{{Short description|Software and tech-news website based in Romania}} {{Infobox website | name = Softpedia | logo = Softpedia logo.svg | screenshot = | caption = | url = {{official URL}} | commercial = Yes | type = Software distribution and technology news | language = English, Romanian | registration = Optional (not compulsory to download software) | owner = SoftNews NET SRL | launch_date = {{start date and age|2001}}<ref>[https://www.linkedin.com/company/softpedia LinkedIn] {{better source|date=March 2023}}</ref> | current_status = Active }} '''Softpedia''' is a software and tech news [[website]] based in [[Romania]]. It indexes, reviews and hosts downloadable software and reports news on technology and science topics. It is ranked as among of the top download portals on the internet.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |last=Neacsu |first=Bobi |date=2007-06-11 |title=Trafic.ro merge mai departe fara Softpedia.com |trans-title=Trafic.ro goes on without Softpedia.com |url=http://old.standard.money.ro/articol_2445/trafic_ro_merge_mai_departe_fara_softpedia_com.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100603224703/http://old.standard.money.ro/articol_2445/trafic_ro_merge_mai_departe_fara_softpedia_com.html |archive-date=2010-06-03 |website=Standard.ro |language=ro}}</ref>
== History == Softpedia was started by two Romanian students, Bogdan Gheorghe and Cătălin Garmacea as softnews.ro. They realized that the Romanian audience was too small so they shifted the website to English and changed the domain to softpedia.com. The Romanian version was eventually discontinued because advertisers wanted a solely English website. The site got around 950,000 visits in 2005.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Mihai |first=Adrian |date=2005-01-10 |title=Continut web 'made in Romania', la export |trans-title=Web content 'made in Romania', for export |url=https://www.wall-street.ro/articol/IT-C-Tehnologie/38/Continut-web-made-in-Romania-la-export.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081021094529/https://www.wall-street.ro/articol/IT-C-Tehnologie/38/Continut-web-made-in-Romania-la-export.html |archive-date=2008-10-21 |website=Wall-Street |language=ro}}</ref>
Softpedia's revenue in 2006 was 1.6 million euros, with 95% of the revenue coming from outside Romania.<ref name=":0" />
In 2007, the Romanian website monitoring service Traffic.ro reported Softpedia as getting 3.5 million visits a week, mostly from outside of Romania. Softpedia chose to stop being monitored by Traffic.ro in June of that year.<ref name=":0" />
==Features== {{Additional citations|section|date=October 2024}} The site is owned by SoftNews NET SRL, a Romanian company.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Apetrei |first=Alina |date=2010-07-22 |title=Ce afaceri au rulat greii din online-ul romanesc in 2009 |trans-title=What businesses were run by Romanian online heavyweights in 2009 |url=https://www.wall-street.ro/slideshow/Marketing-PR/89710/Ce-afaceri-au-rulat-greii-din-online-ul-romanesc-in-2009/3/Jucatorii-din-servicii-afaceri-in-scadere.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120614175941/http://www.wall-street.ro/slideshow/Marketing-PR/89710/Ce-afaceri-au-rulat-greii-din-online-ul-romanesc-in-2009.html?full |archive-date=2012-06-14 |website=Wall-Street.ro |language=ro}}</ref> Softpedia features reviews written by its staff. Each review includes a 1-to-5-star rating, and often a public rating to which any of the site's visitors may contribute.
Products are organised in categories which visitors can sort according to most recent updates, number of downloads, or rating. Softpedia serves the most recent [[Binary file|binaries]] and promotes software that is recently downloaded on its front page.<ref name=":1">{{Cite journal |last=Geniola |first=Alberto |last2=Antikainen |first2=Markku |last3=Aura |first3=Tuomas |date=2018-08-01 |title=Automated analysis of freeware installers promoted by download portals |url=https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S0167404818302797 |journal=Computers & Security |volume=77 |pages=209–225 |doi=10.1016/j.cose.2018.03.010 |issn=0167-4048|doi-access=free |hdl=10138/238335 |hdl-access=free }}</ref> Free software and commercial software (and their free trials) can also be listed separately. Softpedia displays virtual awards for products free of [[adware]], [[spyware]] and commercial tie-ins. Products that include these unrelated and/or unanticipated components and offers (which are known as [[potentially unwanted program]]s) are marked as such.<ref name=":2">{{Cite news |title=Download Startup Product Manager 3.48 |language=en-us |work=Softpedia |url=http://www.softpedia.com/get/Others/Finances-Business/Predicted-Desire.shtml#status |access-date=2018-07-27}}</ref>
Softpedia does not repack software for distribution. It provides direct downloads of software in its [[software distribution|original provided form]], links to [[software Developer|developers]]'s downloads, or both. It hosts some products on its own servers in case they become unavailable from their developers' sites.{{citation needed|date=October 2021}}
In December 2008, SoftNews NET SRL launched ''Autoevolution'', an automotive news and reference web site.<ref>{{cite web |title=Full Throttle Ahead: Autoevolution Launched |url=https://news.softpedia.com/news/Full-Throttle-Ahead-Autoevolution-Launched-99729.shtml |website=Softpedia |access-date=14 October 2022}}</ref>
== Safety == Softpedia has occasionally been used to distribute [[malware]], such as a spyware program named OSX/OpinionSpy that was hidden in screensavers uploaded there along with [[MacUpdate]] and [[VersionTracker]] in 2010.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Mills |first=Elinor |date=2010-06-01 |title=Free apps install spyware on Macs |url=https://www.zdnet.com/article/free-apps-install-spyware-on-macs/ |access-date=2024-10-22 |website=[[ZDNET]] |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Chartier |first=David |date=2010-06-01 |title=Security firm discovers spyware in Mac software |url=https://www.macworld.com/article/205740/mac_shareware_spyware.html |access-date=2024-10-22 |website=[[Macworld]] |language=en}}</ref> A 2018 report found that Softpedia was relatively safe compared to other download sites, with only 4 of 148 programs tested containing unwanted Internet Explorer add-ons and stating that Softpedia was less vulnerable to man-in-the-middle attacks due to serving more stand-alone installers that do not download executable files.<ref name=":1" /> Softpedia displays virtual awards for products free of [[adware]], [[spyware]], and commercial tie-ins.<ref name=":2" />
==See also== * [[Internet in Romania]]
== References == {{Reflist}}
== External links == *[https://Softpedia.com Official website: Softpedia.com] *[https://softpedia.pl Polish website: Softpedia.pl]
[[Category:Information technology companies of Romania]] [[Category:Download websites]] [[Category:Internet properties established in 2001]]