FlashGet is no longer that great. This China-Based software is fighting against another one in China whose name is Thunder(or Xunlei.com, this company has cooperation with Google China). They add almost everything into their software including FTP HTTP BT eMule(definitely Vampire Mules) and their special P2P Protocol... They are too smart in finding resources that they will crash your network. They have a so-called speed limit function but it never works. These software will upload anything you have downloaded(but ONLY to their own P2P system), even you have already deleted the task. They keep a hidden file in your system32 folder to record what kind of stuffs you have on your hard drive. Both the FlashGet and Thunder are real Evil software now.

jraynorlxx

@kstagg: DTA does far more than help you just "save as". You can scrape, 1 click download, setup overwrite rules, threaded downloads and a bunch of other stuff.

Generally speaking you are right, there isn't a need for it, but for many of us that do download on a regular basis it does come in handy.

UnderLoK

Download Statusbar...I HATE the extra window.

theadb

Definitely FireFox's included download manager for my choice.

I'm interested in checking out the Download Statusbar Firefox extension, though.

aharris

I find download messengers are also useful for cases where your maximum throughput/bandwidth may be limited otherwise - download managers can also accelerate and have multiple connections open to a site to speed things up. Some frown on this, but the positive is: you get the file quicker while using the same total amount of data transfer.

I like Flashget, but I wish I had a way to one-click download without having to through the a couple confirmations - seems like there *should* be a way, but it's not more intuitive? Anyone know? If not, I may have to look at these other options.

Not so much of an issue now, but download managers also used to be extremely useful for resuming interrupted transfers: this was a big deal on a dialup modem!

Torley

I am pretty satisfied with the Download Status Bar. I'm not too hardcore with computer stuff, as I crashed my desktop several times screwing with things. So, the Status Bar does what I need it to do, and does it well.

wwiz84

@kstagg: It's also handy being able to pause or restart a download.

oldredhat

@kstagg: If you're downloading several files at once, do you really want the old IE system of every single download being a window on your taskbar?

gokieks

Firefox pwns.

LesPaulLvr5

Seriously - are download managers really necessary? I don't see the need. You click "Save File As" and then download to folder of your choice. What's the big deal - do we really need another component to manage that?

kstagg

Chrome's download manager is awesomeness!! Why is it not in the 5??

Imran Hussain

no, orbit is the best. especially for rapidshare :)

garbanzo-bean

Orbit missed the cut? Surely not. I use it and it's great.
Now I'm wondering whether these winners will be even better :) particularly if LH readers chose them...

Still, I'd like to raise a toast to FF's built-in download manager.

Lifehacked

I have DownThemAll, based on Lifehacker's recommendations, yet still stick with Firefox's built in one.

I look at your guide, and then all the options...then decide it'd just be easier to go through and download each file individually. Maybe my folly, but the standard one keeps things nice and simple.

Krondonian

@kstagg: If you ever need to download those 200 pictures, text files, or whatever else, downthemall could save you 10-15 minutes of right-clicking and clicking again. Some of us have download jobs like that.

kzrssk

What about my setup?
I use DL statusbar, all-in-one sidebar to display the default downloads manager, and dta for anything not clicking on a link and saying save :)

Phoshi

@kstagg: they are necessary if you download several gigabytes a day, and everything is broken into 100mb chunks. a download manager saves you from having to click each link (highlight all, right click, download all). plus, it can accelerate your downloads by dividing files up into pieces, and downloading several of those pieces simultaneously. i get much faster speeds on certain servers with a download manager. plus, i can stop the transfer at any time, and pick it up again right where i left off.

garbanzo-bean

Download manager? Seriously -- just click the link, save the file and be done with it. Firefox has ya covered.

Now, if we're talking _real_ downloading, then we're talking about BitTorrent. How 'bout it, Lifehacker -- a feature on favorite BT clients would be cool.

My vote is for KTorrent (Linux (and maybe Windows now, too.)

jokono

Can any of these be used to download from multiple Rapidshare links?

I don't have a Rapidshare account.

zakharm

DTA FTW!

Elijah86

I use Orbit combined with Flashgot and Download Status Bar.

n2sooners

I quite like Orbit Downloader

sucharith

I rarely use dTa but I really do appreciate it when I need it. I wish I knew something about Regular Expressions to take advantage of some of the more powerful functionality dTa offers. I'm not enough of an Alpha-geek to use RegEx. I would say that given my experience with Google over the years, I am a "Beta-geek"!

I typically use the Download Statusbar for most downloads.

Nuclear Moose

If i experience low speed, have to download large or multiple files from a website, dta is my first choice. The filter and renaming features are worth of gold if "dTa OneClick!" comes into game.

icks

FDM and Download Status bar are the best, though these days most of the FF downloads are picked up by FDM.

The one thing I miss about FDM is a DAP like feature to automagically sort the downloads based on the type of file into folders, would be definitely rocking to have that feature.

Keith Dsouza

I used to use Internet Download Manager quite a bit before firefox came along. I still use it once in a while to manage a big download, or to crawl/rip an entire site.

zinx

My choice remains Bitcomet. It's my favorite bittorrent client, and it handles http/ftp downloads very well: resume, simultaneous multi-part and so on. I can also set a max download rate whenever I'm watching streamed videos and need my bandwidth.

wormz

Another vote for DownThemAll here - it's awesome!

Although the right click easy-download is nice, where it really shines is the ability to batch download via regular expressions. Sometimes at work we need to move a lot of files (such as PDFs) from one server to another without samba access, and DTA is usually the fastest way to grab them all and move them around.

For 'proper' downloading I have hellanzb on my server which autoqueues NZB files from newzbin and downloads them. :)

zoz

I favor Orbit and have it taking dl's in IE because it usually can grab multimedia. Resumption of interrupted downloads is exceptionally reliable, in my experience. I don't integrate Orbit with Firefox because the Video Download Helper extension [ [addons.mozilla.org] ] will grab some Flash that Orbit cannot.
I have used all the helpers mentioned, and still do on occasion. Nonetheless, I'm puzzled/suspicious as to why Orbit isn't in the five.

fluxam

@fluxam: I assume it's based on the top five VOTE:'d entries from the voting post.

kzrssk

@jokono: nobody who's anybody uses torrents anymore. it's all about rapidshare. faster, safer, and more content (if you look in the right place). download managers are, therefore, essential.

garbanzo-bean

I keep dTa and Download Statusbar on mine. Though I've recently found (literally, in a directory of my thumb drive) GetBot, which I was testing downloading the Red Alert 1 freebies, until I decided I'd never play them.

I guess I vote dTa, but I'm about to go check out this mysterious Orbit people are all gaga about.

Nick Post

I still don't think Download Statusbar is a download manager. :@ Oh, and the Firefox inbuilt and dTa don't count because, well, they're Firefox. Or something. Even though I use Firefox.
So FDM is winning! :D

But seriously, I don't think DSB should count. And of the "standalone" download managers FDM is winning, so I'm happy. ;D

Drakelet

I don't know why GetRight didn't get that many votes. Very nice program, small, easy to use, has lots of features and is cheap.

That sounds like a good program to me, but I guess not too many people use it anymore.

NYCgoalie

In the past I used FlashGet and kin to download files just for the resume ability. But these days files less then about 400mb download fast enough that I don't need to worry about it.. and anything larger that I personally download usually has a torrent (Linux Distros, etc). Of course, I do still have FlashGot installed in firefox so that I can download all images on a page for when I need to mirror a sites template easily.

shockwaver

I use reget... Anyone have any recommendations for a similar/free option?

dpollitt

Guess the OSX crowd is in the dust. I mean yeah, I guess you can use firefox, but its still not automated.

dorylomorphs

orbit ftw

huytoan

@n2sooners: Guess we share the same programs :)

stuffandco

@stuffandco:
I was hoping someone would mention this...the one reason I was glad I never tried the software out.

Darkest Daze

Oh, where the hell is Orbit on that list? :(

PS: Just a quick FYI - it seems some of the latest FlashGet builds have been known for installing spyware... they've included it in the past, and now it seems they're doing it again... it's a software to avoid, IMHO.

See [www.safer-networking.org] (scroll down 'till it says "Flashget"), [www.fbmsoftware.com] and [www.siteadvisor.com] for details.

stuffandco

how come no mention of Gozilla? :-) or am I that old?

... on a better note, I see that the software is under new owners ... comes fully loaded with their *assurance* that the days of bundled adware are a thing of the past :) anybody tried the new version?
[www.gozilla.com]

muzee

DownThemAll is leading??? But I can,t download FLVs with it. What it has that it's so good???

arekkusu82

@stuffandco: I think it always safer to stick with Open source software for privacy, like FDM

metalmarious

Download Statusbar for the small downloads.
DownThemAll for large or multiple downloads (like in parts).

Samutz

Well, if there's spyware in FlashGet, this should be the place for someone to show how to use it with spyware removed.

fluxam

I love using Download Statusbar, because of the no extra window thing and the fact that it closes automatically if you open the file you download or if you click clear file, but I would be interested if one of the other download managers incorporated the statusbar feature into their products.

curlymeatball38

woot I am posting again sorry :p
but it seems that the voting dose not work on chrome *cyrs* oh well its a beta any way

eluvatar

umm arnt we supposed to be able to vote? ;)

eluvatar

Thats they suck to much passion in the reply

rtipping

Al five are crap Ive used them all and the suck IDM is the best by leaps and bounds.....what gives you got acid in the water down there?

rtipping

NO WAY!
DownThemAll can't possibly have that many votes!!!

Free Download manager is by far the best... maybe its just because not as many people tried it?

swttfam3

The other things that's awesome about Orbit is that you don't need a third party extension like FlashGot to integrate it with Firefox. It comes with it's own extension and integrates fully (or not depending on your wishes). It has all the features that these others have as far as I can tell, (filtering, acceleration, pause/resume, etc.) plus it works great if you have a Rapidshare premium account.

katyggls

Firefox built in downloader for me

JackMac

I use Flashget at the moment. The interface isn't great, but it's the only app I've found that is both a download manager and BitTorrent client in one. If anyone has any suggestions I'd appreciate it!

I used to use Azureus for BitTorrent (for its customisability) but it's just getting too bloated now.

kyokan

I havent felt the need for a download manager since 1998-99 when I still used a dial-up-phone-modem (or whatever you say in english). But back in the days it was really something you needed, specially when having toresume a filetranfer. Nowadays most program which I download trough the web-protocol downloaded i seconds or a minute. So I dont see any need for it today.

bollonet

Is a d/l manager really needed in this era of broadband? I mean I haven;t used one in almost a decade. Anytime I download something that takes a few hours or more it is a huge torrent file and the torrent downloader "manages" it for me.

TorrentFreak

Classic flashget with flashgot Firefox extension makes downloading any large amounts of files easy as anything that's easy for you to compare to. If you set it up right, it is simply the most intuitive program I've ever used with the most simple setup ever.

It's the only way I'll ever go.

bosspants

Firefox's built-in, and, Statusbar extension are both all i ever rely on. For everything else, theres μTorrent. :3
Although i used to use Flashget back when i had dial-up, it was a decent little helper.

Aibyouka-kun

@bollonet: If you are downloading every thing you need in seconds or minutes Im thinking your not doing much in the 4 to 6.5 gig range right?
Unless your isp is the enterprise.

rtipping

I just use the one built into Firefox, but I got the add-on that puts it in the status bar down below, and I love it.

pianoman674

I use a script that I wrote in OS X that automatically purges my Downloads directory to the Trash after a set amount of time.

I realize isn't a download manager per se, but works well for me. I have posted instructions on how to do it if anyone is interested.

[shonuff.tumblr.com]

shonufftheshogun

This couldn't have come at a better time. Today, I searched the FF add-ons for a download manager after obtaining a corrupted UBCD4WIN file and came across DTA. Now that I've found it on this list (& leading the pack), I'll definitely give it a go!

rocgut

Please take Flash Get off this list, It is a security risk. http://www.viruslist.com/en/weblog?weblogid=208187496 or simply google flashget virus

YohannSaffron

On OS X, I've been a faithful user of speed download for years. Any reason to give it up?

octavecat

i've been using internet download manager for years. boring name, but great downloader. you can tell it what file types to always download. download flv files, and also have it download entire web pages. its been around a while and is pretty stable. you can queue up downloads, set site logins automatically, throttle bandwidth usage. too many features to list. the only set back is that it's not free. but i bought this many years ago when it was on version 3, and every update since then has been free. they are currently on version 5.
[www.internetdownloadmanager.com]

zalealb

I find that the best is Internet Download Manager.
To get all the features you have to pay but I have found it to be more than worth the money.

json11

I definitely agree with DownThemAll and FlashGot but I am also a huge fan of wget.

illadvised

I had to vote for other. Download managers were essential when files were big and connections were slow, unreliable things. Nowadays, the network speed is so good compared to typical file sizes that I just don't bother to use a download manager.

The only exception is bittorrent, and I use Transmission for that.

nighttimestereo

DownThemAll is great when I want something from a page that I can't simply "Save As", such as flash files.

Download Status Bar is great those, using both of those combined it makes everything much easier.

wtfRobbi

@kstagg: No, but just click, dTa One click instead of Save As, and it does the same thing, just 4x faster ;)

Onouris

With Orbit missing the cut, I'll throw my support behind Firefox's built-in download manager. I've got DownloadThemAll in my repertoire but hardly ever use it.

cheesebubble

DownThemAll
Download Statusbar

I use both.
D.Statusbar for regular download (small files). DownThemAll for large files.

ThaMofo

DTA rocks. I have always found it faster, time saving. Earlier I used Flashget, Firefox's DM, and some other. But my vote goes to DTA.

mogambo

Internet Download Manager is the fastest download manager!

Maldivian

@zakharm: for this, jDownloader is best. It even reconnects your router if you allow it to so you get a new ip for faster downloading.

bobby.tables

i demand a recount on the orbit issue :-P

but seriously when i counted it was 8:8 Flashget and Orbit. But Orbit had a 2nd Vote and my 1st Vote so it clearly is the winner :-). Anyone who is still using Flashget, just try Orbit and never go back (becuase i have never heard of spyware in orbit)

rayser

I prefer easy w-get. Dont't like Downloadmanager which are a part of the browser.

Kristallregen

I'd say the best lies in the tiny space between two apps. I use a combination of DownThemAll and Firefox's built-in download manager and I'm not getting tired of it.

For routine download (one-file I want to use on the fly) I find DownThemAll to be too many clicks away from simplicity and Firefox's download manager wraps the job nicely.

But say I'm visiting this mp3 blog I haven't visited in a while and there are now tons of links to songs I want to listen to. Then I just fire up DownThemAll, tell him to consider all the links on the page and then only select those leading to files with ".mp3" extensions and it does all the job for me.

So it really depends on what you need when you need it. And I'd say most user aren't so monomaniac as to only download the same things in the same way.

Vanderwomble

It would have been nice if you grouped firefox extensions as one. Believe it or not, not everyone uses firefox so 3/5th of this list is worthless to a lot of people.

Vasto

just because more people use it doesn't mean it's better! majority of these people never tested all 6 to give an accurate conclusion. faulty survey. shouldn't say "best" instead it should be "most used"

Ken

Free Download Manager is my fave

MiddleGeek

Download statusbar. Everything else is total overkill.

piotrusc

I've tried several and FlashGet is my choice.

Crazy Pants

Oh come on, how did Oribit miss the cut?
It's by far the best!

harmx

Update: Installed dTa, started a 400Mb download and firefox3 crashed!
I like the fox's built in downloader, so maybe I'll give Download Statusbar a shot.

rocgut

@kstagg: Some people have to queue downloads. Or some people need to specify a password. Or some people ISP throttle their connection during certain times. Or some people like the feature of being able to resume their download. Frankly, I see many reasons why would would like to use a download manager.

I have to say before this poll I was a big Orbit downloader user. I however switched to FDM lite (Free Download Manager without BitTorrent and video support) and it's a very nice application. Orbit has a few bugs left and right and a few annoyances (doesn't show total speed anywhere for one) whereas FDM is pretty much the same proven interface with some subtle ameliorations. :)

polobunny

Here are some more sane comments from the original survey that were also either ignored or not understood by many:

1. By "leftist":
I can't believe people are nominating Firefox's native download facility, or the DownThemAll! extension.

The former is not a download "manager" at all; it's just a download viewer. There is no resume, no way to add mirrors, no way to verify download integrity, no way to download in multiple chunks, no way to... I think the point is made.

-------------------------

2. By "lifehackerReader":
Minimally a good download manager will:
a) support pause/resume
b) allow you to spoof the referrer url
c) allow you to spoof the user agent
d) allow you to limit the number of concurrently downloading files, while queueing up requests beyond the concurrent limit so that they will be download when a slot opens up.
e) allow you to specify the number of socket connections used to download a file.
e) allow you to limit the bandwidth speed of a downloading file
g) run in a separate process from the browser
h) be free - and adware free too

If your download manager doesn't meet the above criteria, then you may want to look elsewhere. WellGet works great for me. It does all of the above. I'm sure there are others too.

FinibusBonorum

@polobunny:
Some people have to queue downloads. Or some people need to specify a password. Or some people ISP throttle their connection during certain times. Or some people like the feature of being able to resume their download. Frankly, I see many reasons why would would like to use a download manager.

I have to say before this poll I was a big Orbit downloader user. I however switched to FDM lite (Free Download Manager without BitTorrent and video support) and it's a very nice application. Orbit has a few bugs left and right and a few annoyances (doesn't show total speed anywhere for one) whereas FDM is pretty much the same proven interface with some subtle ameliorations. :)

##################################################

Finally! Some words of sanity.

Yes, I agree with you about Orbit. It is good but in actual side-by-side testing the past several weeks, I found FDM to be clearly superior [I ran my FDM in "lite" mode as well].

You comments about the need for a bona fide download manager are spot on.

I commented on Sept 2 about what a true download manager should be. Apparently many people didn't read the Wikipedia link which had as good of a definition as any. A bona fide download manager should be able to pause & resume a download, recover from broken downloads [ie., ISP/browser/OS crash], including via an automatic retry/resume [I set FDM to 99 retries, & FreshDownload to 200 or 400 retries] with user-settable time-outs, scheduling, acceleration via threading the file into several parts, variable speed [unlike Orbit, FDM and FreshDownload can be set to automatically slow down if a browser is active], etc.

Firefox's built-in file downloader should NOT have been considered in this survey because it is by definition NOT a "download manager". It is merely a download monitor. Compared to true download managers, it is like the idiot sibling that is kept locked in the attic and let out only for Thanksgiving. It can't resume broken downloads, modulate bandwidth usage, split the file into several parallel threads, keep and schedule a list for future downloads, hang up the internet connection, shut down the program, and shut down the computer when the download is completed, automatically check MD5 [if available], examine contents of zipped files before downloading, login to some sites with a username & password [for those sites that require it], automatically invoke whatever virus scanner is on the computer, and so on. By extension [no pun intended], DownloadStatusBar, much as I love it, should NOT been included as well: it is simply a slightly function-enhanced skin of Firefox's built-in file downloader.

For those with broadband internet connections, great for them. Perhaps the simple file downloader in browsers is all they need. But for those with ISP limitations [ie., I'm in the boonies/sticks so high speed internet connections are simply unavailable: my best speed with dial-up is a mere 3-3.5 kilobytes/sec], a bona fide download manager is absolutely essential.

FinibusBonorum

lol, I use them all:
DTA for multiple links on a page (mp3s etc)
Flashget for Linklists (and huge downloads to control the bandswidth)
okey, free download manager I don't use
D.status bar for small things, Build in dl-manager with AllInOne sidebar

cowgarden

Does anyone actually realise that FlashGet downloads much faster since it supports multiple connections which splits up a large file into sections like bittorrent. Because if people knew about this, they wouldn't think any of the other so called downaloders are any good.

ICEBreaker

@harmx - by far one of the best donwload managers out there.

@all - i can't deny that i was a flashget user once, when it wasn't freeware, and didn't know what orbit is, and was also suspicious about its features, but after trying orbit, i changed my download manager to orbit. Why, you ask, first of all because of it's capability to get streaming media from almost every site on the web, not to mention the basic features it has common with flashget, like parallel downloading of the same file, pausing downloads, scheduling downloads, not to mention it's special feature on tweaking the TCPIP.SYS, yes it was changed by microsoft to just 10 at a time to prevent attacks from the web, but it slowed down downloading from p2p connections, which limewire, bittorrent, and orbit has. well i can't deny that orbit has some drawbacks to it. but overall i can't believe it didn't make the cut, well maybe it just depends upon the collective's preferences…

sick2mprove

Since I horde my hd space for music, I use Firefox's built-in download manager. Quick, efficient, and serves it's purpose. =)

Rose Tyler

I use Orbit Download Manager, and it works great, I love it :D

slau

When I don't just use Safari's download 'manager' (monitor, whatever), I use wget on my server with a list of files to download or something like that. It's not a download manager in the same sense these 5 are, but it gets the job done well enough for me and I don't really need anything more.

Jalada

I love FDM. I have used it for the longest time, and has served me well. I have always enjoyed the extra little features (zip previews, scheduling, site explorer, etc.) Granted I had given it up for a while in lieu of non-background programs, but as of late I've been getting back into it. One thing about this program, it's easy to use, but has the features tucked away within arms' reach when you need them....

scientus

How did Free Download Manager not win? It's much better that any browser based effort.

decays