The "fast download" scam seems to be one of the biggest internet advertising scams. There are legitimate downloading servers if you know where to look but there are also many that say "fast free download here" and once you go there you get "you must register or login to download". So I register thinking its "free" giving my name, email address and home address then step two is "what type of account?" meaning you must PURCHASE/SET UP an account to proceed. I choose the "7-day limited trial" pay my $4 only to find out later I paid $12 because they gave me "extra software" I didn't even ask for! Then I try downloading and find out its torrent dowloading instead of direct downloading... I mean really where does the crap end? I send them email and no reply.

umm... welcome to the real world? If it sounds too good to be true, it most likely is. Torrents are the best way to download your "sensitive materials." It may take a few hours/days, but as long as you have a good virus scanner and are at least somewhat technical minded, you're gold.

Could you be referring to Usenet/Newsgroups?

The very same academic network created by US university students to share research studies etc, and today is a Terabytes per day file sharing party?

Originally posted by jjjtir
Could you be referring to Usenet/Newsgroups?

The very same academic network created by US university students to share research studies etc, and today is a Terabytes per day file sharing party?

No, what he's referring to is websites that promise downloads of illicit material for little/no cost, and don't deliver as promised.

Hilarious. You intend to download illicitly and are pissed off other peoples illicit activity.

Originally posted by LiquidLight
umm... welcome to the real world? If it sounds too good to be true, it most likely is. Torrents are the best way to download your "sensitive materials." It may take a few hours/days, but as long as you have a good virus scanner and are at least somewhat technical minded, you're gold.

I don't download porn. If I want "satisfaction" I simply go to my nearest convience store and buy magazines. Nice try though..

Originally posted by LiquidLight
umm... welcome to the real world? If it sounds too good to be true, it most likely is.

You got that right. I married my first wife because she said she had a body that wouldn't quit.. well, it did!

But Seriously, NOTHING can make your download go faster than the sped your ISP sets for your speed cap. BUT there are things you can do to help.

First thing you should do is go check your internet speed connection times for downloading an uploading at speakeasy.net. If those times are far below your advertised speeds, call your ISP company and have then come out and check for problems.. Especially if you are using a DSL through the phone line.

They can find problems with phone wiring in the walls and he wires going to your PC. They will make sure your modem software is properly updated. With most DSL companies, you can request a "speed boost" be installed on the line from the companies end. This is usually free and they do this by hitting a few buttons on their console.

Search the net for info on how to optimize your windows based computer for downloads of maximum connections and speeds. Speedguide.net and DSLReports.com have good info.

That being done, there are programs that can appear to make your downloads go faster by using better compression algorithms on the data stream and using multiple simultaneous connections. This will help too. Many of these are free search around for internet download managers.

If all of these thing are done you can be sure you are getting the best speeds your system can deliver with the type of service and equipment you have.

Depending on what your trying to download ( I saw games from the 90s ) it can be fairly easy to find. I know my sister uses usenet and all that and she usually lets me bum some things off of that, other times I can often find the game on megaupload or something; but it may be in different parts like part 1, 2 or 3.

I've found that using a few string of commands on Google usually leads you to what you want to find. At least that's what I do when searching for outdated OSTs for a friend. Games on the other hand are harder, usenet from what I've heard is still the best :/

Originally posted by JohnPhoenix

Originally posted by LiquidLight
umm... welcome to the real world? If it sounds too good to be true, it most likely is.

You got that right. I married my first wife because she said she had a body that wouldn't quit.. well, it did!

But Seriously, NOTHING can make your download go faster than the sped your ISP sets for your speed cap. BUT there are things you can do to help.

I don't have a general speed problem as I have downloaded with rapidshare and megaupload at speeds above 100 mbps when not busy.

When busy it drops to 30-40 mbps.

Originally posted by JohnPhoenix
That being done, there are programs that can appear to make your downloads go faster by using better compression algorithms on the data stream and using multiple simultaneous connections. This will help too. Many of these are free search around for internet download managers.

If all of these thing are done you can be sure you are getting the best speeds your system can deliver with the type of service and equipment you have.

I don't like download managers because they seldom work properly with the default settings and it takes a bit of knowledge to get them fine-tunned. Its easier to download directly one at a time.

And I'm familiar with these 90s games... in some areas of the internet they're called "Abandonwares", games whose copyright still stands, but the respective developer companies no longer exists or don't care about the game anymore to sell or give any support whatsoever... sucks doesn't it?