14 DAY TRIAL // Come October 2011, Softpedia will be 10 years old! It’s hard to believe, but that’s a whole decade’s worth of free software downloads, relevant news and reviews.
Besides being provided free of charge, our downloads are also fresh, as “updated 1 minute ago” is not just our motto, we actually do live up to it. They’re fast, too, since we put our three mirrors’ combined 1.5Gbps bandwidth to good use. Last but not least, we aim to only provide safe downloads. That’s why each listed product goes through a special testing process which, if passed, grants the widely recognized Softpedia “100% Clean” or “100% Free” distinctions.
Clean downloads
We also have a very strict policy regarding software that contains third party components, either embedded or installed along the program itself as optional. Such products are listed as “ad-supported”, a term we have come up with to better represent software this category than just calling them “adware”, but only if the third party components are not a threat. In such cases, or when the components are not optional or, even worse, are installed silently without user consent, the software isn’t listed at all.
When available, we’ll always prefer to provide download links for the “clean” version of the installers instead of the ad-supported one. For all ad-supported software we also tell you what the additional components are, so you can make your own decision if you want to install the software or not.
We’ve stood by this policy even when it led to disputes with the developers. Fortunately, we’ve only had a handful of disagreements, which we handled by choosing to protect the users, even if it meant we had to delist or stop updating the software in cause.
No bundling, only original downloads
We’d like to stress that, unlike other software download providers, we never modify, supplement or repack the setup files. Each installer you get from Softpedia is the exact same original one that was published by the software’s developer and won’t have you end up with an “extra” toolbar or application in your system.
Another thing we love doing is treat you to software giveaways, something we've started to do weekly this year. And it's just going to get better!
For Softpedia, this 10 year anniversary will be more than just a mark in the calendar, it will be the beginning of a new era. Don’t worry, we’re still going to be the Softpedia you’ve come to know and love since 2001. Be assured that we’ll continue to offer Free, Fresh, Fast, Clean and Original software downloads, real news and fair software and game reviews. We’re just going to crank it up to 200%. Starting October, expect to see new features rolled out, along with major improvements and garnished with a few surprises, to taste.
Developers, don’t feel let out! We consider you a major asset and so far we have tried to meet your needs as best as we could. All software submissions are free of charge and processed on a first-come-first-served basis, in 24 to 48 hours. There’s no fee for getting in front of the line and we intend to keep it that way.
All software is created equal
There are no “premium” or “detailed” listings, we treat all developers and software products the same and that’s going to stay the same, too. Access to our dedicated download mirrors is open to everyone, you don’t have to pay a dime if your setup files are hosted by us.
We do not make any modifications or additions to your installers; we do not repack them or supplement them with third-party or self-made components; we believe the right to decide how your software is delivered to end users is yours alone just like users have the right not to have anything forced upon them.
Throughout the years, we’ve listened to your feedback, praise and, sometimes, complaints, and have done our best to improve your listings or quickly come up with a fix when we made a mistake.
We hope that all Softpedians, both users and developers, look forward to the evolution of Softpedia as much as we do.
Thank you for staying with us for the past 10 years and remember, the new era starts in Q4 2011!