Introduction
Once you use Gizmo's to find the best freeware for your purposes, you need to download it from somewhere. Generally, I recommend that you use the software developer's site but that is not always possible. In that case, you have to go to one of the many repositories of freeware to be found on the web.
Here I list six of the largest and best. The ranking is subjective so keep in mind that your personal experience may be different. There are a lot of download sites and you may know of one worth a mention. Let us hear your ideas in the comments.
Special warning: The practice of bundling adware or other unwanted additonal applications with freeware has become widespread. Please exercise vigilance about what you click on and read all screens carefully during the download and installation process of any freeware. More about this problem is here.
Rated Products
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Gizmos Freeware
| Our Rating: 5/5 |
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Gizmos Freeware
| Our Rating: 4.5/5 |
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Platforms/Download: Web App |
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Gizmos Freeware
| Our Rating: 4/5 |
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Platforms/Download: Web App |
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Gizmos Freeware
| Our Rating: 4/5 |
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Platforms/Download: Web App |
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Gizmos Freeware
| Our Rating: 3.5/5 |
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Platforms/Download: Web App |
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Gizmos Freeware
| Our Rating: 3.5/5 |
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More Specialized Sites
In addition to the generalized sites with freeware of many sorts, there are numerous places with freeware in specific categories. Here are some of my favorites.
- NirSoft Developer Nir Sofer has created a large assortment of small useful utilities for helping with many of the tasks of managing Windows systems. A treasure-trove of useful free apps can be found on his site.
- Free Microsoft Downloads The Microsoft site is full of free stuff but finding it isn't always easy. Fortunately, there is a an article here at Gizmo's that tells what there is and where to find it.
- Last Freeware Version If one of your favorite programs has gone commercial, you may be able to find the last free version at this site. Some of the things there are so old that they won't work on more recent versions of Windows so be careful about what you try.
- OldApps.com A place to find free older versions of many applications. A Website of the Week selection.
- The Portable Freeware Collection Do you like programs and utilities that don't have to be installed and can be run from anywhere? Then head over to this site for a big selection of portable freeware.
Special note about Cnet/Download.com
These two sites are just different faces of the same site, which is the the biggest collection of software on the web. Unfortunately, I cannot recommend it unless there is no other option. The site is laden with misleading ad download links and often requires you to install their proprietary downloader. This downloader is not only unnecessary but also intrudes into your privacy. See our information page at this link.
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Comments
Another site is www.filehorse.com
I have used the following 3 free software website for the last 12 years, with no problems
Softpedia, Snapfiles, Fileforum
I started to avoid Download.com the day they started adding adware to any download - this is unacceptable
Filehippo.com is great for finding previous versions of software - when a software company has turned its latest program version into a dog product (not an uncommon event)
I have been aware of Freewarefiles for more than 8 years, but have usually avoided it. I visited today again, and realised why I avoided it
The homepage recommended GBurner, and when you click on the weblink, GBurner is described as freeware
However, when you install the software, you realise that GBurner is a shareware program, and needs registration
Check other freeware sites, and you confirm this program is in fact shareware/demo, not freeware
The major criteria for a good freeware page is accuracy and safety
1)Reliable sites dont require you to install adware to install a program
2)Reliable sites describe programs accurately, inlcuding if a program is adware/trial versions
People are wasting their time, and installing unwanted software, if they are made to believe a program is freeware when it isnt
Freewarehome.com is still my favorite site. They've done a great job weeding out the chaff for years and years. Some of the sites mentioned lost their way a while back forcing the use of their downloader/installer on us. I won't use them and haven't been back since. I end up with enough PUPs the way it is. Thank goodness for Malware Bytes.
Shout-out to Freeware Files. Have trusted it for years and it hasn't let me down. Large selection, easily navigable and a good community of users and admins.
Agreed, it's a pretty good site. I have subscribed to their RSS feeds since a few years. But lately, the feeds are coming quite less even when the software updated daily on their site is more. Anyways, apart from this issue, the site is good.
MajorGeeks is not 'limited to tech tools and utilities'. There are 20 different categories including apps for Mac and Android. Be aware though, freeware and shareware are lumped together. For freeware only, click on Top Freeware Picks in the left pane.
Another website for continuously updated portable programs (and games) is PortableApps.com. Only freeware and open source programs are listed.
That said, Gizmo's Freeware provides a usefull comparison between programs and a rating system. It's still the website to beat.
In the "More specialized sites " list I would recommend http://www.videohelp.com/
It really is the site to go to for files and information relating to video.
I was wondering if filehorse.com and downloadcrew.com are worth adding to the list. Filehorse is very similar to filehippo and dowloadcrew is similar to download.com/cnet without the proprietary downloader .
Wow, I remember when TUCOWS and download.com were the big two. I think that is also when Yahoo was the best search engine, followed by AltaVista and WebCrawler. LOL!
i love this website, and i think am rich now.
problem is cnet has editor reviews which suggest they are more objective than the user reviews which may be less so. the download page has some hassles. to select win7 and freeware is 2 commands; should be 1; then they rank software but hard to find a a list in rank order so you have to search the whole site for no 1 2 3 etc if you stumbled on say no 4 or 44!; their ranks may be no 1 but then they are not editor's choice! a huge inconsistency; ranked sites are not up to date then? or the editor's rankings are not up to date? huge inconsistency cnet never clarified though i expressed this clumsily many times. please examine and add to your comments there if you can make them clearer than mine.