FileHippo, a website recommended by quite a few users as one of the remaining "clean" websites, has added a custom download manager to its site which -- who would have guessed that -- includes adware offers as well.
Agree. FileHippo was Always a "clean" file hosting website. But on the other hand, I am surprised to see it took them so long to add "adware" offers as well. File hosting isn't free, remember ?
No. All FileHippo Installer Enabled products have a Direct Download Link that you can use instead of the Installer.
Let's just hope they make it easy to spot.
If the idea is to make money from the bundled installers then surely making the Direct Download link very obvious sort of defeats the point of the exercise.
Don't forget the developer/software websites either, some still provide a download direct from their own site without dealing with a download site.
Yes, a good practice would be making quite evident the link to developer's website so users can 1) check for updates 2) search for more first-hand information 3) last but not least download from source(s) intended by the author.