Download Accelerators.

[chang35baht]

I`m thinking of downloading one of the free download accelerators from the pinned freeware page. I`ve never used one yet so I have a few questions;

1) Do they really increase the speed of your downloads(some say 500-600%)?

2)Can you use it as a browser like IE for example?

3)do they come with allsorts of added software that I don`t want/need?

Tell me what the advantages of these programs are if I`ve missed out any relevant questions.

Thanx guys.

[slimdog]

I am sure someone can possibly explain the technology side better than me, but basically a download accelerator will give you far steadier stream of download, so whilst your connection speed won't alter, you will be able to download quicker.

Two of the biggest advantages with a download accelerator are:

1. If you are downloading large files, then should the connection be lost then you can carry on from where it left off, rather than downloading the whole file again. This can be great if you have dial-up or a dodgy connection.

2. You can enter in multiple downloads, the program will then work it's way down the list until completed. (You can normally chose whether or not you wish to disconnect, once the downloads are finished). Ideal for when you want to download, but would't mind going down the pub

Most have some sort of plug-in so that it can be used with Ie and can be used as a replacement for Ie's Download Manager

[chang35baht]

Any particular download managers recommended?

[Tywais]

Any particular download managers recommended?

I have personally used FlashGet for several years now though it isn't on the list and am very happy with it. Use it nearly everyday and files in the Gigabyte range are no problem.

http://www.amazesoft.com/

[briley]

Any particular download managers recommended?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Download Accelerator Plus (DAP) but not the spyware infested free version. THe paid for version can be picked up in many places.

BUT SpyBot doesn't like DAP and tries to uninstall even the full version that doesn't have spyware.

Incidentally d/l accelerators are good on Thai broadband and helps get the best our of your connection. No one download connection ever gives me more than 50% of my bandwidth, but 4 downloads often give me 100% of the bandwidth for long periods at a time

[lunatic69]

1) Do they really increase the speed of your downloads(some say 500-600%)?

Yes they can increase the speed if the file you are downloading is on more then one server. If not you will not gain any speed.

A download accelerator will try to find the file on more then one server and download it from different locations. If you have a high speed connection let's say 3Mb then you will gain speed but if (like most of the people in Thailand) have a 256Kb connection you will not gain allot of speed

2)Can you use it as a browser like IE for example?

No

3)do they come with allsorts of added software that I don`t want/need?

Yep, al free programs install allot of shit that you don't want. You can't imagine how much information they get with these things, all your download habits are monitored

My personal opinion, don't use it!

Hope this answers your question

[bangbuathong]

Any particular download managers recommended?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

If you use Firefox (what is highly reccom) then use Free Download Manager

advantages of download managers are , resume and load same file from multiple sites/mirrors

Has all of the works, no spyware adds etc etc.

I'm using it now and get 60 KB/s on international site

Other download managers may have spyare / adds in them

allways read the EULA before installing

Edited November 13, 2005 by bangbuathong

[Tywais]

1) Do they really increase the speed of your downloads(some say 500-600%)?

Yes they can increase the speed if the file you are downloading is on more then one server. If not you will not gain any speed.

Not entirely true. The advantages of download accelerators are two fold. First they can break a file into multiple segments (mine is set for 5). Due to packet handshaking there is a lot of idle time as it is waiting for responses. When you have several connections open to the same file the aggregate idle time is reduced substantially given a large effective speed increase. The 2nd advantage is that if the download 'breaks', that is disconnected, it will automatically continue where it left off not like "save to disk" functions where you will have to start all over again if the connection is lost.

2)Can you use it as a browser like IE for example? 

No

Most download accelerators will integrate into the web browser allowing automatic downloads on link click.

3)do they come with allsorts of added software that I don`t want/need?

Yep, al free programs install allot of shit that you don't want. You can't imagine how much information they get with these things, all your download habits are monitored

Some do, some don't. Many have minimal Banner ads which isn't a significant problem.

My personal opinion, don't use it!

Hope this answers your question

Not an informed opinion in my opinion

Edited November 13, 2005 by tywais

[lunatic69]

1) Do they really increase the speed of your downloads(some say 500-600%)?

Yes they can increase the speed if the file you are downloading is on more then one server. If not you will not gain any speed.

Not entirely true. The advantages of download accelerators are two fold. First they can break a file into multiple segments (mine is set for 5). Due to packet handshaking there is a lot of idle time as it is waiting for responses. When you have several connections open to the same file the aggregate idle time is reduced substantially given a large effective speed increase. The 2nd advantage is that if the download 'breaks', that is disconnected, it will automatically continue where it left off not like "save to disk" functions where you will have to start all over again if the connection is lost.

100% correct

2)Can you use it as a browser like IE for example? 

No

Most download accelerators will integrate into the web browser allowing automatic downloads on link click.Right again, but you can not use them as a browser,i think that was the question?

3)do they come with allsorts of added software that I don`t want/need?

Yep, al free programs install allot of shit that you don't want. You can't imagine how much information they get with these things, all your download habits are monitored

Some do, some don't. Many have minimal Banner ads which isn't a significant problem. WRONG! If the program is free it will always send information about your download habits, information about your ip,location,provider, computer and more. I know because i check program behaviour for a company.

My personal opinion, don't use it!

Hope this answers your question

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Not an informed opinion in my opinion

Don't judge a book by it's cover.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

[Tywais]

WRONG! If the program is free it will always send information about your download habits, information about your ip,location,provider, computer and more. I know because i check program behaviour for a company.

My complaint about the comment is that you are making a blanket statement that ALL freeware donwloaders do this. If you mean many then I agree. If not then WRONG!

BTW perhaps you should brush up on your html coding, hard to find your embedded comments.

Edited November 13, 2005 by tywais

[lunatic69]

WRONG!

If the program is free it will always send information about your download habits, information about your ip,location,provider, computer and more. I know because i check program behaviour for a company.

My complaint about the comment is that you are making a blanket statement that ALL freeware donwloaders do this.  If you mean many then I agree. If not then WRONG!

Tell me what FREE program that not sends information then i will tell you what information it sends

BTW perhaps you should brush up on your html coding, hard to find your embedded comments.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

EDIT: Quotes cleaned up for easier reading. /Meadish

[TizMe]

Any particular download managers recommended?

If you use Firefox (what is highly reccom) then use Free Download Manager

advantages of download managers are , resume and load same file from multiple sites/mirrors

Has all of the works, no spyware adds etc etc.

I'm using it now and get 60 KB/s on international site

Other download managers may have spyare / adds in them

allways read the EULA before installing

I agree, I use FDM and very impressed by it for downloading single files.

If you want to download entire websites though it starts to consume too much resourses and will eventually grind to a halt. for that I use HTTrack

[richsilver]

I can highly recommend Fresh Download. It is free at http://www.freshdevices.com. I have CAT ADSL in Pattaya and it roughly doubles my download speed on most sites. When I used dial-up, the results were not so dramatic.

There are many extra features that I find helpful. The most useful, of course, is the ability to reconnect automatically and resume the download after a lost connection (it will re-dial for you and resume the download). This means you can download very large files overnight without ever having to worry about a lost connection.

I also find the scheduling feature to be very helpful. I do a great deal of downloading of videos from the USA and I can schedule the download even before the program is recorded so it starts downloading when I'm not even home!

The author of this software regularly updates the free program, adding new features and fixing bugs (they are now on version 7.40).

Try it, you'll like!

[clokwise]

Maybe some people here are casting doubts about download managers here in hopes that people will not use them - because if we ALL did we'd be back to square one bandwidth wise.

When I lived in Australia there was no need to use one, I got full bandwidth all the time. When I moved to Thailand 6 months ago it became painfully apparent I needed to use one.

Look, since we're all talking about this in the open, the cat's out of the bag now. Go get Free Download Manager (FDM) for Windows. It actually makes using the Internet in Thailand tolerable. Now you can download service packs and games demos and all those big files you've avoided in the past -- at the full rated speed for your ADSL connection. FDM has no adware or spyware, it's totally free, and it does not send your downloading behaviour to anywhere (if you have evidence to the contrary lunatic69 please post it here, and post it on Digg.com too because I believe you'll be the first on the entire planet with such evidence). FDM also has a concise and attractive user interface. And get yourself Firefox and the FlashGot extension while you're at it.

Now I wonder how long it will be before True and the other ISPs decide to block the number of simultanious connections to a single IP in order to prevent these download managers.

[mr-chris]

I too have tried using these managers but generally find that if files are not on multiple servers, they tend to download slowly, much slower than a typical ftp transfer or ssh transfer.

I'd recommend going with WS FTP if you're using windows. You can start and stop at anytime you wish, pause and continue days later.

Firefox is bril if you're just downloading single files and is very secure.

If you're not on windows (linux or summat!) try gFTP. (comes free with just about every linux dist)

Again, I stress security so I only use SSH for anything now. SSH = Secure Shell. Very free and very downloadable not to mention fast. Well, as fast as your modem can and VERY secure.

[clokwise]

I too have tried using these managers but generally find that if files are not on multiple servers, they tend to download slowly, much slower than a typical ftp transfer or ssh transfer.

Sounds like you are using a DM for different applications than myself or others here. I also find a DM pretty much useless on ftp sites, I stick with my favorite ftp client for that. I've never really found any practical use for multiple source ftp downloads, though I guess there are many since most DM seem to support this option. For every ftp download, I've found a http download of the same file. And for http downloads, such as a windows service pack from www.microsoft.com, using a DM will certainly beat any ftp download of the same file.

[lunatic69]

Review from a older version of free download manager

FreshDownload (6.50, spyware-clean, free for personal use)

The IE integration of FreshDownload had problems during my tests and tried to download HTML pages as files, but once downloaded identified them as such and re-opened them in the browser. It doesn't have a lot of features, but it has the necessary ones and comes along with an easy to use interface. Too bad it doesn't uninstall completely.

Update: After a user reported that newer versions of this software would phone home every few minutes, I wanted to give it another try. I'm afraid I will have to report that it now required your name and email address to get a download link. I never received that email, but bunches of "unpopular" (misleading) advertisement popups from their website.

[sniffdog]

Simple but quick answer ....

The faster connection you have, the more you gain.

[TAWP]

The best tool you could use is 'wget'. Small, optimised, spyware-free, supports continued download and so on. Google for it if you don't know to look for sourceforge-apps.

But then again, it requires the user to be able to use a command-prompt. :]

(Might just write a simple wrapper some day for it.)

Brief info from the help-file.

Overview

GNU Wget is a free utility for non-interactive download of files from the Web.  It supports HTTP, HTTPS, and FTP protocols, as well as retrieval through HTTP proxies.

This chapter is a partial overview of Wget's features.

· Wget is non-interactive, meaning that it can work in the background, while the user is not logged on.  This allows you to start a retrieval and disconnect from the system, letting Wget finish the work.  By contrast, most of the Web browsers require constant user's presence, which can be a great hindrance when transferring a lot of data.

· Wget can follow links in HTML and XHTML pages and create local versions of remote web sites, fully recreating the directory structure of the original site.  This is sometimes referred to as "recursive downloading."  While doing that, Wget respects the Robot Exclusion Standard (/robots.txt).  Wget can be instructed to convert the links in downloaded HTML files to the local files for offline viewing.

· File name wildcard matching and recursive mirroring of directories are available when retrieving via FTP.  Wget can read the time-stamp information given by both HTTP and FTP servers, and store it locally.  Thus Wget can see if the remote file has changed since last retrieval, and automatically retrieve the new version if it has.  This makes Wget suitable for mirroring of FTP sites, as well as home pages.

· Wget has been designed for robustness over slow or unstable network connections; if a download fails due to a network problem, it will keep retrying until the whole file has been retrieved.  If the server supports regetting, it will instruct the server to continue the download from where it left off.

· Wget supports proxy servers, which can lighten the network load, speed up retrieval and provide access behind firewalls.  However, if you are behind a firewall that requires that you use a socks style gateway, you can get the socks library and build Wget with support for socks.  Wget also supports the passive FTP downloading as an option.

· Built-in features offer mechanisms to tune which links you wish to follow (see Following Links).

· The retrieval is conveniently traced with printing dots, each dot representing a fixed amount of data received (1KB by default).  These representations can be customized to your preferences.

· Most of the features are fully configurable, either through command line options, or via the initialization file .wgetrc (see Startup File).  Wget allows you to define "global" startup files (/usr/local/etc/wgetrc by default) for site settings.

· Finally, GNU Wget is free software.  This means that everyone may use it, redistribute it and/or modify it under the terms of the GNU General Public License, as published by the Free Software Foundation (see Copying).

Edited November 14, 2005 by TAWP