Softonic.com

Softonic.com
Type of site
 File Hoster Website
Available in Dutch, Spanish, German, French, Italian, Portuguese, Chinese, Polish, Arabic, English, Japanese, Bulgarian, Swedish and others
Owner Privately held
Created by Tomás Diago
CEO Scott Arpajian
Revenue $25 to $50 million (USD) per year
Website en.softonic.com
Commercial Yes
Registration Not required
Launched 1997 (1997)
Current status Online

Softonic.com is a software and app discovery portal based in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain, and founded in 1997 and owned by Softonic International.[1] It reaches over 100 million users per month,[2] and at its height of popularity delivered more than 6 million downloads per day.[3]

History

Softonic started in 1997 as a file-oriented download service called Shareware Intercom,[4] at Intercom Online (Grupo Intercom), a provider of Internet services in Cerdanyola del Vallès, near Barcelona (Catalonia, Spain). Files for the website originally came from the "Files Library Intercom BBS" at Intercom Online, using a "5-step semi-automated process", which was later greatly simplified.[5] The company also offered monthly CDs of its software library for users tired of "having to wait for downloads to complete or pay exorbitant phone bills."[6] In 1999, the service was described as having a "generosity of games, antivirus, education and the long, seductive etcetera."[7] In 2000, the company became independent under the name Softonic.[8] In 2004, Softonic was made available in German, and in 2005, English.[9] Initially the service was oriented only to downloads of DOS and Windows software,[10] but it evolved to offer software downloads for Mac and mobile platforms.

Softonic was listed as the "Best place to work in Spain (100-250 employees)" in an annual study by the Great Place to Work Institute from 2009-2011, and as second-best in 2008.[11][12] In 2009 and 2011, the site was listed as having the most unique visitor traffic in Spain by audit bureau OJD Interactiva.[13][14]

At the end of 2014, Softonic announced that a headcount reduction procedure would be carried out as a cost-cutting measure, allegedly due to financial, productional and organizational reasons. In December, the company formalized the dismissal of 156 employees, against the initial estimation of 207.[15]

In February, 2015, Softonic announced that industry veteran and Download.com co-founder Scott Arpajian had been appointed as CEO of Softonic, replacing Founder Tomás Diago.[16]

In July 2016, Softonic announced a partnership with business software platform Crozdesk.[17]

Accusations of spreading malware via installer file

In recent years, Softonic was under fire from various online communities for the alleged turnaround of free and copyrighted software made by third parties, embedding the software with malware, adware, and viruses.[18]

Despite these accusations, Softonic continuously increases their repository of free software, and used to provide a custom installer for delivering the targeted software along with various other optional programs. Many online creators warned users against using Softonic as a downloading agent and recommend downloading the software from the creator's own website.[19]

In March, 2015, Softonic announced it had discontinued the Softonic Downloader[20].

References

  1. ↑ "About Softonic". CrunchBase.
  2. ↑ "Softonic surpasses the figure of 100 million unique users a month".
  3. ↑ "Our story - Softonic Corporate". Softonic Corporate.
  4. ↑ "Shareware". Intercom.es. Archived from the original on 2000-10-21.
  5. ↑ "Backstage" (in Spanish). Shareware.Intercom.es. Archived from the original on February 21, 1999. English tr.).
  6. ↑ "CDROMs Softonic". Softonic.com. Archived from the original on December 5, 2000.
  7. ↑ "Enredados (Tangled)" (in Spanish). Spain: El Tiempo. December 19, 1999. (English tr.).
  8. ↑ "About pmiiumima". Softonic.com. Retrieved October 12, 2011.
  9. ↑ "About Softonic". Softonic.com. Archived from the original on December 15, 2005.
  10. ↑ "Shareware.intercom" (in Spanish). shareware.intercom.es. Archived from the original on December 24, 1997.
  11. ↑ "Best Workplaces in Spain 2011". Great Place to Work. Retrieved October 13, 2011.
  12. ↑ "Vodafone, Louis Vuitton y Softonic, entre las mejores empresas para trabajar en España". El Mundo (in Spanish). April 22, 2010.
  13. ↑ "Auditoría Online - Certificación Audiencia - Difusión Medios Online". Archived from the original on 2009-06-15.
  14. ↑ "MES: SEPTIEMBRE 2011 - TIPO DE DATO: TOTALES - TRÁFICO NACIONAL E INTERNACIONAL" (sort by "N.UNICOS", sort by "PAGINAS"). ojdinteractiva.es.
  15. ↑ "Softonic acuerda con la plantilla 156 despidos, frente a los 207 planteados". 18 December 2014.
  16. ↑ "Softonic Names Scott Arpajian New CEO".
  17. ↑ "Crozdesk announces partnership with Softonic to help millions of businesses find the right software".
  18. ↑ "www.softonic.com softonic inc & www.bierensgroup.com complaints, reviews, scams, lawsuits and frauds reported, 1 results". www.ripoffreport.com. Ripoff Report. Retrieved 2017-07-30.
  19. ↑ "An Assessment of Prime Software Repositories" (PDF).
  20. ↑ "Q&A with Softonic's CEO Scott Arpajian: from desktop software juggernaut to 'mobile first' restart".
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