Prompt: Many people are now opting to provide technology companies with their personal data in exchange for access to software. Do the advantages of this outweigh the disadvantages?

There is no doubt that there are a lot of companies getting hacked recently. Many individuals nowadays are providing their private information to companies in order to get access to their softwares. Although we should not give personal data away to any random website on the internet, but the benefits of getting access to free softwares are much more. Ċ On the one hand, there is a plethora of websites on the internet that are scamming people in order to gain access to their bank account by getting their personal information. This is because people tend to have the same data as passwords for their bank accounts. For instance, some websites have a password algorithm that asks you for your private details and guess the password. As a result, giving away any info puts you at risk. In addition, even if you are not getting scammed, many websites collect all that data, and sells it to marketing agencies. This can be particularly disturbing for some as they keep on contacting you through emails and phone calls, without your consent. Hence, any individual should avoid providing any sensitive information on the internet. Ċ On the other hand, there are a lot of security software companies too, which use your data for research purposes and in return gives you their software. This is because, it is free marketing for them. This way you can use their software before purchasing it, and if you like it, you can buy it later. For example, tech firms always have a free trial that you can use by providing your email, and decide to buy it after it expires. Furthermore, if you want to purchase these softwares, they can cost you a lot of money. So, this is a reasonable method to get a free application. Ċ To conclude, it is our responsibility to be secure on the internet. There will always be websites, which are looking for an opportunity to scam you, however, we cannot deny the fact that most of them are safe and benefitting us in a lot of ways.