In addition to adware, there are several types of spyware circulating on the internet.

Dialers are programs that infect the computer’s dial-up settings and make calls on the computer’s modem without authorization. These unauthorized calls can result in very large and unwanted telephone bills.

Remote Administration Tools establish remote, third-party control over one’s computer, and all the information and processes on that computer.

Password Crackers were originally designed to allow the owner of the computer to access passwords which had become either lost or forgotten. However, in the hands of a hacker, it provides the opportunity to gain access to confidential passwords, leaving all manner of private data at risk.

Key Loggers are software that records keystrokes entered on the computer for the purpose of stealing information, such as user IDs and passwords. Many times, the records are maintained in a secret file on the computer’s hard drive, to be accessed at a later date by a hacker.

Jokes are not malicious in nature; rather, they are merely a nuisance and designed to elicit either irritation or alarm in the user.