For Seniors: Download Files from the Internet Safely
You might want to download software, pictures, and other files from the Internet. Before you download Internet files, however, you should establish a procedure that protects your laptop from harmful viruses some files might carry.
Display the web page that contains the file you want to download.
Typically, web sites offer a Download button or link that initiates a file download.
Click the appropriate link to initiate the download.
Windows might display a dialog box asking your permission to proceed with the download; click Yes. The File Download dialog box appears.
Click Save to save the file to your hard drive, then in the Save As dialog box, select the folder where you want to save the file.
After the file is downloaded to your laptop, you can use your antivirus program to check the file for viruses before you use it. This step is especially important if you’re downloading software. After verifying that the file is virus free, double-click the file to open it (or in the case of software, to install it on your laptop.)
Although you can click Run in the File Download dialog box to download a software program and then immediately install it, you could be introducing dangerous viruses to your laptop if you don’t check the file for viruses first. You might want to set up an antivirus program to automatically scan files before downloading them.
If a particular file will take a long time to download (some can take 20 minutes or more) you may have to babysit it. If your laptop goes into standby mode, it could pause the download. If your laptop automatically downloads Windows updates, it may cause your laptop to restart automatically as well, cancelling or halting your download. Check in periodically to keep things moving along.
