Download Buttons – Be Careful What You Click!

By | February 11, 2012
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We have had subscribers write to us and complain about freeware we have recommended, insisting the link was not for the program they thought, and oftentimes scolding us because our link “downloaded a trial of some other program”! So, we set out to find out what was causing so many to download the wrong file! Here is what we found:

When you are downloading files from free sites, many have made it more and more difficult, almost to the point of confusion and deceit, to know which DOWNLOAD button you are actually supposed to click to download the file you asked for.

When downloading a file, we tend to click the first button we see that says Download, or the most dominant Download button, but that is not always the case. Most oftentimes, the dominant download button is for downloading an advertised/affiliate program from the site. So, before clicking, read and look around for the actual correct button… usually the one that is much less subtle.

Here are a couple of examples to give you a better idea of what to look for:

1. The screenshot below is from SoftPedia, a popular source for freeware/trialware. We were attempting to download the Windows Installer Cleanup Utility. The big green button actually will download a trial version of a completely different program. The little dark blue button , shown further down (with the arrow pointing at it), is the button you should be clicking.

Cloudeight InfoAve

2. This example is from Cnet; again, the big download button/one at the top, is for a trial of a program they are advertising. The correct one is further down on the page.

Cloudeight InfoAve

While the examples we show, thanks to our notations, make it look a lot less confusing, keep in mind these are snippets from the page. When viewing the entire page, with all the other clutter, ads, info, text, etc. the actual download button becomes even harder to find.

So, the next time you are downloading, be sure you click the right download button, or you may be getting something you don’t need and don’t want. Be careful what you click.

2 thoughts on “Download Buttons – Be Careful What You Click!

  1. Michael Moseley

    I have been noticing that too. I guess there is no shame anymore in being devious. Of course, they would deny that.

    Reply

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