ADWARE & SPYWARE.
Adware and spyware sometimes referred to as malwear or scumwear gets into your PC when you download certain freeware utilities such as screensavers or music clips. Even some freeware removers and other software have been known to include worms and trojans.

VIRUSES - A VIRUS differs from adware and spyware - Viruses usually infect your PC when you open infected emails but you can accidentally download viruses from the 'net. A virus remover can NOT remove most adware and spyware

English Village Befuddled by SPYWARE scam

In a rural hamlet in England residents were disgusted when they discovered high phone bills. When a elderly village resident complained at an unrelated town hall meeting about the price of telephone bills, all the residents, one-by-one began to agree - saying that they had also suffered bills in excess of £400. It later transpired that a Spyware trojan dialer worm had infected their PC's when they had visited an amateur local website on gardening that had been hacked an infected with spyware. The story had a happy end when the telephone company took exception and gave them a full refund. This abridged version 1st appeared in the Daily Mail (uk).