It really is totally free (for only 2 downloads per day though)
It does ask for an email address where it sends a validation email etc.
Have not noticed anything untoward on the spyware front either.
I discovered it the other week whilst trying to troubleshoot my DVD ROM probs after the Win7 install. So far updated every driver on my PC and most on my vista laptop. No problems so far with any of the ones I selected.