Member Avatar for rnalh5gh

What is the best place to download mac software besides having to download torrents?

I used to use pspiso to download all of my pc software but now that I have a mac I wanted to know the best sites.

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A short, practical update to the thread: good safe places to get Mac apps are the Mac App Store, the official developer’s website, Homebrew (Cask) for automated installs, curated subscription services (Setapp), and official GitHub releases for open‑source projects. As pointed out, software aggregators are convenient, but always confirm the publisher and checksum before you run anything. Be wary of sites that advertise keyloggers or “cracks” like the one mentioned by — that’s a major red flag. (support.apple.com)

Quick, usable options and why they’re useful:

  • Mac App Store — review/sandboxing and easy updates (Apple reviews and signs apps).
  • Official vendor pages — best for trial builds, beta releases, and support.
  • Homebrew Cask — great for scripting installs and keeping apps up to date; e.g. brew install --cask firefox. (brew.sh)
  • Setapp — single subscription that bundles many vetted paid apps if you use lots of paid utilities. (support.setapp.com)
  • GitHub Releases — many OSS projects publish signed releases and checksums there; prefer releases with signatures or published hashes. (docs.github.com)

How to verify an installer (simple checklist):

  • Prefer signed + notarized builds (Gatekeeper checks this).
  • Compare the publisher’s SHA256 or PGP signature to the file you downloaded (e.g. shasum -a 256 downloaded-file.dmg) and refuse files that don’t match.
  • If macOS blocks an app, use Control‑click -> Open or System Settings → Privacy & Security → “Open Anyway” only for software you absolutely trust. Don’t routinely disable Gatekeeper. ()

Final caution: cracked/torrent/“keylogger” sites frequently carry coinminers, spyware and persistent stealers — the real cost is data loss and cleanup, not just the money you “saved.” Avoid those sources and prefer the official channels above. (malwarebytes.com)

Code block (examples):

brew install --cask firefox
shasum -a 256 downloaded-file.dmg
xattr -d com.apple.quarantine /path/to/App.app   # only if you fully trust the file and understand the risks

(If uncertain, stick to App Store or the developer’s site and check the vendor’s support pages.)

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Member Avatar for jingda

I recommend Macupdate.

Member Avatar for SmileDK

I think the apple-mac-keylogger.com is quite good. I like to download software from this website.

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