I never really knew or cared what a download manager was. Most big file transfers, like Linux distro's, are handled through FTP which can resume broken downloads and all that stuff. Recently, when downloading things like MS's March CTP (8x700MB) and VS2k5 SP1 (432MB) the links were provided through HTTP.
Enter download managers, they resume the download for you. Since I'm a cheap bastard, I immediately got on board with "Free Download Manager". The interface is pretty nice, looks good enough, and does the simple task of resuming a big ass download. Now if there was only some way to integrate it with FireFox. Sure enough, like everything else you need, FireFox has got a plug-in for it. The FlashGot plug-in seamlessly and effortlessly (read: You just install it and FDM) linked my FireFox browser to Free Download Manager.
As an added bonus, if you're lucky and others have downloaded the file, they will give you their personal advise on the file. Sure, who can you trust on the Internet, but it might save your butt, you never know.
Some screenshots below:
Download in progress:
Download prompt:
Download in progress:
The User Interface from Free Download Manager with comments:
A little bit of extra security won't hurt:
