Download I0bit Driver Booster PRO giveaway version and install.
Now go to promo page via Google Chrome browser since it's in Czech language, and scroll down to "Pick up your free license" boxes and enter your name > email > agree license & 'Confirm' and now check email for "Iobit Driver Booster…" and get you official license key. Use this serial number to fully activate & enjoy premium features for lifetime.
Just installed and activated with a generated key - License status: Lifetime
Yep it says 6 months but after installing the software and activating using that key, licence management declares lifetime.
hmmm… maybe installing this limits ones lifetime to 6 months :-)
The Ring 3: Driver Booster
All seems legit …
As an FYI - it has no CAPTCHA or similar and accepts temporary email addresses. If it isn't already getting harvested, I'd imagine it won't take long.
Edit2: Oh awesome - it drags in a heap of toolbars! Press DECLINE when prompted and uncheck the 2nd install before finishing!
Used their software before and it made that many changes to my browsers- never again.
Noobs don't know how to "DECLINE" toolbars, they is use to user friendly interfaces such as deselection of tick boxes or just power click the next button.
LOL thats a different version - that is the FREE (crippled) version, the deal is for the PRO version
Same version, different keys. I downloaded it from there and the key unlocked it to pro.
Your 'easier' implied you could get the pro version without doing the above to get the key.
Wiser to go to the devs and get a direct download, definitely. Easier, no.
Yes it's a different version, it's the latest version and the link comes direct from the developer, not some dodgy czech site, which i would never download anything from.
It is the pro version once unlocked and is what the developer provides to buyers on their own website.
How do you unlock the Pro features?
- Download and Update Drivers 300% Faster
So, does this actually do anything?
Thats just compared to the crippled free version. googling it seems to show pretty positive reviews
Drivers are something that really shouldn't be left up to a $15 piece of Chinese-coded software. This seems like it's just begging to cause more problems than it will solve.
IOBit also has a long history of bundling spyware/crapware with it's software and stealing from other developers, on multiple occasions, which is hardly the mark of a serious software developer.
Keeping your driver set up-to-date is a matter of visiting 2 websites for most people, your motherboard manufacturer's and your GPU manufacturer's.
It's much better that you yourself ascertain you're downloading the correct drivers (sometimes there are multiple versions) and install them one-at-time; that way it'll make troubleshooting any potential issues a lot easier for you, rather than just letting IOBit do it all for you, rebooting, finding you can't boot into Windows and then wondering what the hell happened.
I've used IOBit software before, like the Advanced System Care suite; they do absolutely nothing that other, much better freeware alternatives can't (like CCleaner and TweakNow PowerPack) and often complicate things needlessly.
Also, I don't see it mentioned anywhere that this thing can do a complete uninstall of pre-existing drivers when troubleshooting issues, like DriverSweeper or Driver Fusion can. Display Driver Uninstaller is even more thorough and reboots into safe mode before clearing out all display driver remnants.
googling it seems to show pretty positive reviews
I saw a number of comments from people saying it installed the wrong drivers, especially for obscure OEM components, which is exactly what I expected. I wouldn't trust it.
While I do agree largely with your comments. I have found most motherboard manufacturers have very badly outdated chipset downloads etc, especially once the board is no longer sold.
Agree I would stay clear of Advance System Care Suite, seemed to be a very badly designed program.
Yes Iobit might have malware bundled, but so do so many software, norton, divx and realplayer are a couple that come straight to mind. So do so many of the extensions in googles web store (not to mention many mobile phone apps).
I have found most motherboard manufacturers have very badly outdated chipset downloads etc, especially once the board is no longer sold.
Realistically most chipsets stop being updated about a year to a year and a half after they debut, and that's the enthusiast ones like X79/Z87. It's just how it is. The lesser chipsets and OEM ones get hardly any support unless there's some fatal instability or incompatibility they didn't pick up on. Same goes for BIOS updates, NICs, WLAN adapters and all of those tweaking utilities ASUS and Gigabyte make.
The only things that may be consistently updated for longer are SATA/Storage/USB/RAID controllers from Intel/Marvell/JMicron/NEC, which in that case, you could possibly find some newer drivers from those respective manufacturers but honestly, as a sysadmin I can tell you it's going to make bugger-all difference for most people.
Really the only driver sets that are continually updated are Realtek's HD Audio Driver for the ALC8xx onboard audio and GPU drivers.
With the exception of GPUs; drivers and firmware are not things that you update for the sake of it generally, you do it because of incompatibility or instability and squeezing more performance out of aging hardware is something no manufacturer seriously bothers with these days.
Yes Iobit might have malware bundled, but so do so many software, norton, divx and realplayer are a couple that come straight to mind
Not even close to being a fair comparison. Those are all just examples of crap software packages. Neither Norton, DivX or Real Media have bundled actual malicious spyware with their installation packages, stolen from other software developers and gotten busted for it, faked positive reviews/feedback and directly accused consumers of lying; and you can opt-out of all of that bundled crap they tack on.
If you want a valid comparison, the Sony BMG Rootkit scandal would be one.
And secondly, the alternatives there are endless: Avast/MalwareBytes/SUPER AntiSpyware, Handbrake/VidCoder/AVIDemux/Xvid, and Real Alternative. You make it sound as if the Norton, DivX and Real have a monopoly in their respective niches.
IOBit are in a league of their own as far I'm concerned, bordering on being scam-artists worthy of lawsuits. Other junk out there is pretty easy to tell apart and has a slew of bad press to boot but to the non-tech savvy IOBit software could actually appear to be redeeming at first glance and they've gone to great PR lengths to pass themselves off as legitimate.
If it isn't broke , Don't mess with it . Simples .
It does give you the opportunity to check everything it is doing, every driver and version and to choose what to install before proceeding. The amount of wild driver chases i have been on over time it could certainly be useful to save some of it with the ilk of this - but only an idiot just clicks ok to everything at a driver level.
It also allows driver backup which could be handy for a re-install if you really cant find it online any-more and are dealing with someone who didnt keep driver installs. And of course the older the machine the more drivers and sites and wild goose chases generally.
Beyond that - all i said was it appeared to review well, a big part of that was the ability to fine grained supervise it.
There are also always going to be a few people that you just know are going to be better off with this that the 10yo graphic driver they would likely have otherwise.
I have always been pretty cautious with this sort of thing, most of them are junk, esp system 'optimisers'. This reviews like it may have a place.
Holy crap their ethics are past godaddy into apple teritory - that is just unbelievable
Worked fine for me. Thank you.
Thanks, looking forward to ruining my system in peak performance.
wow, it works just as good as that negative ion generator blackbox I installed in my car engine.
oh & that magnetic underblanket in my matress
Works fine. Do a Google search and download the latest version from the creator. The license works with the newer version (lifetime).
Software like this useful to ensure you've got the latest drivers, for the more obscure devices on your system.
imo, always use direct manufacturer driver, for fresh installation OS with no network connection, use DRP universal driver for easy driver installation
Does not require Google Chrome, the recommendation is because of the auto "Page Transalation" Google Chrome does, I believe. OP maybe add this somewhere to the description? Good catch though, thank you OP.
Installed the program (downloaded from IObit website)
Avira Anti Virus certainly doesn't like the method it uses when you choose the option to backup drivers.
Started getted warnings that 'DR/Delphi.Gen [dropper] was detected in the backup files that the program created.
Not too fond of these programs often loaded with other sneaky software.
Hmmmm….still trying to work out why my previous comment got negged.
NPNT? :p
(I didn't neg you…)
thanks!
People actually use this?
NOT a deal on something that is very likely to cause more problems than it will fix. Drivers DO NOT NEED TO BE UPDATED or messed with unless you have a SPECIFIC reason to. This is very much a 'if it ain't broke don't fix it' kind of area. Every time you do a driver update you run a very real risk that you're system will become unbootable if some strange error happens (and it happens a lot), which will cost more in the long run to fix. Also this company is dodgy as (profanity) and by joining the 'promotion' you are just furthering their goals to get more paid users (on a placebo product) or free users (so they can peddle spyware). Please please please for the good of the community stay away from this and this deal should seriously be unpublished.
Do not install this program of any software from this company.
You have been warned.
Please everyone vote it down before more suckers install it.
Hi everyone! I have used this program before, Driver Booster has seemed relatively safe - but! It might stuff up, for example, it only updated my Intergrated Graphics and deleted all my drivers for my other video card.
If you don't understand drivers, it's my (very) strong suggestion you don't mess with this software. Updating drivers only improves the performance of your computer, it is NOT necessary, and if it isn't done correctly then it can literally will break your computer.
Aside from that, the code works great! Don't download from the Czech site, just google 'Driver Booster' and pick first result, download it from cnet.com
And who are you? you just joined ozbargain 17 minutes ago!!!!! Suss….
Please correct me if I'm wrong but the email says it is a licence for 6 months only not lifetime :
"Licenční klíč ( licence na 6 měsíců)".