The answer to this question depends upon the how zealously one wants their privacy protected. All spyware programs invade the privacy of the user, so if one seeks total and complete privacy, then the answer is, yes. But a more nuanced answer is that it depends upon the nature of the spyware and the intent of the person(s) responsible for its creation. Simply recording one’s online habits and using it to target that individual with advertisements for specific products and services is not malicious and, except for the lowered operational performance of the infected computer, relatively harmless. If private information, such as passwords and user IDs are being monitored and captured, there is little question that spyware program is truly malware intended to harm the computer user.

What is More Dangerous: Spyware or Viruses?

Though viruses get the lion’s share of attention, thanks in large part to the destructive nature of the threat, a strong case can be made for spyware’s ascendency as Public Enemy #1 among internet users.

Viruses are malicious, data-deleting smart bombs, rogue programs which seek and destroy, either out of some twisted understanding of “fun,” or as part of a larger campaign of information warfare between rival hackers, corporations, even nations. They can wipe out one’s hard drive in minutes, erasing years of accumulated data in one fell swoop. The effect is similar to that of a carpet-bombing campaign: shock and awe. But, at the end of the day, all that’s really been lost is data, which can be reworked, found again, or otherwise replaced.

Spyware, on the other hand, is the more insidious problem. It does not destroy information – it steals it. And that which is stolen always poses a bigger threat than that which has been destroyed. Identity theft, the theft of corporate secrets, and other invasions of privacy can have devastating long-term consequences, especially as the use of the internet and related applications grows in ubiquity.