Threat Explainers · 5 min read
What Is Spyware and How Do You Remove It?
Spyware is malware whose purpose is observation: capturing what you type, what you visit, what you store and who you are.
Published 2026-08-09 · Last updated 2026-08-09
The main varieties
Keyloggers record keystrokes. Infostealers sweep saved browser passwords, cookies and cryptocurrency wallets and exfiltrate them in one burst. Tracking adware profiles your browsing for advertising. Stalkerware is commercial monitoring software installed by someone with physical access — a category that is a safety issue as much as a security one.
Signs worth investigating
Unexplained network activity at idle, a browser homepage or search engine you did not set, unfamiliar extensions, battery and heat anomalies on laptops and phones, and account logins from unexpected locations.
Removal and aftermath
Run an offline scan followed by a full scan with the free Malwarebytes scanner, remove unknown browser extensions, and reset browser settings. Then treat every password stored on that device as compromised and change them from a different machine, enabling multi-factor authentication as you go.
Frequently asked questions
- Does antivirus detect keyloggers?
- Mainstream antivirus detects the great majority of commodity keyloggers. Targeted or commercial monitoring tools are detected less consistently.
- Can spyware read my saved browser passwords?
- Yes. That is precisely what infostealers are built to do, which is why a password manager with a master password is safer than the browser's built-in store.