K. Q. Dreger:

We forget that using free online services almost guarantees our information is being sold to help pay the bills. Email, social networks, news sites. They all sell the same thing, often to advertisers: us. We need to be more conscientious about what companies we let use our data.

Keep this in mind whenever you sign up for a free online service. And always consider alternatives that charge for their services, but treat you and your data with a little more respect.