This is not as difficult as some people think- don't be scared! "Downloading" is just getting a file from somewhere- a web site, a disk or wherever- that wasn't on your computer before, and making it so it IS on your system.  You likely have downloaded programs and not realized that's what you did (ever put a CD or floppy into your computer and gotten a new program from it?)!  Whenever you get your e-mail, you are downloading it from where it is stored so you can read it.  When you visit a website, the contents are downloaded to a special folder on your computer, temporarily.

Usually, though, when someone is talking about downloading a file, they mean getting a file from the Internet for use on their own computer.  I'll explain the steps to understand how to do this.  

Note:  Unless a file specifically tells you to "open" or "run from location", you should always save it and scan it for viruses before you run it.  If you do not have an anti-virus program, you should get one, and keep it updated.  Check out my "Virus! -or Hoax?" page for more details.

There are three parts that I'll be explaining... downloading("getting"), locating ("finding") and running ("using").  If you download a file, but then can't find it, then the effort wasn't worth it, right? :)

Step 1: Downloading

You may click on a link on a website and have a box like this pop up-

As I said before, unless the file instructions said to "Run from location", you should choose "Save".  Just click the button next to this option, then click "OK".  You will then likely get the box below (I've added some red circles). Notice the "File name" in the box near the bottom- you may need this soon. 

Note: "Directory" and "folder" mean the same thing.

Slightly more technical info that's good to know:

The first circle (1) shows the directory that the computer wants to save the file in.  The "default" is Windows- but this is not the best place to save it!  You should change the directory to a better one by clicking on the arrow (circle 2), and choosing somewhere else.  You can put it right on the "desktop" with all your other icons- it will be on the top of the list when you click circle (2)- or you could just click the icon shown above in circle (3).  This will make it easy to find, but doing this a lot will make your desktop quite cluttered, and is still not the best place.  You could save it in "My Documents" if this is an option for you, or you could choose a directory on your hard drive (normally (C:)).  

Your best option is to have a folder where all your downloads are kept. What I recommend going to your (C:) drive (by clicking circle 2), then make a directory called "download" there.  This can be done by clicking the "new folder" icon (circle 4) when you are in your (C:) drive.  You should then see a new folder called "New Folder".  If the words are still in blue, just type "download"; if it's not, right-button click on it, then choose Rename.

Back to the basics:

When the directory where you want the file saved is showing in circle (1), and the name of the file is in the "file name" box, Just click "OK", and the file will download to your computer, and you will have it saved!

Step 2- Locating the File

Now you need to find the file so you can use it.  Simply click on Start, then Find or Search, then Files or Folders! Type in the name (or part of the name) of the file you just downloaded, make sure it's looking in either your (C:) drive or "My Computer", then click the Find button!

Underneath the window shown above, you will get a listing of all the files that contain what you typed in to search for.  

Step 3- Using the File

Now that you found the file, you can scan it for viruses (if you have an antivirus program) and then run it.  Just right-button click on the file in the box.

You should now see the option to Scan for Viruses (if available).  Click on that.  When the scan shows that the file is clean (or if you don't have that option), you can now just click on the file to run it, just as you click on an icon on your desktop to start a program.

If your antivirus program DOES say there is a virus, delete the file!  Just right-button click on it again, hold down one of the SHIFT keys on your keyboard and choose Delete.  This will delete the file, skipping the Recycle Bin.

If you don't have an antivirus program, check out my "Programs" page for more details on some free ones!