The Internet has a great tradition of free software. Over the years, there have been many wonderful free programs offered. However, the authors of such programs often find themselves making a living doing them. Therefore, they

need an income.Big advertising services companies offer them a deal. Include our program with your download, and we'll pay you. Usually, the presence of the spyware/adware is included in the user agreement for the freeware. Unfortunately, few people read those agreements. Besides, sometimes it's not clear. And sometimes, it just isn't there. "A majority of the time, it gets on the system without the knowledge

of the user," says Bryson Gordon, a senior manager at McAfee Security.These piggybackers fall into two categories. Some arrive with advertising, which they feed to you. They may be pop-ups, or they may be ads that appear on Web pages.The more nefarious programs track your surfing. For instance, if you visit kayaking sites, they will note that. Then they feed that information to a computer on the Internet. First thing you know, your Web pages have kayaking ads on them. Or you start getting pop-ups offering kayaking equipment.