While browsers have kept getting better over time one thing you still tend to notice is the lack of organization and the recurring inability for browsers to give you the most out of your internet connection when downloading a file. Of course, since the days of IE6, organization and speed of downloads has gotten a lot better and with Firefox 3 you can now pause downloads as well.
Thanks to download managers you don’t have to put up with lack of organization and slow download speeds. Download managers are applications that integrate with your web browser (most popular ones) and as the name suggests manage your downloads. While different download managers provide different features, the main idea of a download manager is to manage your downloads and accelerate them. Most download managers provide the ‘acceleration’ feature as well by downloading files via multiple connections to the same file. With the effective method of downloading via multiple multiple streams don’t be surprised to see download speeds increase by upto 600% compared to your default browser’s download speed.
Apart from the two core features of management and acceleration download managers also provide the following features:
The above features are of course selective and the features are broadly limited to different download managers. Also, there are a few features which appear exclusively in an individual download manager to help them get the edge in the competitive download manager software niche. (there are plenty out there). The IDM ‘Grabber’ would be an example of this. A feature in Internet Download Manager which crawls websites for file types you specify and automatically queue or download them.
And Finally getting to the tools…
There are plenty of download managers available, each providing more or less the same features, below are a list of the most popular download managers in use.
One of the most popular download managers. While the name is boring and very matter of fact I’ve tested different download managers and IDM is probably the fastest out there. Another thing is the simplicity of the interface, the speed limiting features and the Grabber as explained above. Unfortunately it’s shareware but it’s a $25 well spent. (30 day free trial to get you tempted initially)
Another very popular and recommended download manager. Available as a free and shareware version. The free version is totally sufficient though. I like DAP for its very attractive interface and of course great download speeds. The shareware version includes some unique features listed here. Worth for $40 i think.
Weary of installing new software that do more harm than good? Then DownThemAll might turn out great for you. Of course you’ve got to be a Firefox user. DownThemAll is a great free Firefox extension that integrates with your Firefox web browser and offers great download managers and acceleration. The fact that it’s only an extension to Firefox, does its job nicely and is free would be a good reason to use DownThemAll.
The above 3 are the download managers I would recommend and backed up by several millions of users as well. The following download managers are pretty good and offers pretty much the same features as well:
It’s surprising how all the popular download managers support windows only, I found a few download managers for other operating systems as well:
Did I miss a great download manager you would recommend? Comment below.
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I’ve tried Flashget and it wasn’t bad.
It got the job done. Usually, the feature I appreciate the most is the ability to resume paused downloads, for example, if my internet connection were to end or get interrupted.
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Yes, that’s a generic feature of all download managers. Thankfully though, firefox 3 has resume capability built in to its default download manager but download managers are still great for download acceleration, thanks for the comment!
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I don not know that it will increase up to 600%. But, I’m using it in my firefox too. It helps me to organize the downloading files. Sometimes, we need bandwidth to do other things, we can always pause it and resume it at anytime. This is what I like with DM.
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haha it’s funny i think you hate download manager from the title, thankyou for the info i use internet download manager, but i recomended orbit it’s fast and free
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Thanks for the recommendation.
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I had tried using DAP and Internet Download Manager and both of them have good qualities but have more bad qualities. I switch to orbit last few months ago, and it is good actually I am contented with its performance.
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I use Orbit too and it’s awesome.
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i have used orbit quite good, i think you might had bad experience with download manager, even sometime i also faced problem but it may possible due to net connectivity.
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Thanks for the very clear post.
I’ve never really thought of using a download manager and wasnt aware of the advantages…
I guess its high time.
Rob
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i have tried DAP but for me its a total crap. all it shows is just false info. Even the built in download manager in firefox works faster than it.
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I switch to orbit last few months ago, and it is good actually I am contented with its performance.
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orbit impressive quite good, many time having bad time with non-famous download manager,even sometime i also faced problem but it may possible due to net connectivity.
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Thanks for sharing this very informative piece of advice. I have never come across any download manager, let alone how to use it. I am giving it a try!
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My downloads don’t show up in the download manager for Firefox anymore???
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