Driver download dilemma

I have been in pain with free downloads lately. Nerve-wrecking commercial business is trying to cut in on me. But I'm not buying, nor dancing for that matter. This has gone too far now. Everyone agree?

When you're trying to download a driver for your hardware, perhaps to update it, that should be completely innocent stuff. Manufacturers even encourage to do that. It used to be quite easy. Nowadays you google some pages to find a free download and get a list of several good-sounding links. Almost each of them are commercial. They show the true download link in a small, almost hidden place. The biggest 'download' link goes to a commercial site, where you can buy something. Something else.

Usually the small, real download link leads to another page, which has a similar kind of hide-and-seek download link there somewhere. Or there is no link for it at all; only commercial links. Sometimes the download should have started by itself, but if you have denied an access for active-X components or such, nothing really happens. Only this 'safety bar' appears on top of the page, where you can allow the component to be run. Usually you have to enter the download link again during the same session to continue.

When it comes to drivers, they seem to have a lot of driver detectives out there. None of them are free. The download is free however and the driver detecting is free as well. But when you want to do something about it, it will cost you. And it doesn't say it before you've reached the step three. I don't want to pay for downloading free drivers! Some of the detectives show which driver would be updated by which driver, so that way I can save some time and do it by myself. I agree that those detectives are useful (haven't tried them though) - for some.

When you find a good place to download drivers or other software, it's worthy of gold these days. Even many manufacturers, Microsoft included, have those commercial traps everywhere. Be warned, be worried, be angry.