I am having my doubts on if JDownloader is actually sanctioned by the hosting sites. At least whenever I have to use it, it takes quite some time to update its ability to work with certain one click hosts. I also always suspected that the TOS agreement is some way for the JDownloader developers to transfer the responsibility of breaking the TOSes towards the user.
Don't get me wrong, I am a regular user of these kinds of software products, but just by their incredible amount of supported download hosts it seems that they are at best "tolerated". But I guess the tolerance level is also quite large in this "sector" as long as it doesn't target their premium account business.
> it takes quite some time to update its ability to work with certain one click hosts
This might have more to do with the quality of the software (a desktop Java app? in 2012?) than anything else. I would love for someone to come along and make a JDownloader clone using GTK or Qt.
That said, you're right in that JDownloader's in a gray area. They can't have possibly gained approval from all those sites.
I am affiliated with one of the sites JDownloader supports, and they certainly did not ask us for approval. Whatever you try to stop them is futile, since they can react quickly.
JDownloader breaks our business model since we don't have premium accounts, but in the end you have no other choice but to accept that some people are leechers.
So, please don't think you're doing good when using tools like that and advocating their use.
Don't get me wrong, I am a regular user of these kinds of software products, but just by their incredible amount of supported download hosts it seems that they are at best "tolerated". But I guess the tolerance level is also quite large in this "sector" as long as it doesn't target their premium account business.