DOWNLOADING FILES
It has often surprised me how
very few PC owners make use of the vast amount of Shareware and Freeware
software available on the Internet. This is no doubt because many would not know
what to do with any files they do succeed in downloading or are wary of
collecting a virus. My PC is continually monitored and protected by Avast Anti-virus. First of all I must warn against downloading anything
unless you know exactly what it does, and also how long it is likely to take to
download, which can be estimated if you can see the size of the file. Much of the software available comes in
such as the form of .ZIP or say .RAR
files. Some files automatically install software as soon as you
click on them such as Windows updates, which is why you should be wary of what you download. This also applies to a great deal
of the software supplied on the CDs supplied with PC Magazines. Some of this can
alter the setup of your systems, but be difficult to uninstall afterwards. You
should have no trouble with all the free simple programs and games from this
site.
Once you click on a link to download you will be asked to confirm whether to Open the Zip file or Save it, chose to Save so you can keep a copy as backup etc. Next the File Browse will show to decide where the file is to be Saved on your disk drive. I suggest you first create an extra folder using File/New/Folder, such as Temp, and perhaps even another as Temp2, you will find useful. Once you have downloaded a ZIP file you may need suitable software to unzip the contents such as Winzip. The latest versions of Windows have the facility to unzip files included. You can determine if either is already installed by just clicking on a ZIP file, to display the contents. If you temporarily reduce the size of your Browser such as Internet Explorer, you can then just drag the contents of the Zip onto say your Desktop, where it can be activated and moved later. Alternatively use File/ Extract all to direct the contents. This is where a Temp folder becomes useful. Note most of my ZIP files when unpacked create their own menu to chose which program to try. If you ever fail to find where the contents of a Zip have been deposited, use Search under the bottom right START of Windows to find it. Should you ever see a warning a file is corrupted anytime due to downloading, just download another copy. Beware it may not be clear from some some sites, whether some software is for Windows or a MAC PC.
You may find one of the files is INSTALL or SETUP, which when
activated, will install the software, so you may need to use Add/Remove Programs in the Control Panel
to uninstall it afterwards. Try to keep all original ZIP files on CD as Backup
in case you wish to pass them onto a friend sometime. Some software cannot be properly
installed unless you have everything in the original ZIP file. When you click
onto a ZIP file, you will see a list of the files inside, one of
these may be a TXT or HLP file. If you click on these files, your system should
temporarily open it up and display its contents, thus allowing you to see the
purpose of the software, and you can to decide if you really wish to install
it before committing yourself.
If you do not have Winzip etc installed go to www.shareware.com or www.zdnet.com and search for it. I have never experienced problems with 'catching' a virus using major Shareware sites such as these. Generally Games are unlikely to upset the system. Watch to see if some Graphics or Media software will ask if you want it to automatically run all of some of your Graphic or Music files such as JPG and MP3, thus preventing Windows Media Player etc activating them when clicked on, unless you open them with it individually. However it should be possible to change which files say WMP associate anytime.
Gordon Sweet