The Download Blog

This download manager brings much more to the table than fast file transfers, but it definitely delivers those, too. Upon installation, Download Accelerator Plus asks for your e-mail address in hopes of sending you special offers, but you don't actually need to submit any information.

Increased download speeds are the program's bread and butter, speeding up downloads by almost 200 percent in most cases. Besides splitting files into smaller pieces, it automatically seeks faster mirrors. It also can get a file simultaneously from several sites, which is useful if a particular site limits the download speed, it can resume downloads, and it can preview some media files while downloading. There's a blacklist for sites that you never want to accept downloads from, too, and categorized folders and filters to keep your downloads organized.

The nag panels have been woven into this freeware fairly innocuously, and they don't clutter the tabbed main window or the download windows as much as they could. They also make the UI feel similar to LimeWire and other file-sharing clients. DAP installs a toolbar in Internet Explorer and integrates with Firefox and other browsers, which can be both useful and annoying depending on your preferences. All things considered, this feature-rich program will prove valuable for those with massive downloading habits.