No, it's clearly spyware. They are enumerating lists of software loaded on client computers without explicit permission other than what's granted broadly in their ToS/EULA, and without speaking of the feature.
The component got removed right after their use of it -- indicating either sneakiness or internal qualms about the use of such methods -- and if one believes the guilty , it affected legitimate users, too.
>Some go much further like inspecting the Windows DNS cache...
Why is looking at DNS caches 'going further' than enumerating all software into hashes for remote analysis? DNS might have more embarrassing shit to expose on a personal level, but generally a glimpse into installed software is much more exclusive/rare/uncommon . DNS gets' discussed between your machine and a million others down the line; it hasn't been considered very private for some time now.
Does its ubiquity invalidate the term? It is software that spies on me, and its presence is, at best, less-than-explicitly communicated. That seems like spyware to me.
Cloud based antivirus services are even worse in this regard.