IDM - Internet Download Manager

Internet Download Manager (IDM) is a download accelerator built to make large file downloads faster and far more resilient to connection problems. Tonec, its developer, claims download speed improvements of up to 5 times over a standard browser download, achieved through IDM's dynamic file segmentation technology.

What sets IDM apart is its error recovery: if a download is interrupted by a dropped connection, a network hiccup, a computer shutdown, or a power outage, IDM can resume the transfer from where it left off rather than starting over. Its smart acceleration engine segments files dynamically during the download and reuses existing connections without extra login or handshake steps, squeezing out more speed than many competing download managers.

IDM also includes practical extras: multilingual support, a zip file preview before extraction, download categories for organization, a built-in scheduler for off-peak downloading, sound alerts for completed transfers, HTTPS support, a queue processor for managing multiple downloads, and progressive downloading with quota controls - handy if your internet plan has fair-usage limits.