Internet Download Accelerator: The Download Manager That Actually Works
So last week, I was trying to download a massive 9GB game update on my crappy internet connection, and of course, it failed at 87%. I nearly threw my laptop out the window. That’s when my buddy Dave suggested Internet Download Accelerator. I was skeptical (I’ve tried like five different download managers before), but holy crap, this thing is a game-changer for anyone stuck with unreliable internet.
Quick FYI: They just dropped version 7.1.3 back in November. It’s got better video downloading (which I desperately needed for those YouTube tutorials I’m addicted to) and some SHA256 checksum verification thingy if you’re paranoid about file integrity. The Windows 7 support is back too, which is great for my old laptop in the garage.
So How Does This Thing Actually Work?
The secret sauce is pretty simple – IDA breaks your downloads into chunks and grabs them all at once. It’s like instead of having one person carry your groceries, you’ve got five people each grabbing a bag. Weirdly, this works even on servers that try to throttle you (looking at you, certain file hosting sites that shall remain unnamed).
Last month, I was downloading some work files on hotel Wi-Fi (nightmare, right?), and it kept dropping. With IDA, I just hit resume and it picked up exactly where it left off. No more starting over and swearing at my screen at 1 AM while trying not to wake up the entire floor.
It Actually Works With Your Browser (Unlike Most Add-ons)
I use Chrome normally, but Firefox for development work, and this thing plays nice with both. It hooks into IE, Chrome, Firefox, Opera, Safari, Yandex, and even Vivaldi if you’re into that. The integration is surprisingly smooth – it just replaces the default downloaders without making you jump through hoops. No more “this extension crashed” notifications every time you try to download a PDF.
YouTube Downloads Without the Sketchy Websites
OK, so I’m not saying to download copyrighted stuff (please don’t), but for legitimate videos you need offline? It’s amazing. IDA monitors your clipboard, so when I copy a YouTube link to some coding tutorial I need to watch on my commute, it pops up and asks if I want to grab it. Way better than those virus-infested “YouTube downloader” sites I used to risk my computer on.
File Organization for My Chaotic Downloads Folder
My downloads folder used to be a disaster zone with 500+ random files. IDA can automatically sort downloads by type. So now PDFs go to my Documents folder, MP3s to Music, and installers stay in Downloads. You can set up as many sorting rules as you want – I’ve gone a bit overboard with mine, but hey, it works for me.
FTP Without the Pain
The built-in FTP browser is basic but gets the job done. I use it for grabbing files from our company’s FTP server without having to mess with separate FTP clients. It’s not going to replace FileZilla if you’re doing serious FTP work, but for quick downloads, it’s one less program to have open.
Other Stuff That’s Pretty Handy
- Password Manager-ish Thing: It remembers site logins for downloads, which saved me when I needed to grab files from our client portal at 2 AM and couldn’t remember my password
- “Don’t Kill My Bandwidth” Mode: You can throttle download speeds when you need to do other internet stuff like Zoom calls
- Built-in Search: Honestly, I don’t use this much since Google exists, but it’s there if you want it
- IE Toolbar: Does anyone still use Internet Explorer? Apparently someone does because this exists
- Download Scheduling: Super useful for setting big downloads to happen overnight when my roommates aren’t streaming Netflix
- Torrent Support: Added in the 7.1 update via plugin – works OK but not as good as dedicated clients
- Video Preview: Can play videos before they finish downloading, which has saved me from some… questionable content
Recent Updates (Because They Actually Improve This Thing Regularly)
Version 7.1.3 (Nov 2024)
- Better video/music downloads (finally fixed that annoying bug with partial playlists)
- SHA256 checksum stuff (Ctrl+2) – good if you’re paranoid about tampered downloads
- More minimum size options – I set mine to 10MB so it doesn’t kick in for small files
- Windows 7 support is back – saved my ancient laptop
- Fixed that annoying activation popup that kept appearing randomly
- Chatbot now handles magnet links (which is weirdly useful)
- External Downloader updates – still not sure what this actually does
- Various bug fixes for stuff I never noticed was broken
Version 7.1 (Feb 2024)
- Added BitTorrent support – it’s not uTorrent, but it works in a pinch
- Now handles .torrent files and magnet links automatically
- Fixed that irritating bug with YouTube playlist downloads
- Better MD5 checking – saved me from a corrupted driver download
- Fixed some crashes I used to get with larger files
Will it work on your PC? Probably. Runs on pretty much everything – Windows 11, 10, 8, 7, even ancient stuff like Vista and XP. Also works on Server versions if you’re downloading on a server for some reason. I’ve personally tested it on Windows 10 and 11, and my dad still uses it on his Windows 7 machine that he refuses to upgrade.
Also See: Download Microsoft Edge 132.0.2957.115 for Windows
The Not-So-Great Stuff (Being Honest Here)
- The interface looks like it’s from 2010. It works fine, but don’t expect anything pretty.
- The built-in browser is clunky – I never use it.
- Setup tries to install some partner offers – make sure to uncheck those.
- The video downloading feature occasionally gets confused by weird YouTube formats.
- The help documentation is… not great. Google is your friend if you get stuck.
If you’re sick of broken downloads and snail-pace file transfers, grab IDA from their official site: https://www.westbyte.com/ida/ – been using it for years and it hasn’t let me down yet.
Screenshots
