Trading spyware for free games

Is Spyware bad? Is it okay that companies are able to trace your every step on the Internet? If you get a game for free, or any other freebie on the web, would you, in turn, allow that spyware is installed on your computer? Just like smaller companies have given up on spam prevention?

Many would say no. Many don't want to have spyware but have it installed when they press the famous download button, and wonder, why their computer is slowing down. Even corporations are exposed to spyware, although it might be the case that this is because executives just don't know any better.

Well, there are users who see this as a natural trade-off. The say, I get this free software, so yeah, the company has a right to install this little annoying program on my computer. And they don't even care, if all their activity is routed through a different server, that than allows the company to even get passwords, understand all the transactions that have been done by the user and so on. Their comment? "I doubt they have the time to sit there and read all our messages. Besides, my life is pretty boring anyway, it's not like there's anything interesting or criminal in my e-mail."

I wonder if people have really given up. As a consultant said: "I think some internet users are exhausted by security threats and privacy leaks and are beginning to decide to believe that spyware is necessary for the greater good. If your personal information isn't private anyway, if businesses and governments are trading it at will, then why not give a little more away and get some free software too?"

(By Asia Business Consulting)