Spyware and other Potentially Unwanted Technologies encompass a wide variety of behaviors that can concern users. To help understand the impact, we can describe software as affecting one or more of the following areas:
Privacy – Compromising the user’s information or data, such as
* Exposure to fraud or identity theft * Loss of personal information * Unauthorized tracking
Security – Impacting the system integrity of the computer, such as
* Attacking the computer, or using it as part of an attack * Exposing the computer to risk by lowering security settings * Using computer resources in an unauthorized manner * Hiding programs from the user
User Experience – Impacting the user’s functionality of the computer, such as
* Delivering unexpected advertisements * Changing settings * Creating system instability or slowing performance