records emails, Internet usage, captures passwords, and takes screenshots. Spyware then logs the activities for later use that can be transferred to the attackers system via FTP. Some spyware can erase the log files after the transfer to clean up after itself for prevention of detection. Spyware is sometimes used for marketing purposes. However, in some cases, the data harvesting may be more dangerous in nature like when capturing log in credentials and posing as an impostor to perform financial transactions.