One Step Forward, Three Steps Back...

Pros: It sure is purty'!

Cons: Nagware aside, DAP used to be a very pleasant and user friendly download manager. You'd click on a link, see a list of mirrors, click on the one you wanted, and presto, it would start working its magic.

This new version is a usability nightmare. In the previous versions, all you had to deal with were at most two windows-- one showing how far a download was progressing, and a second optional one that would list all of your recent downloads. This new version-- in an attempt to look more snazzy-- gives the user plenty o' *purty* graphics and buttons to gawk at, but then assaults him with two huge windows carved into a buzillion different paned windows designed to annoy or terrify him.

Another problem I noticed immediately was that browsing slowed down to a crawl whenever I was downloading something. I don't understand why: this never happened with earlier versions of DAP, but it happened with this one.

This version also tried to seem to be all things to all people-- y'know, download manager, FTP client, portal to game demos, weed whacker, defibrillator, marriage counselor... but really, all these add-ons do is overwhelm the person who is just looking for a simple download manager. Besides, he or she will most likely have other programs that fulfill these needs, anyway, so what's the point?

My verdict: if you're happy with your current version of DAP, stick with it. This upgrade blows bean burritos. Me, I was so traumatized, I uninstalled it entirely and went with the far less emotionally damaging Free Download Manager.

Posted: 25-Dec-2005 09:04:06 PM

Mixed feelings on this one.

Pros: Has a handy variety of tools, such as a file shredder, ability to view and disable startup programs, option to run various types of files, and more. Also, very stable (unlike Ad Aware), and is easy to use.

Cons: Right now, S&D seems to be the darling of the whole internet security world (along with Ad Aware). I used to be part of that crowd that would gush with excitement about how safe I was with it. Then I had my first serious browser hijacking attempt and all that praise went downhill. While Ad Aware, Trend Micro's House Call, and Panda Active Scan kept catching data miners, spyware, malware, and CWS Bookmarks, Search and Destroy kept chirping cheerfully that my system was clean. I'm sorry, but it doesn't really restore my confidence when an initial scan by this program says everything is OK, and a later scan by Active Scan or something else tells me that nothing could be further from the truth.

So I'm really feeling ambivalent about this program now. It doesn't seem to catch very much. It's true that most anti spyware/ malware programs can't catch everything. But they should be able to catch SOMEthing. About the only reason why I'm giving it three stars is that I like it's set of tools. They seem very helpful in terms of catching other possible problems on your computer. (Because of the Startup Tool, I noticed a suspicious looking .exe running. A later scan by Panda bore me out.) So as a diagnostic tool, it's great! But as a scanner, forget it. Better to stick with Active Scan or Trend Micro.

Posted: 12-Oct-2005 07:36:42 AM

Pain in the... well, you get the picture

Pros: Cleaner, snazzier 2.0 GUI

Cons: Bloated, tons of false positives, slows computer down to a crawl, too fussy, just plain overkill

Posted: 28-Aug-2008 03:19:38 PM