14 DAY TRIAL // A free download manager designed to integrate seamlessly with Windows 7 is now available from Microsoft. Dubbed the Microsoft Download Manager, the utility is designed, as the label implies, to help users administer their downloads beyond the boundaries of the browser. More often than not, downloading very large files can be problematic, especially in the context of an unreliable connection. It is precisely in scenarios like these that a download manager will carry out any download tasks to the end, unlike browsers missing this functionality.
“The Microsoft Download Manager enables you to download files from the Internet in a more reliable and faster way than using a browser alone. Using the Download Manager makes it easier to download large files such as an application or multimedia files,” Microsoft explained.
According to the Redmond company, the Microsoft Download Manager comes to the table with support not only for Windows 7, but also for Windows Vista and Windows XP SP2 and SP3. Microsoft Download Manager was designed to work with Internet Explorer 8, IE7 and IE6 but also with Firefox 3 and Firefox 2.
“The Download Manager has been specifically designed to manage file downloads from supporting Microsoft Web sites in a secure and reliable way. Once started, the Download Manager displays an easy¬-to-use interface that shows the status of downloads and enables you to resume downloads if they have failed. The Microsoft Download Manager currently supports downloads from Web addresses starting with http://,” the company added.
Users can expect basic download manager functionality from the utility, such as options to suspend and resume a download. At the same time, the tool allows for some customization, featuring options such as the number of automatic retries, and the maximum number of simultaneous connections, which cannot be larger than 16. Users can also configure a destination folder for the downloads or a proxy server for the application to use.
The Microsoft Download Manager is available for download here.