This content was published by Andrew Tomazos and written by several hundred members of the former Internet Knowledge Base project.
Adware and Spyware
It has become very easy to install a new program on your computer from a vendor over the Internet.
Unfortunately it has also become easier for a vendor to install a program on your computer without the owner's permission.
Originally this was the virus or worm problem, but now, rather than just doing damage for fun, these types of programs have commercial forces behind them.
Unwanted advertising, collecting your private information and selling your spare processor power and storage space are all new applications of these programs.
Adware displays advertising.
Spyware collects your personal information and sends it without your permission to the vendor.
Malware is the general term for everything under this banner.
As Microsoft Windows is the most popular desktop operating system and because many believe Microsoft put the good of their shareholders above the good of their users and the community at large, Windows is almost exclusively the target of these applications.
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