Finally, a VLC player that works!! My older brother (computer geek) usually makes sure the home computer is updated and has the latest software. For the most part I wouldn’t bother with updating software, until he went to college. Then I was on my own. I survived for a while, until the version of VLC Media Player I had a bug, and it constantly crashed during playback. My brother wasn’t around anymore; it was time to grow up. The first few sites I tried that claimed to have the “latest VLC player” turned out to be a bust. Then I stumbled upon downloadster.org. Clean site, no annoying advertisements, good overview on the software, and very helpful reviews. Plus, they regularly update their software, and illuminate important changes to new versions. Suffice to say, my current version of VLC Media Player works smooth, and I’m able to play any format of music. Kudos downloadster.org!

Free applications in one place Downloadster is a one stop shop for your basic PC needs. The interface is bright and well designed, and the software provided is all free and from reputable companies (7zip, Openoffice, VLC, etc). The site is a little hard to navigate, just in that it defaulted to VLC media player, and you don’t see the other software options unless you page all the way down to the bottom, and then they are just single text entries, rather than a button, so some users might miss them. Other than that, Downloadster has a great selection of free software. The software in question also covers all of the standard needs that a Windows user might have. These apps also tend to be the recognized standards for whatever particular use they are intended for. It is rather nice to have all of these applications in a single location, free of viruses, and not have to search all over the web.

Simple and Straight-forward Downloading Stumbled upon this site when I was googling for an alternative to Adobe’s PDF reader. I was quite hesitant at first since a quick glance at the site suggests another barrage of those pesky surveys to fill-up. Surprisingly enough, there were no surveys to fill up when I download the program (TidyView). The experience was pretty smooth and straight-forward: you download an install manager (compliant with the developers’ request) and it’s pretty much automatic from there. No registrations needed. There are several other open-source programs that are up for free download, too. What some may miss is a search function since all the programs are at the foot of the page. This isn’t exactly a deal-breaker, but it is quite cumbersome to not download programs the way we’re all used to. The site’s design is clear but flawed- when you click on the program, the site apparently adapts the program’s theme/color scheme which feels pretty inconsistent and somehow cheapens the overall experience. Nothing huge but worth noting, anyway. With its simple design, Downloadster.org does one service and fortunately does it well without the red-tape.

Bundled with adware Hash (authentification) codes for VLC don't match up with the real site; downloaded from this site out of curiosity and had the headache of removing all the other annoying programs that came with it.

Full of additional PUP Virus software Install VLC software through Downloadster and you also end up with a load of other crap that hijacks your browser forcing you to use yahoo search on new tabs on all browsers. Installing a horrible toolbar on IE and disables IE Options from being able to remove it. I was very careful to untick all boxes that could lead to extra bits being installed but the install process didn't tell me about this crap. Really annoyed! I finally managed to get rid of it but it wasn't obvious. If you're wondering how, press the Windows key and "E" together and then select Uninstall or Change a Program. Near the bottom of the list you should find somehting called "Linkrub" or something like it. You have to tell it to remove this ...crap! several times before it actually goes. Probably a good idea to run an Adware removal tool afterwards too. Best advice is stay well clear of this site if you want to keep control of your own machine. I don't care about letting Downloadster know about my review either Hate hackers like these