What is spyware? How did I get it and how do I get rid of it?

A balloon at the bottom of my computer screen keeps popping up that says windows has detected spyware infection. Do i just ignore this? or what do i do to get rid of it?

spywares are programs that infect your computer and get important information like keylogs, browsing history and such and try to send it back to who the spyware program originated from.
They are different from viruses beacuse spywares dont harm files on your computer but gather info only without your consent.
I suggest you download an anti-spyware program, try to search Search and Destroy from google, its free download

Fake Spyware Infection #3

BEWARE SPYWARE – INFECTIONS ON RISE.(Higher Education)(The latest plague on PCs comes as sneaky files that work behind the digital scenes to hijack computers): … from: The Register-Guard (Eugene, OR) $5.95 This digital document is an article from The Register-Guard (Eugene, OR), published by The Register Guard on November 29, 2004. The length of the article is 1767 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.Citation D…

Virus control: dodging spyware infections: just when you think it’s safe to surf in the digital waters again, a new threat emerges.(technology): An article from: Franchising World $9.95 This digital document is an article from Franchising World, published by Thomson Gale on July 1, 2005. The length of the article is 1161 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.Citation DetailsTitle: Virus contro…