It's possible, but would you really be surprised if you installed it and later discovered it contained spyware/malware?

I would be surprised if I got something from a well-known, reputable company that turned out to be malware. Something from an Internet rando? Not so much.

It's not 'no reason' :-)

They are being scrutinised for a reason.

And that reason is the in the very nature of the software. What it does, and what it wants access to on the system and so on.

Basically, yes. I think we've all come to expect freeware to also be free (libre) software. I certainly am in favor of free software as well, but I think that we assume at this point that if you aren't making money from it and you aren't releasing the code, you have something to hide. However, the interesting thing is that back in the day, shareware was often closed source unless you paid to register it, in which case you got access to the code (depending on the publisher, obviously).

For increased safety, I've settled on using software that is open source, has a paid version, or is from one of the usual suspects.

Until it becomes popular, it is sold to Avast, and becomes spyware.

Such is the circle of life for system utilities in Windows land.