An employee's workstation is exhibiting abnormal behavior, including slow system performance and excessive network traffic. A thorough analysis reveals software that is covertly monitoring user activities and transmitting data to an external entity. Which of the following BEST describes the software's classification?
The software described is classified as spyware because it monitors user activities and sends the information to an external source without the user's consent. This type of malware often leads to the symptoms mentioned, such as degraded system performance and unusual network traffic. Antivirus software typically protects against malware in general, which is not as specific as the correct answer. Adware is meant to serve ads to the user instead of monitoring behavior, while a Trojan is a type of malware that is disguised as legitimate software but performs malicious activities and does not specifically refer to the surveillance component that is central to spyware.
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What exactly does spyware do?
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How does spyware differ from other types of malware?