Basic Knowledge of Download Manager

A download manager is a computer program dedicated to the task of downloading (and sometimes uploading) possibly unrelated stand-alone files from (and sometimes to) the Internet for storage. This is unlike a World Wide Web browser, which is mainly intended to browse web pages, composed of a multitude of smaller files, where error-free moving of files for permanent storage is of secondary importance. (A failed or incomplete web page file rarely ruins the page.) The typical download manager at a minimum provides means to recover from errors without losing the work already completed, and can optionally split the file to be downloaded (or uploaded) into 2 or more segments, which are then moved in parallel, potentially making the process faster within the limits of the available bandwidth. (A few servers are known to block moving files in parallel segments, on the principle that server capacity should be shared equally by all users.) Multi-source is the name given to files that are downloaded in parallel.

Download managers commonly include one or more of the following features:

Pausing the downloading of large files.


Resuming broken or paused downloads (especially for very large files).


Downloading files on poor connections.


Downloading several files from a site automatically according to simple rules (file types, updated files, etc. - see also Offline Browser).


Automatic recursive downloads (mirroring).


Scheduled downloads (including, automatic hang-up and shutdown).


Searching for mirror sites, and the handling of different connections to download the same file more quickly (segmented downloading).


Variable bandwidth usage.


Automatic subfolder generation.


Download managers are useful for very active Internet users. For dial-up users, they can automatically dial the Internet Service Provider at night, when rates or tariffs are usually much lower, download the specified files, and hang-up. They can record which links the user clicks on during the day, and queue these files for later download. For broadband users, download managers can help download very large files by resuming broken downloads, by limiting the bandwidth used, so that other internet activities are not affected (slowed) and the server is not overloaded, or by automatically navigating a site and downloading pre-specified content (photo galleries, MP3 collections, etc.) this can also include automatically downloading whole sites and regularly updating them (see Mirroring).

Many download managers support Metalink, an XML file listing mirrors, checksums, and other information useful for downloading.

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Accelerator Adds Anti-Virus and Anti-Spyware

Contrary to claims we published in July (see SlipStream Data Touts Success), the dialup acceleration industry remains as competitive and cutthroat as ever.

Most reviews, such as this one in PC World, have found that the various competitors' offerings each have their own strengths and weaknesses (the PC World review found Proxyconn had the best cache and therefore the best speed on previously visited sites, Propel the best speed on new sites, and Artera's product the easiest to use but least effective).

When we spoke with Uzi Yair, CEO of Newport Beach, Calif.-based Proxyconn, he, too claimed to be number one in this space. Usually, you would look to an industry analyst for data, but despite the continued resiliency of dialup, the analysts at the major firms seem to be more interested in broadband-and in services like IPTV which have barely hit the market-so there is no publicly available data on market share. Artera, Propel, and SlipStream all have confirmed booths at ISPCON.

Proxyconn's latest improvement to its service is the addition of anti-virus from Palm Beach Gardens, Fla.-based Authentium. Yair says the company will sell the anti-virus through channel partners at a price of $1 per user per month, expecting ISPs to charge end users $2 per user per month. The product may also be offered at retail at a higher price, perhaps $29.95. "We have to be competitive with McAfee and Norton," Yair says.

He notes that ISPs seem particularly pleased with the ability to own brand the Proxyconn anti-virus offering . He adds, "ISPs can sell our anti-virus as part of the accelerator suite or as a stand alone product. They don't have to use our accelerator if they don't want to."

Partial test


Yair was so enthusiastic about the software that he offered us a test drive. Unfortunately, we have a corporate computer and we did not have a dialup connection to test it on. The cache did not speed up our Internet connection. The anti-virus did not find any viruses our corporate Symantec product had missed. And the accelerator crashed because our corporate connection doesn't allow proxy servers, which are so essential to the product that they're part of its name. The product served a single ad after it was first installed. All of the above shows why we do not test software at ISP-Planet.

The one element of the software that we were able to test is the GUI. The interface was very easy to use and to understand. When Yair says that it will reduce support calls, we believe him. We also, of course, tested uninstall, and that feature was flawless.

At ISP-Planet, we believe that any ISP offering dialup should also offer acceleration, and that every ISP should test the various available products from Artera Turbo, Propel, QuikCAT, Bytemobile, ICT, Proxyconn, and Slipstream Data. Each has strengths and weaknesses.

Yair says Proxyconn is closing deals with 3 or 4 ISPs each week. He admits competition is tough. "It's good for end users, and it puts pressure on margins. ISPs benefit from the opportunity to provide better service and increase their revenue."

The edge of the USA


We spoke with Tim McAfee (no relation to the anti-virus vendor ), general manager (as in "engineer") of Houlton, Maine-based Pioneer Wireless Network (network map here).

The company is situated on the Canadian border, with weather to match. "We've got two seasons here," says McAfee, "the season with snow and the season without."

The company has been adding services for residential customers. The standard residential package is 768 Kbps down, 128 Kbps up for $34.95.

"We had customers asking for software like EarthLink gives their customers," he explains. "We said we could not hire a developer and build software in house, but we started looking for options."

The company provides AppRiver anti-spam as part of its packages. It uses open source (GNU public licensed) software for filtering: DANS Guardian with the Squid proxy server.

Recently, it selected Proxyconn for the accelerator and anti-virus. Ease of installation-and getting three pieces of software in one package (anti-virus, anti-spyware, and accelerator)-were key considerations. The company also looked at Propel.

With all the software in place, the company expects to be able to charge $5 per month for Proxyconn, and to reduce support calls. "About 35 percent of support calls are related to spyware and viruses," says McAfee. He feels Proxyconn can help.

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The state of hacking in the world today

According to the World Economic Forum in Davos Switzerland, the world is loosing about one Trillion dollars a year due to credit card and wire fraud (I picked their estimate because it was the highest).

There has been an 80% jump in credit card and wire fraud in the last two years. Crime syndicates are to blame. This increase in cybercrime will continue. It seems that the business model is very attractive to them:

1. Hire a few programmers worldwide to scan thousands of IT systems for security holes . Often, the bulk of the scanning is done by thousands of home and business computers that are remote controlled into doing this work. The computer's owners are not aware that their computer is doing this work in the background. Spyware and viruses are the primary method by which an unsuspecting person's computer is remote controlled to do this work. Specific industries are usually targeted such as third party credit card processing firms.


2. An alternative method to collect this information is to send millions of random emails nicely asking people to hand over or "verify" their banking information. Incredibly this works.


3. The results of these scans are then passed to the crime syndicate staff programmers for focused and advanced attacks. These programmers are typically in foreign countries where US law Enforcement has limited or no influence.


4. Once a system is breached, identity, credit card and banking information is collected.


5. This collected information is used to electronically steal money or goods.

This type of crime is currently very low risk, low investment and high return for the crime syndicates. What can you do?

1. Do not connect your PC directly to your cable modem. At a minimum use any of the Cable/DSL Routers made by companies such as Netgear or Linksys or most any other brand. Their presence alone will stop over 90% of malware from reaching your computer.


2. Make sure that your antivirus and anti-spyware software are current. I can recommend McAfee or AVG for antivirus and, Spybot and Malwarebytes for anti-spyware. Many other products are also excellent.


3. Do not answer any requests that you receive in email to update or give or verify your banking information. Your bank will never ever ask you for this in an email


4. Do not open any attachments that you are not expecting, regardless of who they are from.


5. Review your credit card bill for unexpected charges, including monthly charges for small amounts such as $3.59.

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Review of download managers

Christmas time - a time where many PC users will use their free time to download and test a lot of software. Time for us to review what download managers are out there and which ones are free of spyware and adware. Inspiration for this article was a download manager review in issue 1/2004 (page 144) of my favorite computer magazine c't; this review doesn't repeat all the feature and speed tests, but concentrates on looking for easy-to-use and spy- and adware-free software.


The following list is in alphabetical order by the way...

Download Accelerator Plus (7, dubious privacy policy)


A few versions back, Download Accelerator Plus came even without a privacy policy, and the one found in a hidden place online contained some bad terms. Today, during the installation a license agreement will be shown, and this license agreement contains a privacy policy. It's still quite misleading and contradicting though, speaking about co-registrations with other services on the one hand, but only anonymous publishing on the other hand. How a registration with other services can be done anonymously is beyond my understanding...


In addition, just starting it opens half a dozen connections to ad servers, including Cydoor. Couldn't deal with the downloads on the site I used for this tests, as it always tried to download the download page, blocking the load of it inside the browser. On other pages, it worked ok. Still, even if you neglect the ads and possible spying, there are other download managers that are easier to use.

Download Express (1.4 build 233 SR 1, spyware-clean, free for non-commercial use)


Download Express is freeware for personal use, and quite fast in downloading as it splits every download and downloads it with 10 connections (like nearly all download managers in this list do). Its IE integration is working nicely, its download dialog is informative (though its quite flickering - a small thing the developers should fix). The German localization I tested is not complete, but at least there are a lot of localizations.

FlashGet (1.40, spyware-infected or paid mode)


FlashGet can be installed in two modes - one ad-sponsored, one ad-free shareware mode that needs registering. I tried the ad-sponsored version, and indeed it did install Cydoor.


The interface by the way reminds me strong of one of the other tools I tested (screenshots will be added later to this article). With only 5 simultanous download connections, it was only half as fast as Download Express, but it can be set to use up to ten.


My opinion about this one is that you can get better download managers for free.

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.

GetIt (1.04, spyware-clean, freeware)


Not very easy to use. In fact, the browser integration and the save dialogs need a lot of work. Until that work is done, I wouldn't recommend using it.

GetRight (5.02, spyware-clean, free trial)


GetRight has been one the first download managers around; in the early days spyware infected, but clean today. GetRight is not free, and doesn't have too many features compared to some other download managers in this test, but it's reliable and its IE integration works better than that of many others. If you already use it and don't miss any features, there are not many reasons to switch.

Go!Zilla (1.44.39, spyware-infected, 30-day trial)


Only a trial, and then also infected with eZula and Radiate. Does also installs a Smart Explorer, a browser that did phone home when starting it and will keep in memory. The browser integration wasn't working either, and crashing IE instead. With so many good and clean alternatives, keep your fingers from this one.

Internet Download Manager (3.1.8, spyware-clean, 60-day trial)


IDMs advantage is an easy to use user interface and integration into many browsers.

LeechGet 2003 (1.0 RC3 build 1500, spyware-clean, free for personal use)


LeechGet has the biggest graphical overload, but it's nicely designed and very informative. LeechGet is free for personal use, but you have to pay for commercial use and/or for for removing some limits. It doesn't install any adware or spyware, and has more features than most managers I tested. It has also been recommended by c't as the best freeware solution. It works with IE as well as Opera, Netscape or Mozilla (even Firebird).

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How to get songs off your ipod to computer?

iTunes for some reason doesn't allow you to take music from your iPod, and put it into your library. So want to get songs from iPod to computer safely without losing anything, you need a third party software iPod to computer transfer.

Enjoy the pop music on iPod is cool enough, but you need to know how to get songs off your iPod to computer.Sometimes you just don't know when your computer will crash. But iTunes application doesn't allow iPod user get off songs from iPod to PC directly. How could you realize that?

There is an easier way to do this though. If you don't mind downloading a program called iPhone itouch iPod to Computer Transfer, just get "iPod to Computer Transfer" You can just hit a button "Start Transer "and will back all your song, music, playlists, movie and photo up onto your computer from iPod, sort them neatly into folders, and all of that. Personally, I think that is a better way to get your songs off iPod.

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Cucusoft iPhone iPod to Computer Transfer supports to take songs off iPod and copy them back to computer harddisk directly and fast. It is the top-rated iPod transfer software - Easy and simple to use, powerful as well.

GUIDE: How to get songs off your ipod to computer?

STEP 1: Launch the iPod to PC transfer and link iPod to PC

Launch the Cucusoft iPhone/iTouch/iPod to Computer Transfer and connect the iPod to PC. a window will pop up. It means that the software are detecting your iPod device.


Tip: If the software couldn't find out the iPod device, please reconnect the iPod to PC and press the "rescan" button to detect and scan the device again.







STEP 2: Check files Please select the songs files which you want to get off your iPod. You can select all the files by click "Select all". The selected files will be got off your iPod at once.











STEP 3: Click "Start Transfer"


You just need to click the button "Start Transfer". The iPod songs will be got off to computer easily. It is very easy to use this iPod songs to PC Transfer to copy iPod songs to PC hard disk.











STEP 4: Get songs off iPod to Computer or iTunes


After click the button "Start Transfer", a pop up will show. You have two choice, 1. Transfer to Disk only. 2. Transfer to iTunes. For you to donwload songs from iPod to PC, you can choose "Transfer to disk only" and the songs will be uploaded to PC hard disk easily. If you choose "Transfer to iTunes" . and the songs will be got to iTunes easily.












STEP 5: Done

Why choose Cucusoft iPhone/iTouch/iPod to Computer Transfer?

It is the ideal solution for iPod and iPhone user to copy and transfer files from iPod and iPhone to computer without iTunes, backup files on your hard disk easily. A utility to transfer movie, videos, photo, music from iPod and iPhone to PC.

How to download iPod music to computer?

For iPod users, most of them are young people, so they always like trying to download music, movie or other files from iPod to computer. Have you try to download music from iPod to PC ? I am afraid you will say yes. When you try to download iPod to PC, you will find it different from download common Mp3 player to your PC, because iPod files are hidden in a playlist that you can not browse it with your computer directly. So how can you download iPod to PC ?

Now you knnow that downloading iPod to PC is different from downloading from others. what you will do if you need to copy iPod files to PC ? Don't worry, I give you a good suggestion, Cucusoft iPhone iPod to Computer Transfer is a powerful Apple products management software which can help you download iPod music to computer

Transfer iPod music, movie, playlist to computer.


Download music, movie and photos from computer back to iPod.

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Fully Guide: How to download iPod music to computer?

After download iPod to Computer Transfer and install it on your PC, run the program and connect your device to PC via USB cable. It will scan your device automatically. Tip: Sometimes, the program may show you "No device found". Do not worry, press the "Rescan " and scan your device again until the file list appears.

After that, the main interface appears and shows you the files in your device in the left list.Then from the file list, you can choose the files that you want to download to computer.

After finished, click "Start Transfer " button, a pop-up window will tell you more.

Now, you choose " Transfer to Disk Only" and press the transfer button at the bottom, the program will start to download iPod to PC.

Tip: the download version software is just for evaluation, so if you want to enjoy more about our product, we strongly recommend you order the full version.

Why choose Cucusoft iPhone/iTouch/iPod to Computer Transfer?

It is the ideal solution for iPod and iPhone user to download and transfer files from iPod and iPhone to computer without iTunes, backup files on your hard disk easily. A utility to transfer movie, videos, photo, music from iPod and iPhone to PC.

Upload iPod to iTunes - How to upload iPod music to your iTunes?

Recently my music got randomly deleted off iTunes all around 1000 songs. But I still have the music on my ipod. I don't like reading all the music because all my music folders are scattered. Is there anyway that I can upload iPod music to my iTunes?

If you don't know how to upload iPod music and video to iTunes or PC, please use Cucusoft iPhone/iTouch/iPod to Computer Transfer. If you want to esure your iPod files be safe, please use Cucusoft iPhone/iTouch/iPod to Computer Transfer.

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Cucusoft iPhone/iTouch/iPod to Computer Transfer, this useful iPhone/iPod transfer software can make you upload iPod files to iTunes and it also can backup iPhone to computer, recover missing or lost music files of your iPod. So this versatile program should be a "must-have" utility for you to upload iPod files to iTunes or manage your Apple device. Now go to have a TRY!

Step by Step Guide: How to upload iPod music to your iTunes with Cucusoft?

Launch the program on your computer Finish installing, run Cucusoft iPhone iPod to Computer Transfer on your PC, it will scan your connected device and recognise your device automatically. Tip: Sometimes, the program may show you "No device found". Do not worry, press the "Rescan " and scan your device again until the file list appears.

Select the uploaded files from the list The interface will show you a file list, from where you can choose the files that you want to upload from iPod to iTunes. Or you can also choose "Select all" in order to upload all iPod files to iTunes.

Settings for your uploading from iPod to iTunes Click "Start Transfer" button, the program will pop up a new window to ask you where to save the uploaded iPod files. Choose "Transfer to iTunes" and press the transfer button at the bottom, the program will start to upload music from iPod to iTunes.

When finished, the program will tell you the uploading is over.

Tip: the download version software is just for evaluation, so if you want to enjoy more about our product, we strongly recommend you order the full version. Why choose Cucusoft iPhone/iTouch/iPod to Computer Transfer? It is the ideal solution for iPod and iPhone user to download and transfer files from iPod and iPhone to computer without iTunes, backup files on your hard disk easily. A utility to transfer movie, videos, photo, music from iPod and iPhone to PC.

Sync songs ipod itunes-How to sync iPod songs to iTunes library?

If you are a music enthusiast, I believe your PC certainly has kept a lot of favorite songs, so, have you ever been confused by how to sync iPod songs to iTunes library without deleting?

A songs and videos sync iPod songs to iTunes library is necessary to most iPod users. And as an iPod user, have you found an useful program to help you Sync songs ipod itunes? If not, This article will tell you how to sync iPod songs to iTunes library?

Cucusoft iPhone/iTouch/iPod to Computer Transfer is a professional iPod management software that can make you Sync songs ipod itunes easily.

Sync iPod songs to iTunes library with few clicks.


Sync documents to PC for your iPod.

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Share : How to sync iPod songs to iTunes library?

Link your iPod to the computer via USB cable and run the program, the program will detect and recognise your device automatically.

After that, the main interface appears and shows you the files in your device in the left list. Then from the file list, you can choose the files that you want to sync iPod songs to iTunes library.
Click the "Settings " button to set the saving items for your iPod files. Then click "OK" and begin sync iPod songs to iTunes library.
Tip: the download version software is just for evaluation, so if you want to enjoy more about our product, we strongly recommend you order the full version. Cucusoft iPhone/iTouch/iPod to Computer Transfer is an easy to use iPod/iPhone utility designed to help you transfer iPod and iPhone content to PC hard disk and iTunes directly and easily, backup all your files from your iPod/iPhone/iTouch. Recover lost or missing music or backup and restore all of your iPod/iPhone/iTouch content; including your favorite songs, videos, photos, playlists and more. If you have any iPod/iPhone device, this software is a 'must have' utility to keep your iPod/iPhone safe.

Move iPhone to PC - How to move photo from iPhone to PC?

Recently, more and more people have bought an iPhone. It's nice and cool to play with your iPhone. With iPhone in hand, you can make phone calls, listen to your favourite musics, watch nice videos and take photos or surf the Web etc. Particularly, as an amateur photographer, you may always need to move photo from iPhone to PC. But have you found an useful tool to help you move photo from iPhone to PC makeing up the deficiency. Because Apple Corporation want to protect the copyright for the media supplier.

Many iPhone users recommend Cucusoft iPhone/iTouch/iPod to Computer Transfer. Although it's a third-party software, this iPhone transfer software may work perfectly and it can used for ipod, itouch. It allows you to move photo from iPhone to PC effectively and fleetly.

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Step by Step Guide: How to move photo from iPhone to PC?

Link your iPhone to the computer via USB cable and run the program, the program will detect and recognise your device automatically. Tip: Sometimes, the program may show you "No device found". Do not worry, press the "Rescan " and scan your device again until the file list appears.

After that, the main interface appears and shows you the files in your device in the left list. Then from the file list, you can choose the pictures that you want to move to computer.

Click the "Start Transfer " button, it will pop up a window to ask you where to save your moved pictures.

Choose "Transfer to Disk Only" and press the transfer button at the bottom, the program will begin moving pictures from iPhone to computer.

Tip: the download version software is just for evaluation, so if you want to enjoy more about our product, we strongly recommend you order the full version.

Cucusoft iPhone/iTouch/iPod to Computer Transfer is a powerful iPhone files transfer software, with it, you can transfer various iPhone iPod files to computer, including transferring pictures from iPhone to computer.




Move picture and photo from iPhone to computer.


Copy iPhone photo to your computer easily.