Not really, It's just that it's obvious at the free end of the market.
Proprietary software can do whatever it feels like on your computer and you would be hard pressed to know until it was too late.
A few large companies have been implicated in root-kits / backdoors / random horrible deliberate security practices. These are probably just as destructive as replacing your browser search bar or installing some fake AV software.
Free isn't the problem. Bundling crap-ware with otherwise audit-able open source software is the problem.
Proprietary software can do whatever it feels like on your computer and you would be hard pressed to know until it was too late.
A few large companies have been implicated in root-kits / backdoors / random horrible deliberate security practices. These are probably just as destructive as replacing your browser search bar or installing some fake AV software.
Free isn't the problem. Bundling crap-ware with otherwise audit-able open source software is the problem.