Which software download sites do you trust?

Discussion in 'other software & services' started by Overkill, Mar 20, 2016.

  1. Overkill

    Overkill Registered Member

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    Wilders members, please list your favorite places to download freeware or shareware that is safe.

    These are the only one's I trust and recommend to anyone...

    filehippo.com
    filehorse.com
    majorgeeks.com
    softpedia.com
    downloadcrew.com
     
  2. Buddel

    Buddel Registered Member

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    None. I never go to third-party websites to download software.
     
  3. ArchiveX

    ArchiveX Registered Member

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    Go to the developer's site, first. ;)
     
  4. wat0114

    wat0114 Registered Member

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    my first choice, otherwise:

    • Softpedia
    • SnapFiles
    • MajorGeeks
    • FileHippo
    And since I use Linux extensively, any of the mainstream repositories.
     
  5. TairikuOkami

    TairikuOkami Registered Member

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    Softpedia, mainly because of their 100% Clean award, I always check, if the new software it is listed on Softpedia.
    Not to mention, great categorization, like trial or free, shareware or adware and the www.softpedia.com/hubs
    Lastly, I use it as an update notifier via email, since KCSumo has become too bothersome. My watchlist. :cool:
     
  6. xxJackxx

    xxJackxx Registered Member

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    Same list, with the exception of filehorse.com. Never heard of it. In many years of using the other 4, I have NEVER downloaded a bad file from any of them. If folks don't trust 3rd party sites that is their right, but I will continue to use them without worry. Especially majorgeeks.com, which is a site I visit multiple times a day. I've always liked the option on filehippo.com to download previous versions, but they have gotten a little excessive with the ads.
     
  7. roger_m

    roger_m Registered Member

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    I prefer to use the publishers site rahter than 3rd party download sites, for the following reasons:
    I'm sure you I'm getting the most recent version of the software. Sometimes the listings on download sites are not up to date.

    More often than not when I download an installer, I use the download manger FlashGet to download it rather than my browser. This means I can use FlashGet later on to check for an updated version of the installer. I use FlashGet daily to check for updates for a lot of programs. Often I visit Softpedia to find about new software releases, and then visit the actual publishers websites to download them.

    I do however sometimes download from Softpedia abd MajorGeeks, and they only host the original installers. So, if there are any unwanted extras included with the installer, they have been put their by the publisher of the software themselves, as Softpedia and MG do not modify the installers.
     
  8. Overkill

    Overkill Registered Member

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    That's a given, but i've never downloaded an infected file from the one's in my personal list.
     
  9. chrisretusn

    chrisretusn Registered Member

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  10. Tyrizian

    Tyrizian Registered Member

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    As for the majority of my software, I rely on the original source (the developer's site), but if I have a justified reason to download from a third-party...here are my choices.

    DownloadCrew
    PortableApps
    SnapFiles
    Softpedia
     
  11. swami

    swami Registered Member

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    Developer.
    Nsane.
     
  12. ratchet

    ratchet Registered Member

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    Not sure about any of those sites except MajorGeeks, however, MGs includes the developer's site if that is what you prefer. The advantage of Geeks is it's lightening fast compared to some developer's sites!
     
  13. new2security

    new2security Registered Member

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    Dev site, Fosshub.
     
  14. HAN

    HAN Registered Member

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  15. wat0114

    wat0114 Registered Member

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  16. roger_m

    roger_m Registered Member

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    @HAN That is an old article, and download.com and SourceForge no longer provide their own modified installers, and just provide the original ones. I'm not sure about Tucows, since I don't use it.

    In the examples shown in the article at HTG, only the installers from Sourceforge and Tucows (and maybe download.com) are adding extras. The rest is all added by the software publisher. In the case of Softpedia and MajorGeeks, they clearly state if a download comes bundled with anything else.

    Probably 99% of the time, it is very easy to install free aplications without getting any unwanted extras, by paying attention during the install and unselecting any option to install extras. One exception which comes to mind, is free software from Auslogics, which will install Boost Speed unless you select the option to do a custom install. This certainly not suprising behaviour considering it is Auslogics.
     
  17. imdb

    imdb Registered Member

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    they should've never done that in the first place. both have fallen from grace.
     
  18. atunis5804

    atunis5804 Registered Member

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    [QUOGTEgoogl
    ="Overkill, post: 2574214, member: 125852"]Wilders members, please list your favorite places to download freeware or shareware that is safe.

    These are the only one's I trust and recommend to anyone...

    filehippo.com
    filehorse.com
    majorgeeks.com
    softpedia.com
    downloadcrew.com
    [/QUOTE]
     
  19. atunis5804

    atunis5804 Registered Member

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    good lists, to which i would add download.com - just watch the crapware
     
  20. Overkill

    Overkill Registered Member

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    I will never use download.com again.
     
  21. new2security

    new2security Registered Member

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    So Sourceforge is "safe" nowadays? Some binaries are not readily available at dev's site and they often link directly to SF.
     
  22. roger_m

    roger_m Registered Member

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    @new2security Yes it is.
    New SourceForge owners kill contentious DevShare bloatware program
     
  23. Brosephine

    Brosephine Registered Member

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    Great thead OP, I've been wondering the same question.
    Agreed. A software site I recently visited suggested you download their content from a Sourceforge link rather than their own, strange?
     
  24. roger_m

    roger_m Registered Member

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    That's to reduce network traffic on their own servers.
     
  25. Brosephine

    Brosephine Registered Member

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    Oh that makes sense. "Sigh of relief"
     
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