where to download software safely?

where to download software safely? ensuring that the software is virus-free.

CNET? SOURCE FORGE?

Do all software downloads from those sites are strictly tested by their official people or do they only provide a marketing platforms for other software developers to put their programs for downloads......

 

I usually try to go to the makers web site directly. Some software offered on Source Forge now has adware so be careful when installing that stuff and watch the check boxes. Since most people do not pay for the free stuff, the software makers have to try to earn money somehow.

 

Sometimes it's very difficult to determine if the developer website is attaching virus or not, especially for small free tool that does not update for quite some time.

And it's difficult to determine if a small software can be trusted or not. Their websites can fool you

 

Go directly to the author website that is the safest way to be sure it's written by them.

yes, sometimes it's not easy to know whom wrote or whom loaded it with packages. But now-days one needs to be more slower when clicking to install software and choose the option "Custom install" or "Let me choose to install" to see all the junk-ware that shows up so you will stop junk-ware from loading. It's each and everyone responsibility to learn more about the software your using or installing. You can no longer blame the sites for what they do - one must take responsibility and ownership of what they are clicking on.

 

is it useful checking the setup files in virustotal to see if there is any detection??

 

File hippo is the only place I know of that hasn't been associated with a server being compromised and they always have the latest versions of software as well but the problem is that you need to be vigilant whenever you download anything these days. CNET had a strict no adware policy but that's long gone. You should be running a good AV like Avast and periodically scan with MalwareBytes to catch the adware. Spybot search and destroy once a month or so (it takes forever even on the most modern of systems because it literally does a deep scan looking for every known adware, spyware, or ransomware rather than a simple file scan using heuristics like MBAM and others do). Honestly, common sense and always doing custom installs is your safest bet.

 

Something I do is always check the file size that the manufacturer says the download file is and then check the size you are downloading. I went to CNET last month and downloaded a program that was 1.4mb but the download was 2.1mb. After checking the file it had 4 extra programs downloading too.

 

I've already found Filehippo having some problems. When you get to the download link start - there is a video adware that runs in your download area that interferes when your downloading. I got rid of this problem by blocking that site ads link and now I can download without that adware running.

 

I agree with straight from the source. CNET is now a cesspool for adware. They used to be good, but close to when their download platform became download.com it became said cesspool of adware, not malware, but it's still a lot of crap. Sourceforge used to be good, but again, they went "dirty".

ninite so far still seems to be ok as well.

 

In addition to going to the source of the software as well as double-checking the file size, another precaution you can take is to compare the hash of the download with the published hash on the download site, if avaliable.