We installed the top 10 apps from Download.com, and you’ll never believe what happened! Well… I guess maybe you might have a good guess. Awful things. Awful things are what happens. Join us for the fun!
RELATED:The Freeware Download Sites That Don’t Force Crapware On You
Update: Since the original publication of this article in 2015, Download.com has finally started to clean up its act. You can read more about their new, more friendly practices here.
We’ve been railing against freeware download recommendations for years, and recently we taught you how to test any software safely using a virtual machine. So we thought, why not have some fun and see what really happens if you download software like a regular clueless user might?
For the purpose of this experiment, we’re going to just click through all regular installation screens with the default options using a fresh virtual machine. And we’re going to install ten applications from the most popular downloads list. And we’re going to assume the persona of a regular non-geek user.
Why would we choose Download.com? Because their policies page states clearly that they do not allow malicious software on the site, and further that they do NOT accept any software that contains the following:
Software that installs viruses, Trojan horses, malicious adware, spyware, or other malicious software at any point during or after installation.
Software that installs without notice and without the user’s consent.
Software that includes or uses surreptitious data collection.
Software that diverts or modifies end users’ default browsers, search-engine home pages, providers, security, or privacy-protection settings without the users’ permission.
Software that installs in a concealed manner or denies users an opportunity to read the license agreement and/or to knowingly consent to the installation.
Software that induces installation by making false or misleading claims about the software or the software publisher.
I mean, with all those protections in place from the trusty people over there at CNET, why would anybody worry? I mean, CNET News is a trusted source, right? Right.
Danger! Do NOT Try This at Home!
RELATED:Stop Testing Software on Your PC: Use Virtual Machine Snapshots Instead
Seriously, we don’t recommend doing this at home on your primary PC, unless you want to make your computer a smoking pile of useless. If you do want to try it, make sure to use a virtual machine.
Time to begin. But where to begin?
The first thing we did was head straight to the Windows downloads page and take a look at their Most Popular Downloads. The list seems puzzling, almost like it’s not really the real list. Why would almost everybody download… YAC? Have you used YAC? It’s… a bunch of YAK. This list is suspect and never seems to change. That’s suspect. Oh well, onward.
The plan is to download and install the top 10 apps, but as you can see in the list, the top two apps are both antivirus, and since we aren’t crazy people, we’re not going to install more than one active antivirus at a time. And despite a lapse in judgement by Avast in the past, we still prefer Avast over AVG (the Avast people were up-front and honest in response to our article and their product is just better in our testing). So we’re going to install that one and skip AVG. Surely that will be free from any bundled crapware, right?
Well… it’s not crapware. Dropbox is awesome. But yeah, the bundling starts here. Free software vendors make so much more money by bundling other software than they do by selling subscriptions that it’s pretty much the only business plan that anybody can consider using. At least Avast is bundling something good, so we can’t really argue with it.
Now that we have Avast running, it’s time to head down the list and install KMPlayer… wait, what’s that “Installer Enabled” all about? Oh well, it’s in light gray text so I guess it’s not important.
They sure do have a lot of terms and conditions pages in this installer. It’s a good thing that people have been trained to always read the terms and conditions, because otherwise you might agree to something insane like allowing yourself to become a HumancentiPad, or even worse, like installing Spigot’s browser hijacking extensions.
Hmm, the next terms and conditions page says something about a PC Cleaner. Well maybe that can help clean up the nonsense that we just accidentally installed in the last step, right? Two wrongs might make a right after all.
That’s weird, we finished all those other screens and now we have another installer. It’s almost like that first installer was completely useless and somebody should be punished. I guess we should just click to Agree and install this one, because that Skip button looks like it’s disabled anyway. There’s no way you could click on it, right? And it’s not like clicking a single button is going to infect us with the awful Trovi browser-hijacking adware.
Once we clicked through, we ended up with an error page for some reason as it all hung up. We’re not sure what WajamPage.exe is, but after a quick Google, it becomes clear that it’s yet another browser hijacker and we’re lucky it didn’t install. That’s right, we’ve installed one non-antivirus app from CNET Downloads so far, and we’ve been presented with three browser hijackers and one fake registry cleaner. They are nothing if not efficient.
After clicking through the installer and finishing, PRO PC CLEANER from the previous step installed itself… started running a scan… and then TALKED OUT LOUD TO US. It literally yells to you through your speakers and tells you that your PC is completely full of errors and needs to be repaired. And it does this all the time, randomly. I guess nobody told them that this was a brand-new installation of Windows.
Next up was YAC. The installer was simple, and seconds later… we had some little window on the screen that was tracking something, and a new source of NON-STOP useless notifications. Every little thing that every app does appears to be monitored… and allowed. YAC is soooo helpful. /sarcasm.
Next on the list was the trusty CCleaner, which is a perfectly decent application that we’ve recommended before. Installed, done, great.
After that we tried to install the next item, which is the YTD downloader app, but Avast completely blocked the download of the application. That turned out to be a pretty good thing as we’ll see later, but we wish Avast would have blocked all that other browser hijacking nonsense too. Oh well, can’t win them all. At least Avast is doing something.
Next we tried to install Free YouTube Downloader, only to find out that one was being blocked by Avast as well. Now why would these apps be on the most popular recommendation list along with another app that is blocking these apps? If these are viruses and spyware, why are they being distributed? Something seems wrong here.
And don’t the Download.com terms and conditions state that malware is not allowed? Hmmm, maybe they didn’t actually read them and just clicked Accept. It’s what we would do.
The next one on the list is Driver Booster which we installed despite that How-To Geek site telling us that driver updaters are actually worse than useless. Those idiots! It’s not like they’ve done tons and tons of research or anything. But don’t tell us that, we’re installing it anyway! I wonder what those checkboxes are telling us. No time for that, CLICKITY CLICK CLICK CLICK!
That’s weird, all of a sudden this Advanced Systemcare thing showed up. How did that get there? There must be hackers inside my PC.
Next up on the download list was IObit Uninstaller, because clearly we’re going to need to uninstall some software after this is over, and it’s not like they would actually install other software… wait… what’s that tiny little checkbox down there?
Oh no! All of a sudden, YAC is YACKing messages at us saying that something is tampering with our settings! If only that message would stay there for more than 10 seconds. Or maybe if we could view some more information. Or see a log somewhere about what’s actually happening. Or have the slightest clue that it’s doing something useful and not just throwing up scary messages CONSTANTLY.
After installing Virtual DJ with no ill side effects for some reason, we decided that we’d finish off the list with Download App which we’re not entirely sure… but appears to be made by Download.com. It’s all a little confusing, and we don’t remember where we left our car, but we’re going to end our experiment here, we think. It’s a good thing they’ve got all those lawyers to write terms and conditions about how we can use the software. Surely all that legal language will protect us or somebody.
Golly gee willikers batman! YAC just let us know that something called SP.exe is trying to reset our home page to something else! It’s a good thing that YAC is going to keep it set to…. the YAC home page? When did we agree to that?
Search Protect and YAC and Spigot continued to fight it out for a while at this point… literally every few seconds one or the other would change the home page and then YAC would try to set it back. It’s like battle of the crapware up in here. Taking all bets!
At this point we had so many open windows on our desktop, it was time to reboot. That fixes everything.
After rebooting, Avast blocked Conduit as a threat. That’s pretty awesome, but we’re wondering why this didn’t happen before it actually got installed onto the computer, or at least during. Or you know, before we rebooted.
Sadly, even though Trovi / Conduit was blocked as a virus… the homepage for IE still ended up being set to it. Luckily it’s easy to change the IE homepage, right?
Just for shiggles, we decided to go back and install that YTD downloader app that Avast blocked. We turned off the shields for a few minutes, installed it… and all of a sudden we couldn’t use the browser anymore. Every time you open IE, this weird message shows up… and the browser appears to be trying to use some tunnel.
At it turns out, that download was blocked for a reason: it installs a proxy and tries to send all of your web browsing through it. That’s really bad.
We’ll have to honestly say that Avast did block the worst of the malware, but it did nothing for most of the spyware and browser hijackers. The problem is that this issue of bundled software is so pervasive that there’s nothing any antivirus vendor can do.
The End, For Now
Our story ends here, but hopefully we’ve all learned some important lessons from this quick journey through the world of crapware. Freeware software vendors make almost all of their money by bundling complete nonsense and scareware that tricks users into paying to clean up their PC, despite the fact that you could prevent the need to clean up your PC by just not installing the crappy freeware to begin with.
And no matter how technical you might be, most of the installers are so confusing that there’s no way a non-geek could figure out how to avoid the awful. So if you recommend a piece of software to somebody, you are basically asking them to infect their computer.
And it doesn’t matter which antivirus you have installed — we’ve actually done this experiment a number of times with different antivirus vendors, and most of them completely ignored all of the bundled crapware. Avast did a pretty good job this time compared to some of the other vendors, but it didn’t block all of it for sure.
There are also no safe freeware download sites… because as you can clearly see in the screenshots in this article, it isn’t just CNET Downloads that is doing the bundling… it’s EVERYBODY. The freeware authors are bundling crapware, and then lousy download sources are bundling even more on top of it. It’s a cavalcade of crapware.
Each time we ran through this experiment over the last few months, different software would end up being bundled in a rotation, but every single software that bundles itself ends up bundling the same culprits: browser hijackers that redirect your search engine, home page, and put extra ads everywhere.
Because when the product is free the real product is YOU.
Don’t recommend freeware downloads.
The top torrent sites currently include old favorites like The Pirate Bay, as well as very popular sites like RARBG, 1337X, Torlock, YTS.ag, TorrentDownloads, and LimeTorrents.
That said, we know that the best torrent site is always the one that has the high-quality torrent you're after, and with the most seeders, so a large and thorough list of torrent sites, like those in the list below the torrents that are the best of the best, is always a welcome resource to find.
We don't condone illegal sharing of copyrighted files. Please see our full disclaimer and warning for new torrent users at the bottom of the page.
Tips for New Torrent Users
If you're new to torrents, we have two resources that will help you get started in torrenting.
Also, be sure you're running fully updated anti-malware software before you visit any of these sites, and try one of the Best VPN Service Providers that can help keep your torrent activity, and other browsing, private and secure. Also, if you're new to torrents, don't forget that you'll need a torrent client to get these files.
All torrent sites below are working unless otherwise noted, at least as of the last update to this page. Let us know ([email protected]) if we need to adjust a listing.
The Top Torrent Sites
These seven sites made the top of the list. They're not the only torrent sites out there, but they are among the best.
This torrent site is a classic, and one of the most popular on the web. TPB has been around in one incarnation or another for a long time and the torrents here are, and have always been, trusted.
Icons on each download help users quickly see if a seeder is trusted or a VIP which helps to ensure safe downloads.
TPB occasionally moves around. If you're still experiencing issues reaching TPB, try these listings on the ProxyBay. It's possible you'll find another way into the site.
This torrent site is for movie enthusiasts. It's full of quality, high-resolution video torrents.
Top 10 lists help users find the most popular movies on the site, and a detail page for the download includes a variety of information from the size of the file and the date it was added to actor information, and the number of seeders and leechers for the download.
At RARBG, it’s about quality, not quantity.
If you're after older or more obscure torrents, 1337X might be for you. Their torrent database isn't nearly as large as some others, but it might have just what you're after. The front page is regularly updated with current and popular information about torrents, torrenting, and categories of interest.
The level of advertising you’ll encounter on this site is frustrating. Links often require two clicks..one to bring up an ad (in a separate window) and one to actually access the information you want. However, once you get passed the advertising, the search result pages contain lots of useful information.
This is the 'no fake torrent' site you've been waiting for. The site actually pays its users $1 per fake torrent they find, and claims to have more than 5 million verified torrents.
You’ll find current and popular files to download in movies, anime, software, games, and music, as well as other categories, and a Top 100 list lets you know what’s most popular with the most seeders and peers.
Focusing exclusively on movies, YTS.am (or YTS.ag) has an easy-to-use layout and a wide variety of titles both old and new. The torrents themselves are known to be easy on bandwidth, which will make those with data caps happy.
YTS.am is the unofficial successor to the now-defunct YTS/YIFY group, which closed its virtual doors in 2015. The current site has a massive user base, too, which helps the bittorrent protocol work more efficiently.
We love the super straightforward torrent detail page at TorrentDownloads. That would be reason enough to give this one a try but the big database and high quality of torrents make it a great choice.
Users can find current torrents in a variety of categories. The ability to rate files and leave comments on files helps to reduce the number of fake files found on the site. An Advanced Search option also allows users to narrow the field of possible returns by category, provider, and status.
You don't want to miss this site in your torrent search. Users report the size of their database is impressive and the frequency of legitimate torrents is enough to keep them coming back.
It’s easy to quickly determine whether a torrent is worth downloading. Internal lists show the date added, size, seeder and leechers, as well as a health meter for each file. The information page for each download also provides additional information about the file.
Other Torrent Search Sites
There are way more than just seven torrent sites out there, of course. We’ve compiled the following list, just in case you want to explore beyond the ones above.
The advertisements on many of these sites are often of the NSFW variety. You should use caution when accessing these sites from public computers or with children present.
Disclaimer & Torrent Legal Warning
Lifewire does not condone illegal sharing of copyrighted material. While P2P file sharing technology itself is completely legal, many of the files traded through P2P are indeed copyrighted. Uploading these copyrighted files puts you at risk of a civil lawsuit in the USA, Canada, Australia, and the UK, at a minimum.
Lawsuits can be targeted at individual users or groups of users. These P2P civil lawsuits are very real and, whether or not they are successful, they are often an extreme financial and emotional burden on the defendants.
Additionally, your Internet Service Provider may choose to release a history of your download and upload activity to potential copyright plaintiffs. In general, the more data you download and upload, the more risk you have of being sued by copyright protection groups.
Free software download sites can be dangerous. Visiting a bad site could end up with you smothered in fake download buttons and fake virus and malware warnings, which are usually malware in disguise.
A good internet security suite can protect you against malware-loaded downloads, but it’s better to avoid such free download sites altogether. Stick to tried-and-true sites that are committed to being free of malware and deception.
In addition to personal experience, we used these tools for check website reputations and build our list of the best software download sites:
In order for a website to qualify for this list, it had to score at least 90% with Web of Trust and 35/36 with URLVoid. No site can ever be 100% safe, but these download sites are generally clean and worthwhile.
1. Ninite
WOT Trustworthiness: 94%
URLVoid Rating: 36/36
For those who don’t know about Ninite, it’s quite simple: the website presents you with a list of programs that you can select, then lets you download a custom installer file that bundles all of the selected programs together so you can install them in bulkHow To Install & Uninstall Windows Programs In BulkHow To Install & Uninstall Windows Programs In BulkA mass installer or uninstaller can save you heaps of time. Remember the last time you set up a new computer? We are going to teach you how to do these tasks in a flash.Read More.
Ninite is known for its safety and security, so you don’t have to worry about malware or bundled bloatware and junkware. Run the same installer file at a later time and Ninite will automatically update every program.
This is a great tool to download the best Windows softwareThe Best PC Software for Your Windows ComputerThe Best PC Software for Your Windows ComputerWant the best PC software for your Windows computer? Our massive list collects the best and safest programs for all needs.Read More.
2. Softpedia
WOT Trustworthiness: 93%
URLVoid Rating: 36/36
Softpedia is arguably the largest file host on the web, complete with over 850,000 files in its database. Hundreds of them are updated every single day, so not only can you get clean and malware-free programs7 Types of Computer Viruses to Watch Out For and What They Do7 Types of Computer Viruses to Watch Out For and What They DoMany types of computer viruses can steal or destroy your data. Here are some of the most common viruses and what they do.Read More, but you can be sure that they are as recent as possible.
On top of that, it has a fantastic reputation and an easy-to-use interface that makes it painless to browse for programs and drivers of all types—whether on Windows, Mac, Linux, Android, iOS, or Windows Mobile.
3. MajorGeeks
WOT Trustworthiness: 93%
URLVoid Rating: 36/36
Even though the site looks like it’s straight out of the 90s, MajorGeeks has been one of the most reputable software download sites for over 15 years. When a site has a couple thousand users online at any given time, you know it’s providing a great service.
Its list of Top Freeware Picks is a great place to start, but don’t be afraid to browse the left sidebar and look through all kinds of highly-rated programs that you might find handy.
4. FileHippo
WOT Trustworthiness: 93%
URLVoid Rating: 36/36
FileHippo is a well-known site with over 20,000 active programs broken down into 16 helpful categories across Windows, Mac, and Web. But whatever you do, if the site offers you a download manager or anything like that, skip it and go for the direct download instead.
One thing to note is that FileHippo offers an Update Checker program, which scans your system and compares all current programs to see if any of them need to be updated. It’s the easiest way to make sure all of your software is consistently up-to-date.
5. DonationCoder
WOT Trustworthiness: 92%
URLVoid Rating: 36/36
We recently highlighted Donation Coder when we included Automatic Screenshotter in our coverage of free screen recorders for Windows3 Free Screen Recorders to Capture Your Windows Desktop3 Free Screen Recorders to Capture Your Windows DesktopYou can use a screen recorder to create tutorials, document bugs for troubleshooting, or track unsolicited activity on your desktop in your absence. Choose from one of our recommended tools.Read More. As you might glean from its name, Donation Coder prides itself on providing free and clean software in exchange for nothing but donations.
The downside to this site is that you’ll only find utilities created by Donation Coder, so the repository is small and niche. Then again, a lot of the programs are quite useful and interesting, so maybe you’ll find something that catches your eye.
6. Download Crew
WOT Trustworthiness: 91%
URLVoid Rating: 36/36
Despite its cluttered and headache-inducing website, Download Crew is worth using because each listed program has a short but informative review that explains what it does, why it’s good, and what flaws it has.
Want to find some cool new programs? Start with the “Most Popular Downloads” section and the “Editor’s Choice” section (which you can access at the bottom of the home page). Programs are available for Windows, Mac, Linux, Android, and iOS.
7. FileHorse
WOT Trustworthiness: 91%
URLVoid Rating: 36/36
FileHorse doesn’t have a massive repository of software. Instead, this site focuses on only stocking the best and most useful programs and making sure all of them are clean and free of malware and viruses. It’s great for finding popular alternatives to popular programs.
8. FilePuma
WOT Trustworthiness: 90%
URLVoid Rating: 36/36
FilePuma and the aforementioned FileHippo share a lot of similarities—and I’m not just talking about their names. Where FilePuma excels is in its categorization, which is much easier to browse than FileHippo.
FilePuma also has its own Update Detector program to keep your software up to date. Very handy if FileHippo’s tool doesn’t work well for you or if you don’t like it for some other reason.
9. SnapFiles
WOT Trustworthiness: 90%
URLVoid Rating: 36/36
There’s little to differentiate SnapFiles from other free software download sites, but if there’s one thing I like about this one, it’s the “Daily Freeware Pick” that’s highlighted on the home page. If you check in every day, you can occasionally find some really useful tools and utilities.
Where Do You Download Free Software?
Don’t just rely on this list! At the end of the day, staying safe on the Web involves practicing good security habits. In particular, you should heed these common-sense tips for avoiding malware.
And if you ever slip and find that your computer has been compromised, follow our guide to cleaning up malware and viruses from your system10 Steps To Take When You Discover Malware On Your Computer10 Steps To Take When You Discover Malware On Your ComputerWe would like to think that the Internet is a safe place to spend our time (cough), but we all know there are risks around every corner. Email, social media, malicious websites that have worked..Read More.
Explore more about: Download Management, Freebies, Software Piracy, Software Updater.
You'll need a free torrent client if you want to download files over the BitTorrent network. Once you've located a torrent file from a torrent website, you'll need some way to download it — and that's where a torrent client becomes necessary.
There are several different kinds of free torrent clients. Some torrent clients have more features than others and some even run from a website, meaning you don't need to install any software at all.
Below is an updated list of the best free torrent programs and web services available online. Use any of these clients with your torrent files to download content over the BitTorrent network.
While these programs are free and legal to use, it doesn't mean the actual content you're downloading via the torrent is legally available in this way. You should be familiar with the copyright laws in your country before using a torrent client to download movies, music, software programs, etc.
If you're not sure about the legality of downloading movies or music via torrents, please know that there are plenty of places where you can download movies for free, legally. There are also legal methods to getting free music, like with free music streaming services, free online radio stations, and websites that offer free music downloads.
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uTorrentWhat We Like
What We Don't Like
uTorrent is one of the more popular free torrent clients. The installer size is tiny and only a fraction of system resources are used when the program is running.
You can subscribe to RSS feeds in uTorrent to automatically download new torrent items that are pushed through the feed.
uTorrent Remote is a feature that comes built-in that allows remote monitoring and administration of your uTorrent client. You can add, pause, and delete torrents from any browser or Android device.
This free torrent client can be installed on Windows, Mac, and Linux systems, as well as Android devices.
Android
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Best Software Download Sites WindowsFileStream.meWhat We Like
What We Don't Like
FileStream.me is another online torrent client that works by entering torrent links or uploading torrent files into your account and then having FileStream.me upload the files for you so you can then download them through your browser.
The free version of FileStream.me is ad supported, limits torrents to 200 MB for each file, gives you three days to download your torrents, can hold up to 200 GB of data, can fetch two torrents at once, and might restrain your download speed if you're downloading lots of files.
However, it does hide your IP address, let you resume downloads, allows streaming video and audio files, offers an Android client, and doesn't limit your monthly access.
Since FileStream.me runs from a browser, you can use it to download torrents on any OS that supports a modern web browser.
The Xbox 360 Wireless Gaming Receiver lets you use wireless Xbox 360 peripherals with your Windows PC, but it won't be a must-have PC gaming peripheral until more compatible games are available. Oct 06, 2016 Old title: PC Wireless Gaming Receiver for XBOX 360 controllers. I have bought the hardware recently, unfornately the software will not install(presumably got a. Features: - Will work with future Xbox 360 Wireless Accessories. - Provides up to a 30-foot range for complete wireless freedom. - Use up to four Wireless Controllers and four Wireless Headsets simultaneously with one Wireless Gaming Receiver. The Xbox 360 Wireless Gaming Receiver for Windows lets you connect up to four wireless headsets and four wireless controllers to a PC running Microsoft Windows XP with Service Pack (SP2) or a later version of Windows. Device downloads. For software and drivers, select your product from the list below. Xbox 360 Wireless Controller for Windows. Manuals Product Guide. Product Guide. Product Guide. Product Guide. Product Guide. Product Guide. Software & Drivers Select driver language. Windows 7 (32-bit only).
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ZBIGZWhat We Like
What We Don't Like
ZBIGZ is similar to Filestream in that it downloads and seeds torrents for you and then lets you download the files as regular HTTP data. Because it works this way, it may be preferred if your ISP is restricting your access to torrent downloads.
Among other limitations, ZBIGZ allows your torrents to be no larger than 1 GB. Plus, your download speeds are topped off at a mere 150 KB/s.
The ZBIGZ online torrent client works for any operating system that can load the webpage, including Windows, macOS, and Linux.
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BitLordWhat We Like
What We Don't Like
You can password protect the BitLord program, stream video/audio before the download is complete, and search for torrents inside the program without leaving the client.
You can also add RSS feeds to BitLord to help keep track of new torrent releases.
BitLord is a free torrent downloader for Windows and macOS.
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VuzeWhat We Like
What We Don't Like
Another free torrent program is Vuze (formerly Azureus). There are tons of awesome features in this program, such as media playback support and a built-in browser for searching for torrents.
Vuze lets you control its functions from a browser or desktop client.
A folder that connects directly to iTunes is included in Vuze so that you can drag downloaded media into it to include them in your iTunes library.
Vuze can automatically hibernate your PC, shut it down, or run a program when downloading or seeding is finished.
The Vuze torrent client can be installed for Windows, Mac, and Linux.
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FrostWireWhat We Like
What We Don't Like
FrostWire can search for torrent files on several websites at once, with available filters to narrow down results by file size and seed count.
There are also tons of Internet radio stations included with FrostWire with the ability to add custom streams.
In addition to using it on Windows, macOS, or Ubuntu OS, a FrostWire app is available for other devices, too, like Android. If on the web, you can chat with other FrostWire users through their community chat room.
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DelugeWhat We Like
What We Don't Like
Deluge is a pretty simple, free torrent client. You can adjust the max upload slots and speeds, as well as download speeds and encryption.
There are plenty of plugins you can grab for expanding Deluge's settings. There are plugins for an email notifier, scheduler, web interface, stats, auto RSS downloader, and many others.
Deluge is available for many Linux distributions along with macOS and Windows.
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BitCometWhat We Like
BitComet is a free torrent program with remote access and virus scanning.
There are advanced options like scheduled bandwidth limits, long-term seeding, and CometID VIP Acceleration.
BitComet can be configured to auto shut down, reboot, hibernate, or sleep when all downloads are complete, which is a useful function.
You can install BitComet on Windows computers only.
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qBittorrentWhat We Like
What We Don't Like
qBittorent has a clean interface with a password protection option, built-in RSS reader and web browser, web interface for remote control, and many detailed advanced options like anonymous mode and defining a particular network interface for transmissions.
Even with the advanced features, qBittorrent is easy to use and isn't confusing in the slightest.
Windows has tons of free software, and of course there are many websites where you can download it. But the problem is that many of these freeware download sites claiming to be the best, bundle the software with custom installers, adware and crapware (Download.com, FileHippo and Softonic are big culprits). Often the developers of the freeware don’t even know that their software is being bundled with all manner of other things.
However, there are still a few websites that don’t bundle crapware with the actual software. The following list are a few safe software download sites where you don’t have to bother with bloat and other bad stuff.
Related: 101 of the Best Free Software and Apps for Your Windows PC
1. Filepuma
Not the biggest repository of PC software, but certainly one of the cleanest and most user-friendly in terms of not foisting advertising or dodgy installers on you, Filepuma is a great option for your software downloads. It has all the mainstream stuff you’d expect – from Skype to Google Drive via Dropbox.
There’s plenty more unique software here too, and it’s all pretty easy to find by using the categories list in the left-hand pane. The most popular software in the various categories is listed on the main page, and that’s pretty much all there is to it. Minimal and elegant, with only a slight bias towards Glarysoft utilities, Filepuma is a nice simple choice for your software downloads.
2. SourceForge
The hugely popular download site makes it into our list after going through something of a turnaround lately. We initially excluded Sourceforge because it had been owned by Dice since 2012, and because of the infamous “DevShare” program bundled its downloads with various other software you probably didn’t want.
SourceForge was sold to BizX in 2016, and since then has not only had a nice new look, but been systematically removing those dodgy installers. Delphi cars software download.
Best Software Download Sites Free
In other words, SourceForge is back to being the great site it once was, if not better.
3. Microsoft.com
If you’re looking for any official Windows software, whether it’s security tools, Microsoft Office, or an ISO for Windows 10 itself, then the official Microsoft site should be the first port of call. You’ll not only find all the software packages you need but also optional updates and hotfixes including the .NET framework, driver kits, and service packs for things like the Microsoft Flight Simulator games. Also, if you need to install older software like Internet Explorer (don’t do it!), you can. Naturally, you shouldn’t expect to find third-party software on the official site. For that, you’ll need to read on.
4. Ninite
Ninite is one of the best free software download sites that provides some popular software like Chrome, VLC, Gimp, Foobar, and Spotify. While using Ninite you don’t have to worry about the bundled crapware, and best of all you can install all the software you want with just a click or two. You don’t have to install each and every software individually; Ninite automatically downloads the latest version and installs it for you.
5. MajorGeeks
MajorGeeks is one of those sites that looks really old with its outdated web design, but it is one of the most reputable free software download sites that doesn’t bundle the actual software in any custom installers and won’t trick you into downloading the crapware. Though the site is maintained by only a couple of geeks, they actually test the software in question for any adware or crapware before listing it on their website.
6. Softpedia
Softpedia is one the biggest and most popular free software download sites where you can find almost any free and paid software you want for multiple platforms. The good thing about Softpedia is that you will always get the latest version of the software you want. Moreover, Softpedia also provides you with software reviews and actual screenshots for almost all the popular and most-used software. If you’ve never used Softpedia, do give it a try.
7. DownloadCrew
DownloadCrew is one of those sites that has a messy user interface where it lists a ton of software right on the homepage with small fonts and stuff. However, while downloading from this site, you don’t have to think about the custom installer crapware. Moreover, you can find software for multiple platforms like Windows, Linux, Mac OS X, Android, and iOS.
8. SnapFiles
SnapFiles is yet another freeware download site that doesn’t bundle any crapware whatsoever. One of the best things about SnapFiles is its different categories where you can find the top 100 free software, latest user reviews, top user favorites, top portable apps, etc. Just like any other site on this list, you can easily search for or use different software categories to quickly find your favorite software.
Conclusion
Surely I may have missed some of the other trusted software download sites where you can download applications without having to worry about the custom installers and other crapware. When all is said and done, you should always be careful when you are downloading and installing a software. Moreover, even the sites listed here are not perfect and may be subject to change as time goes on. Being a little careful never hurts.
Do comment below sharing your thoughts and experiences about using the above sites to download free software. Also, share your favorite software download sites that are free from crapware (other than the actual developer sites).
This article was first published in May 2016 and was updated in May 2019.
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