Read this before you click Download.
Short guides to choosing desktop software and getting it safely: where to download from, how to verify a file, how to refuse bundled extras, what licence labels mean and how to tell a real site from a lookalike.
Where to download desktop software, in order of trust
The same program can be fetched from four or five places. Here is how they differ, and which to try first.
VerifyChecksums and code signing: two ways to check a download
One confirms the file arrived intact, the other tells you who published it. What each proves, and what neither can.
InstallersBundled installers: how to decline the extras you never asked for
Toolbars, trial scanners and changed homepages usually arrive with consent you gave without noticing. Slow down at these screens.
LicencesFreeware, shareware, open source: what the labels on a download page mean
Free of charge is not the same as free to inspect or free to share. A short guide to the words beside the download button.
ImpostorsLookalike sites and fake download buttons: checking you are in the right place
A familiar name in the address proves little when several sites use it. How impostor pages work and how to confirm the real one.
ResearchHow to research a program before you install it
Ten minutes of reading before a download saves hours of clean-up after. Where to look, and how to weigh what you find.