A tool to download a specified website or web-based content and save to a local hard drive for off-line viewing.

Pros: This is a high performance web spider that downloads websites and other web content that you specify and then saves it to the local hard drive for off-line viewing in the future. An entire website can be downloaded by providing the websites base URL or other web-page that is part of the website. This downloaded content is then saved to the local hard drive, but it can also be compressed into a single self-extracting EXE file that enables you to practically carry the website with you as you go.

The Siphon viewer allows you to view the saved websites, including in a slide-show mode. The viewer is automatically embedded into the EXE files that are created so that when extracted you can still view a website. There are configuration capabilities for advanced users, and a wealth of settings. There are also a host of other features which you may or may not need – you can build a search engine, there are indexing and spell-checking functions, and a COM interface and MS Access database support.

Cons: An unattractive interface. Configuration settings are plentiful and this in fact makes the software harder to use for an average user, also many functions are not necessarily useful (for example what is the spell-checking to be used for). An advanced user can do a lot more. Not being able to view websites in a standard browser is a limitation.

Overall: At least 3 stars, more can also be given because it definitely serves the task it is designed for. It is just that there are too many capabilities and the fact that other offline browsing tools allow viewing in a standard browser.