Choosing the Right Format For Your Web Images
Flag as a symbol of language - stupidity or insult?
JavaScript Guidelines and Best Practice
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Published on: Sunday 21st June 1998 By: Gary Ransom
If you've never downloaded a file from the internet you may be a little anxious. What if it contains a virus? What do the messages mean that my browser displays when I click on a file? What is a zip file and what do I do with it?
Let's start with virus protection. You are at risk from infecting your PC with a virus the first time that you open any program file. Obviously the risk is higher if the file is from an unknown source e.g. from the internet. How big a risk? It's small but real. You can however make it very small and recover from any damage done by taking two simple precautions:
That's it. Nothing more complicated than that.
You can buy backup and virus protection software very easily but before making the investment, remember, you're on the internet. You can download this sort of software for free or as low cost shareware. Look on the Other Software article for suggestions and links.
What happens when you click on a file to download it? Does your browser give you odd messages or ask you questions that you don't know the answer to? Don't worry. It shouldn't be a problem. Click on your browsers "help" menu then find and follow the instructions. If you're still lost, try the Home Site of the browser company (e.g. Netscape - Microsoft), or the help line of your Internet Service Provider.
Of all the file types that you will download from the internet, the most common is the Zip File. Zip files are files that have been compressed to make them smaller and quicker to download. The compression is done with special software and the same or similar software must be used by you to decompress it before it can be installed (virus scan it first). Having decompressed it, you will almost certainly find that more than one file is contained within the zip file. Look for a text file which will give you the installation instructions. The Other Software article has recommended Zip software and links.
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Choosing the Right Format For Your Web Images
Flag as a symbol of language - stupidity or insult?
JavaScript Guidelines and Best Practice
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