ITPEC IP April 2022 Question 36

A program installed without the user knowing that collects personal information and access history — that is spyware.

Spyware gets onto a PC hidden inside free software or through a malicious site, runs unnoticed, and records what the user does: personal information, browsing and access history, sometimes keystrokes. It then sends that information to an outside party for advertising or for fraud. Its mark is covert collection of information.

Answer (d)

Why not others:

• •(a) — describes one-click fraud: a site demands payment for a "contract" just because a page was viewed or an image clicked
• •(b) — describes a rootkit, a package of tools (log deletion, back door) hidden on a PC so the attacker can use them after intrusion
• •(c) — describes a bot: malware that lets an attacker control many infected PCs over a network, for example for a simultaneous DDoS attack

Key rule: Name malware by what it does: spyware collects information, a rootkit hides the attacker's tools, a bot takes remote orders, ransomware demands payment.

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