[Peaches4U]

Managing downloads

Choose “Custom” instead of “Typical” when installing software

We all have a habit of clicking OK, OK, OK, OK ALREADY! during software installs. Do that one time too many, and you'll have unwanted tool bars in your browser, and popups all over the place warning you about potential infections.

Sadly, a "Typical" install often means "Sure, go ahead and install that MyWebSearch toolbar, and the weather bug, too." If you have a choice called "Custom," go for that instead of typical, and just say no to the unwanted extras. And when you do find a program that doesn't try to sneak this stuff past you, consider rewarding the author with a donation.


Where is that program I installed last week/month/year?

It used to be that we installed all our programs from CD's. (Well it used to be that we installed all our programs from floppy discs. But we also used to listen to audio files on things called “records” while we were installing those files! Let's not go back that far.) Nowadays, many of us download programs, which we know Windows believes are FILES, from various websites and then we install them.

But if ever you need to reinstall your programs, or install them on a new computer, it's a nuisance to go out and find them all again. (It's even worse than digging through a pile of CD's!)

After I install a program I move it to a folder I created and named “Installed” on my hard drive. The file doesn't clutter up my desktop or Download folder, but it's available if I need it. Periodically, I backup the “Installed” folder to an external drive, and delete the older installed files from my hard drive, just to keep down the clutter.