There are different kinds of trojans.. and they may be
employed to do different kinds of jobs.. they all are
obtained through the back door method (as the greek
trojan horse similarly did) via a picture or downloaded file.. advertisement, etc. some of them check for passwords..
others may search your mail, leech your
internet connection, and ultimately either crash or reboot
your pc on a consistent basis.. most trojans communicate
with a remote location, and broadband connections are
easiest to infiltrate as their communication with the
internet is constantly on.