Wednesday, December 28, 2011

How to Obtain Software from CNET

Whenever possible I get my downloads from this site. The primary reason is safety. If you run a search on a program name, say "Belarc," the search will return pages of links. In today's predatory environment, it's possible, even likely, that some of those links lead to infected pages, resulting in either an infection on your computer or some creative rerouting of the query to a poison page. So, when I am looking for an application, I type "cnet [program name]" into the browser's search field; eg “cnet Belarc.”  Then I pick the result that has “cnet” in the location.

The result will look like this.  The download will be provided through a large green “Download Now” button on the left side of the page.  (Sometimes there will be more than one button.  This is a little sneaky- they are looking for you to click on the wrong button.  If there are two green buttons, click on the one that looks like the example below.

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CNET has become more commercial, so lately its download has looked like this: 

 

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Then, when you start the download, you will get something like this:

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Click the Run button:

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Click the Next Step Button

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This is where you get the add or you are asked if you want to download some other program too.  Be careful about checkmarks… if something is checked indicating you accept whatever, uncheck it.  In this case.  Click either click the Decline button or go ahead and support the Cause.

Eventually you will come to the “real” install screen: 

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