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BY MANOJ KUMAR
When I started surfing the Net, things were much safer. That was 1994, and downloading software, music and video files from the Net was not the commonplace thing we do today. I had modems that worked at 9.6 kbps, and downloading anything but the simplest and smallest software was an impossibility. Netscape 2.0 (if any of you remember that browser) was given to me in two 1.44 MB floppies - today downloading something like that would take 3 minutes or less depending on your connection speeds. On a true broadband connection, that would be possible in under a minute, on a dial-up connection, it would be maybe ten minutes.
How things have changed. As every Tom, Dick and Harpreet started downloading demo files, shareware, freeware, music and anything else that you can imagine, such downloadable software has been targeted directly by hackers, spammers and virus writers as a way to steal your information, use your PC in co-ordinated hack-attacks from around the world, or just to erase your data.
And sure enough, the last few years saw a quantum jump in the kind of security threats faced by those who download software. Most recently, MSN Messenger was used for spreading the w32.bropia worm. You didn't even have to download software actively, all you have to do was accept and run that file which you thought was sent to you by a friend through MSN Messenger, and you were infected. Things have reached a point where even those experienced in software downloads find it tough to keep their computers safe from such dangers. Everytime I stave off one such danger, I get that sad feeling - what about the old man who learnt how to use the Net just to keep in touch his faraway children? He would have no way of figuring out whether that link which popped up was an invitation to download some dangerous software, and nothing authorized? How will he ever be safe? It almost feels like a losing battle.
Of course, the simplest advice to those not familiar with software downloads would be not to do it at all unless absolutely necessary. Recent threats that have been discovered in Windows and horror stories make it advisable one stay away if possible. So grandpa, if you are not sure you need to download or click somewhere, don't do it. This stuff can kill even a geek sometimes.
On the other hand, if a computer is a constant in your life and your work, obviously that bit of advise on downloading is of no use. If everyone around you downloads software, you will too. If all your pals download mp3s, you will too. So let's see what we can do for you here.
Part 1. Step one: safe sites from where to download
software
www.downloads.com
Downloads.com is one of the web’s oldest software download sites. The site is very well organized indeed, and you can search by operating system or the type of software such as freeware, shareware or trial software.
The advantage of searching though and downloading software from downloads.com is that all the software is tested – and you can be more or less sure than there are no viruses, trojans or worms piggybacking on any of them. For good measure, you can read through the user reviews too. There you will be able to get an idea on whether the software works as promised, whether there will be installation or uninstallation problems. If a software has too many users complaining about it, stay away.
Downloads.com also has a section on the most popular and recent software downloads.
http://downloads-zdnet.com.com
ZDNet downloads are another great place to locate safe software. The categorizations are neat, and it is always worth it to check out the ‘Most popular’ section, where you can download almost anything listed safely, as so many people won’t be wrong. A software that has any potential for trouble would not ever become so popular. ‘New Releases’ on the other hand features the most recent software releases belonging to all categories.
You can also visit www.tucows.com which is again a reasonably safe site to download software from. Tucows probably has the largest archive of software on the internet.
Updates or latest software and patches for your Windows computer should only be downloaded from the Microsoft website. Microsoft’s Windows Update website is where you should go to for the latest Internet Explorer patches and security fixes.
Tomorrow… Security threats when you download
software (Part 2)
BY MANOJ KUMAR |
