Downloading

There are literally millions and millions of files available all over the internet. With a simple search command, you can find fonts, programs, games, graphics, sounds, movies, stationery and just about anything else that you can imagine.
In order to get these products and files, you must learn how to download. Here are some of the things that I recommend.

1. Make sure you have an anti-virus program installed, operational and with up-to-date definitions.

This is critical as you may run across a virus and if so, you could put your entire computer at risk. Anti-virus software is inexpensive insurance.

2. If you are going to install a program, be sure that youve updated your emergency disk and have a recent backup. This is very important for downloads which change system information.

3. Stash your downloads in a special directory.

I create a directory called "Distributions" and inside that directory Ive put subdirectories - one subdirectory for each product. In those subdirectories I tend to save the setup files, documentation and anything else that I need to install the program or whatever.

In addition, I recommend that you use store your downloaded treasures on a drive other than the C drive. This is to keep your C drive for system files and applications, and your other drives for data.

4. Find the files to download.
There are so many sites with files to download that it would be impossible to list them all in one place. There are literally thousands of sites with just graphics and clip art files alone, much less programs, games and everything else.
Some good places to start looking include:

Softseek.com - Lots of good shareware and freeware products.
Download.Com - More programs to download

5. Save the downloaded file in your download directory.

6. Decompress the downloaded file.

Many downloads must be decompressed.

Files ending with a .EXE filetype must be executed. These files will typically begin a dialog for installation once you double-click on the file.
The .ZIP file type means the file is compressed and must be decompressed before it can be used. You can do this with any number of utilities, including Conversion Plus and Winzip.

7. Install or use the downloaded files.

If you downloaded a program, then install it. For graphics and sounds and such, use as appropriate.

8. Clean up.

If you are limited on disk space, you should delete the .ZIP or .EXE file that you downloaded once youve installed the application. You should also clean up any other miscellaneous files that are left over from the download process. I usually delete the files in my TEMP directory after doing any kind of installation.

About the Author

Richard Lowe Jr. is the webmaster of Internet Tips And Secrets. This website includes over 1,000 free articles to improve your internet profits, enjoyment and knowledge.
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