When it comes to the 'cost' of software available for download it can get a bit confusing as your often confronted with terms like Freeware, Adware, Demoware and Shareware to name but a few, so what we've done is thrown some brief descriptions together to give you a general understanding of what you're getting for your money... or in some cases what your getting for NO money!!


FREEWARE
Is FREE software with no strings attached. Or is it? Remember your dear old Gran saying "there's no such thing as free lunch my dear" well dear old Gran wasn't wrong...but nor was she entirely right either because believe it or not there really is genuine free, no strings attached, no money please, software available for download! Don't believe me? Check out [WordWeb] which is a truly awesome program. It's a perfect example of genuine Freeware put out by some simply brilliant, kind hearted, amazingly talented people. Do take care though as not all the freeware your going to come across is of the same high standard or quality. There's a fair amount of freeware floating around out there that is put out by amateur programmers, who while gaining experience in their chosen field/hobby, release software that isn't quite perfect. Some of it is the final version and some is actually clearly labeled as being a 'beta version' meaning that it's a work in progress. Always remember that not all Freeware is marketed under the correct licence...what you thought was geninue Freeware could actually be ADWARE or SHAREWARE.

CARDWARE
Caring and sharing programmers who put together software that you can download for free and all they ask is for their time, trouble and hard work is a postcard from your city/country. I've come across a few of these...a nice idea! Take the same precautions as above in regard to what it is that you could be downloading. Please don't download their programs unless you have every intention of following through with the card as most site owners can track the number of times the software has been loaded and nothing would be more disheartening that seeing you've had 100 downloads but only 1 card has been sent in thanks.

BOOKWARE
I've also seen a couple of these programs around which are based on a similar principle to Cardware in that all the developer asks is that you purchase a copy of a particular book. By sending in a choosen paragraph, page reference or similar you get to be the registered owner of the software at no extra cost. The [Pagan DaybookII] is one such program and it's also available as SHAREWARE if you don't want to purchase the book.


CAREWARE
To quote from the site "To own Arachnophilia, I ask that you stop whining about how hard your life is, at least for a while..." This is a simply brilliant! What an amazing concept and the program is just awesome, it's definately a "Must have" if you're into web page design, construction etc. You can read more about Careware [HERE].

ADWARE (often referred to as Spyware)
'Free' software that is supported by advertising. Opinions about Adware are wide and varied with many people having legitimate security and privacy concerns as 'some' applications do track your surfing habits and store/sell your personal information. Ultimately the decision is yours to make but I would strongly recommend popping along to Steve Gibson's site [Gibson Research Corporation] and read up on it so you can make an informed decision. If you'd like to check your system for Spyware then you can run ***OptOut which is also available from his site or you can check out [Ad-Aware] from Lavasoft.
***NOTE Since we wrote this article please note that OPTOUT is no longer being updated. Please see Steve's [OPTOUT SITE] for full details.

EMAILWARE
Free software that requires email registration..you give them your email address and they give you the software. Take a little care with these as you could end up being 'sold' to a mailing list so take the time to check out the sites Privacy Policy first. If you in any doubt then give them your web based email address that you have set up solely for this purpose.

SHAREWARE
Software that you can download free of charge so that you can take it for a test drive before you buy it. With Shareware that has no time limit you'll find some of the functions disabled, which can be anything from the Spell Checker to the Save function, whereas Time Limit Shareware is often fully functional but will expire after a certain time frame, either days or uses, at which stage you are expected to either pay for and register it, or uninstall it from your system. Shareware is usually registered for a nominal fee at which stage you are given a registration code to enter into the program to stop it from expiring or to enable all the features. When you have done this write the code down and store it in a safe place. If you run into a problem or need to reinstall the software you'll need to re-enter the code.

WAREZ (slang)
Is pirated software that has been 'altered' to prevent the program from expiring....which means it's ILLEGAL so don't touch it as you're just asking for trouble.

DEMO/TRIALWARE or Try n Buy
Exactly that, it's a demo/trial version that after a certain amount of days/uses will expire rendering it useless unless you decide to buy it. It's a brilliant way to check out the more pricey commerical software before you buy it.

{no-combomax}

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Before you hit that Download Now button here's a few points to consider first...

1. There are some simply brilliant programmers out there worthy of oodles of praise and our continued support...but there is also some shonky ones too whose software can cause a wide variety of problems to your computers health and well-being... not to mention your own sanity! These errors can range from the easy to repair/remove/recover right through to the "oh hell...do I really have to reformat my hard drive???!" so before you go leaping forth take a bit of time out and think through what it is that your going to be loading on your system. When you're sure of the type (category) of software you're after the next step is to 490start having a poke around every nook and cranny to find a suitable program that not only suits your purpose but also suits your system. Start talking to people with similar systems to your own (the same operating system, similar hardware)and ask them what they use, what they've tried, what problems (if any) they ran into. Then hit sites like [ZDnet] and [PCWorld] to read the reviews they've done. If your downloading from a site like [Tucows] take a look at the rating system they've adopted. Tucows uses Cows

and [Nonags] has ducks

Each site has their own ratings system so if in doubt check out their FAQ files.

2. Downloading programs off the internet can take a lot of time (be aware of this if you pay for internet access by the hour) especially if they are over a couple of megabytes and your using a standard phone line. It can take up to several hours for the larger files to download so schedule them carefully and aim for a time when you don't need to use the phone and when site traffic is lighter as this can lead to a much faster and more reliable download. Before you get too involved in downloading go grab yourself a Download manager first. These are essential for recovering and resuming a halted/interrupted download without having to start the entire process again so start looking around for one that suits your needs and operating system. [Download Accelerator] is a good place to start if your a little lost and looking for something reliable as is [Star Downloader], which is freeware :-)

3. Only download from 'trusted' sites. On your travels you'll get to know which ones are reputable but 3 of my personal favourite are [Nonags], [Tucows] and [SoftSeek]

4. Scan, scan, scan....never forget to scan! ALWAYS run a virus scan on anything and everything you download (and get sent!) off the internet. A virus can cause irreparable damage to your data and hard drive so don't take the risk and open an application that you haven't scanned 1st as potentially there's a Pandora's Box around every corner. There are many wonderful programs available but if your strapped for cash and can't afford one of the 'biggies' take a look at [AVG] which is freeware and in my humble opinion as good as the bought thing :-)

5. Zip pity do dah, zip pity day my oh my what a beeautiful day! The song has nothing do with our next recommendation... well not quite! You'll need a program that 'unzips' your downloads as the majority of the files that are available for downloading are in the form of zipped (compressed) files, try [Aladdin Expander] if your looking for a 'freebie'.

6. Did I mention scanning? Scan! Scan! Scan! Scan the download BEFORE you unzip it or install it. Running your virus scanner after the event is too late as the lurgy will be well and truly out and about by then.

7. Prepare you computer for installation. Run [Scan Disc] and [Defrag] to iron out any potential problems then back up your Registry and create a [Restore Point] (This feature is in Windows ME)

8. Consider the health and well-being of your PC at all times....the golden rule "If in doubt, don't do it" will keep yourself and your PC relatively sane. Think twice before you load her up with lots of space hogging eye candy like desktop themes, screensavers, fonts, cursors etc as before you know it you'll be running out room for your essential files and your system with be dragging it's heels under the weight of it all.

9. Installing any program has it's risks so try to load each program by itself with a reasonable time frame in between throwing on the next. If you run into problems with system crashes/lockups, error messages or blue screen of death after installing new software you'll have a better idea what might be causing the problem rather than trying to figure out which of the last 15 programs you installed earlier that morning might be the one that's rubbing your PC up the wrong way.

10. If you encountered any problems during your download then quickly do another run through of Scan Disk.

11. Uninstall software the right way....always use the uninstall program that came with the software or if it came without one then use Add/Remove programs which comes with Windows (My Computer, Control Panel, Add/Remove Programs) or if you want something with more accuracy and power go and get yourself a copy of [Add/Remove Pro]

12. Create a separate folder for all your downloads and get into the habit of saving any and all programs, attachments to it. Not only does this make it easy to find them but it'll make scanning alot faster as you only need to zap the one folder not the entire hard drive.

Ok, now it's onwards and upwards :-)

{no-combomax}

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