I already have an ad blocker.
I'm not the person I'm trying to fix this for.
Not everyone is useing chrome(I'm not, for example) and not everyone has ad blockers. Telling someone "Well first you need to download a new web browser... then you need to download an ad-on for that web browswer... oh and then for some reason its just going to automatically drop the download in an obscure folder instead of asking you where you want the file to go..." yeah, thats not helpful.
Again: I can navigate a minefield of terrible ad-choices and mis-direction to find my way to a download link on the seediest of sites. I am not asking for help. I am asking to fix this for all the people who's computers I have to fix every time they get a virus from a stupidly-made website. Paint.NET is a great product I'd like to endorse. I can't with these predatory practices.
CNET is, sadly, even worse. Yes, that particular page takes you to an actual, legit download link(gold clap). About 90% of Cnet's nice, obvious "download now" links do not; they instead give you the "cnet downloader" which WILL install bloatware if you are not careful, bloatware which usually includes spyware/adware. The company I work for blocks CNET at all our sites for that reason. Its a shame, too, after all the effort CNET went to bulding a reputation for safe, secure downloads, that they have since flushed right down the toilet.
Thanks for the link to the developer, I'll see if I can get some traction over there.