There are three types of software available on most download sites: demos, shareware, and freeware.
Whenever you download software, you must be careful to make sure it is a reputable site so an to minimize the chance of the software containing a virus. It is always a good idea to use virus scanning software before opening a downloaded piece of software. Software from shareware.com or download.com is virtually guaranteed to be safe.
Search the download site.
If you're looking for a particular piece of software and you aren't sure which FTP site to visit, searching Download.com is your best bet.
The process is easy enough: just head straight for the Search box, enter one or more search words, and click the Go button. You'll get a list of software that matches the word (or words) you searched on. You can sort these results in a variety of ways by clicking the hyperlinked words (title, date added, or number of downloads, for instance) that appear at the top of the page. Download.com also lets you filter the results by using the drop-down boxes (labeled software license, category, and operating system) at the bottom of the page.
To search for a particular program within a category (such as Business), go to that category's page and you'll find the "in Business" option automatically added to the drop-down menu.
Select "Download.com" for searching if you are not sure which category might contain the program you are looking for.
Select "All CNET" to search the whole CNET network. Through this search option you can find, when available, downloads, features, reviews, or news stories relevant to your search term that have appeared on any of CNET's sites.
Select "The Web" if you want to search the Web for programs, news, or whatever else you might be looking for.
Download.com is organized by categories that are available from the front page of the site and through the site map. You might find that choosing a category works better for locating a file. For example, you will find most programs that are related to the Internet in the "Internet" category.
Simple, one-word searches work the best. If you are searching on a word that is too general, such as Windows or Macintosh, you might not find what you are looking for, or find too many entries.
Commas or the word OR let you search a combination of two words. For example, entering night OR day would return any reference to night or to day. The same applies for night, day.
The word AND, an ampersand (&), or a plus sign (+) let you search on two (or more) words together. For example, entering night AND day in the search box would only give you results that mentioned both night and day. Spaces must be used between words and the AND or &, as in, night & day.
Quotes around words let you search on the words as a phrase. "Night and day" entered as a search query will return results that contain the entire phrase "night and day" only.
Wildcard searching is available with the asterisk symbol (*). For example, a search on simulat may reveal no programs, but add the wildcard symbol, and simulat* will show all programs mentioning something that "simulates" or is related to a "simulation." However, please keep in mind that a wildcard search may take longer than a normal search and should be used only as a last resort.
Sorting search results.
Once your search result has been returned, you can re-sort the list. Options for sorting results are "Title," "Buy," "Pick," "Date added," "Downloads," and "File size." For example, if you would like to see your results by date, click the "Date added" link, and the list will be re-sorted to show the newest programs first.
Filtering search results.
You can also filter search result listings to narrow down your choices. Options for filtering the list of results can be found at the bottom of the list; you can filter results by operating system or license. For example, if you want to find only freeware programs, you can choose "freeware" from the drop-down menu and click Update. The resulting list will only display freeware programs relevant to your original search term.
Software recommendations.
Because of the vast number of titles listed on Download.com, they are unable to make personal software recommendations via email. They strive to be as comprehensive as possible through their reviews, recommending what they feel are the best programs available.
Categories.
If you know what type of software you're looking for but don't have a specific program in mind, select a category of software from the list under the search box to narrow your search.
Getting The Software.
Once you've homed in on a program you want to download, click its hyperlinked title to get more information about the program. To download it, just click the "Download now" link on the right side of the page. This will automatically initiate the download via the best available download site. If you'd like to choose among all the sites that offer that program, click the link directly below the "Download now" link.
What happens next depends on your Web browser. In most cases, you'll get a dialog box that confirms where your download is saved. Before you click OK, make sure that the file is saved in the Downloads folder you created in step 1.
If your browser isn't configured to view compressed files, you'll get a message like this: "No viewer available for this file type. Do you want to save to disk?" You should uncheck the box that says "Always ask this question with this file type" (so that in the future you'll be able to begin downloading automatically) and click OK. Then, select your Downloads folder as the saving destination. If you encounter other problems, click here for more troubleshooting tips.
There are four search options on Download.com: searching within a category, searching the entire Download.com site, searching the entire CNET network, and searching on the Web. These options are available in the drop-down menu near the top of each page. On the front page of Download.com, the search box menu does not offer a category-specific search, but all of our category pages offer this option.
Decompress the archive
Practically every file you'll ever download from the Internet is compressed. A compressed file not only reduces download times, but also makes it possible to download all of a program's files (like help files and drivers) in a single file. Overall, dealing with compressed files makes the whole download process go more smoothly--until the file is on your hard disk. At that point, the file may have one of these unfriendly looking extensions: ARJ, ARC, BIN, EXE, GZ, HQX, SEA, SIT, UU, UUE, ZIP, or Z. How you handle these files depends on whether you're using a Mac or a Windows PC and what software you use to decompress these files. (The most popular decompression program for the Mac is StuffIt Expander, and most PC users rely on WinZip to handle compressed files.)
PC users: If the file you've downloaded has the extension EXE, it's likely to be a self-extracting file that will decompress when you double-click it. Before you do this, though, drag the file into your Downloads folder or directory to keep your hard drive tidy. After you double-click the file, your installation should be complete and you can skip straight to step 5.
If you've downloaded a file that ends in ARJ, ARC, GZ, ZIP, OR Z, however, you'll need to decompress it with a program such as WinZip. Here's how to decompress a file using WinZip:
Mac users: If you've downloaded a file that ends in SEA, it's a self-extracting file that you can decompress simply by double-clicking it. For files that end in CPT, HQX, or SIT, you'll need a decompression program like StuffIt Expander. Some browsers (including most versions of Netscape Navigator) already contain StuffIt as a helper application and will launch StuffIt automatically when you click a compressed file. If you don't have StuffIt Expander, you should download it now. After you install it, you can open compressed files simply by dragging them onto the StuffIt icon.
Install the software.
Merely removing programs from their compressed archives doesn't always mean you can run them right away. Many programs need to be installed.
WinZip can make it easy for PC users: if a ZIP file contains a program called either Install or Setup, WinZip detects it and creates a button labeled Install at the right end of the WinZip button bar. Before you click this button, check the archive's read-me file for any special instructions. Once you know what you're getting into, click the Install button, and let WinZip take it away. Since installation routines vary widely, you'll have to follow any instructions as they come up.
If an Install button doesn't appear in WinZip, you'll have to install the program yourself. This process varies among programs, so check the app's read-me file to know for sure.
Mac users should open the read-me file after expanding an archive to get specific installation instructions
Delete the compressed file
Before you start enjoying your newly downloaded and installed software, remember that the compressed file (which you'll no longer need) is taking up valuable disk space. If you want to pass the software on to friends, or if you think you may need to reinstall it, hold onto the file; we suggest you move it to a floppy disk. But if you're finished with the compressed file, just delete it.
That's it. You're now ready to enjoy your new program.