BACKGROUND
Microsoft introduced in September 2004 the second major update to Windows XP: Service Pack 2, or for short XP SP2.
Service Pack 2 brings, among other enhancements, some security improvements that are intended to protect the user from all sorts of
threats like viruses, worms and other types of malware. Among these improvements, Internet Explorer now includes a new setting for
enabling/disabling automatic download prompts.
PROBLEM DESCRIPTION
Softpedia provides multiple mirrors for most of the available downloads, and when a
user accesses a download page, the first available mirror automatically prompts the user to save/open the file. However, due to the
features included in Service Pack 2 (SP2), this is disabled by default. Instead, Internet Explorer's information bar is displayed as in the
image below.
ENABLING AUTOMATIC DOWNLOAD FROM SOFTPEDIA WEBSITES
The easiest way to overcome this inconvenience is to immediately allow the download of that specific file by clicking on the information
bar and choosing "Download File..." from the menu displayed. Note that this method only temporarily allows automatic file download prompting
and therefore is not recommended, as you'll have to perform the described steps every time you download a file from Softpedia. If you are
not content with this method you should use one of the two recommended methods below.
RECOMMENDED METHODS
The two methods described below will permanently enable automatic download prompts.
You should carefully read them both, understand the differences between them and choose the one that best fits your needs.
METHOD 1: ADDING SOFTPEDIA TO THE TRUSTED ZONE
By using this method, you will add Softpedia to the trusted sites list, which will enable the automatic download prompts.
Step 1
In your browser, open the "Tools" menu and click on the last entry: Internet Options.
Step 2
In the Internet Options window, click on the Security tab, as suggested in the image on the right.
|
 |
Step 3
In the Security tab, click on the Trusted Sites icon.
Step 4
Click on the Sites button, to display the list of sites in the Trusted Zone.
|
 |
Step 5
Fill in the text box with *.softpedia.com as shown in the image on the right and click the Add button.
Step 6
Click OK until all the windows are closed.
|
 |
METHOD 2: ENABLE AUTO-DOWNLOAD PROMPTS GLOBALLY
By using this method, you will enable the automatic download prompts for all sites, trusted or untrusted.
Step 1
In your browser, open the "Tools" menu and click on the last entry: Internet Options.
Step 2
In the Internet Options window, click on the Security tab, as suggested in the image on the right.
|
|
Step 3
In the Security tab, click on the Internet icon.
Step 4
Click on the Custom Level button, to display a list of advanced settings.
|
 |
Step 5
In the Security Settings window, scroll down until you see the Download options, as shown in the image on the right.
Step 6
Click on the Enable radio button indicated in the image by the red arrow.
Step 7
Click OK until all the windows are closed.
|
 |
If you have other download problems, please consider reading our download guide.
|
