Adware, Spyware and Snoopware

FREE! Is there any sweeter word? Its promise of something for nothing, and its
underlying connotation of liberation, put a spring in the step and make
the world seem a
better place.

But lately, free isn’t what it used to be, especially on the Internet, whose
very history and technology are based on the notion that information and pretty
much everything else online want to be free. Web giveaways increasingly come
at a steep price, in the form of computer glitches, frustration and loss of privacy
and security – not to mention the threat of expensive lawsuits for large-scale
music downloaders.

from
the New York Times