Wednesday, September 03, 2003

Favorite Freeware sites.

I used to get most of my Freeware from the ZDNet/CNET/Download.com sites, which are all affiliated now - CNET and Download.com take you to the same website.

Although they show both Shareware and Freeware, there is an easy option to filter by freeware only:
At the bottom of the list of titles select Filter by License - then choose "Free".

On CNET Download.com, software like Kazaa has a warning (from CNET) that it contains adware, and a description of what adware is.
There are usually also User Ratings, but these can be very subjective.
Another thing in favor of these sites is that you are not likely to download software containing viruses or trojans.

However, I have gone off them a bit after finding that they charge a "basic processing fee" of $79 to list a product in "Download.com, ZDNet Downloads, and MSN Downloads".
If someone pays that much to list a freeware product, have they got other software they are selling, or is this a "Lite" version?

Some better, freeware only sites are:

Pricelessware
Although there are a few broken links on this site, they try to list the "best of breed" under various categories.

Son of Spy Freeware.
The webmaster declares that it hates spyware, and has a link for reporting any spyware found in files downloaded from the site. The webmaster also reviews the software, and indicates which software he uses.

OnlyTheBestFreeware.com has what looks like a
well-researched categorized list of freeware.

emm.ie freeware - I've only downloaded one or two files from here.

Another site with a collection of DOS and Windows freeware is
Listing of useful freewares (by daonlyfreez)

The dmoz open directory project also lists freeware, but the site can be hard to reach
sometimes.

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