Downloading from a File Archive Website

Where do you find all these wonderful files to download? The best places to look are websites dedicated to file downloading. These sites are called file archives, and they typically store a huge variety of freeware and shareware programs and utilities.

Downloading a file from any of these archives is typically easy. Once you locate the file you want, you're prompted to click a specific link to begin the download. Some sites will begin the download automatically; other sites will prompt Windows to display a dialog box asking whether you want to save or open the file (you want to save it), and where you want to save it. Follow the onscreen instructions to begin the download.

When you're looking for files to download, here are some of the best download repositories on the Internet:

• Download.com (download.cnet.com)

• Jumbo (www.jumbo.com)

• SnapFiles (www.snapfiles.com)

• Tucows (www.tucows.com)

• ZDNet Downloads (downloads-zdnet.com.com)

Figure 27.1 shows the main page at Tucows, one of the most popular of these download sites. Just look at all the different types of software you can download!

Figure 27.1. Searching for files to download at Tucows.

There are several good reasons to download from one of these well-established sites. First, they all have really big collections; the more files available, the more likely it is you'll find what you're looking for. Second, they all make the download process relatively easy. And third, they all check their files for viruses before offering them to the public. In other words, these sites make downloading safe and easy.

caution

Be careful about downloading files from sites other than these large download repositories. Many downloadable files contain computer viruses or spyware, so make sure your PC is running anti-virus and anti-spyware programs, as discussed in Chapter 29.