It can often be a daunting task to navigate and use a website which is unfamiliar to you, and while forum type site's such as ours are extremely popular nowadays each site has it's own unique identity and style. That's why we've put together a FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions) list which we hope answers the questions you may have relating to our site. If you cannot find the answer to your question here, please feel free to ask it on our Feedback & Suggestions area within the Community Forums

Contents ...
Q. If I have any questions or concerns regarding your site, how can I contact you?
Q. Who run's FreewareBB?
Q. What does the "BB" stand for in "FreewareBB"?
Q. Do you check your files for viruses and other threats?
Q. Will I find any shareware on your site?
Q. I was asked to provide my email address to continue using a freeware software title from your site, wasn't that why I registered with you in the first place?
Q. I was asked to provide credit card/payment details after 30 days of using a freeware software title from your site, is this correct?
Q. Is it safe to install a lot of freeware on my computer?
Q. When I click the download button on your site I'm asked to run or save an "exe" file. I've heard these are unsafe?
Q. I've found a great freeware application that isn't on your site. How can I tell you about it?
Q. I'm having difficulty with software I downloaded from your site, can I get support from you?
Q. I've noticed you are listing a product which has recently been updated, how often do you perform these updates?
Q. I've noticed you are listing a product which hasn't been updated, why is this?
Q. I have a website and would like to link to you. Where can I find your link code?
Q. On some downloads I can't see the size of the file, it just says "0bytes", why is this?
Q. I am a freeware author and would like to offer my PAD file to FreewareBB, where can I do this?
Q. I want to submit software to your site but you don't seem to have the necessary category?

Q. If I have any questions or concerns regarding your site, how can I contact you?
For non-members, you can easily contact us using the Contact Form. If you want to provide feedback or make a suggestion then you can do so using our Feedback & Suggestions forum within the Community Forums.
Members can also use these features and can also use the built-in PM (private message) system under the "My Controls" heading which appears after logging in. Members can also find staff contact details using the "My Assistant" link.

Q. Who run's FreewareBB?
I do, marko!. My real name is Mark Williamson and I live in Scotland, UK. I decided to start up the site after having used freeware for many years and although there are other similar site out there I just couldn't stomach the amount of adverts and popups that were constantly thrown at me whilst using these sites. So I created FreewareBB, and although we do have adverts on our site, they are not hidden nor do they popup. We do not use any form of context adverts either (those annoying speech bubbles that appear if you hover over a keyword). We have a few other key players helping out on the site but these guys prefer to stay in the shadows but without them my job would be impossible!.

Q. What does the "BB" stand for in "FreewareBB"?
It simply stands for "Bulletin Board" as that is exactly what we are (more commonly known as a "forum").

Q. Do you check your files for viruses and other threats?
All files that are hosted by us are automatically checked for all types of threats and where we link to an authors site we always ensure they are reputable and have undergone some form of testing themselves. Where we cannot be sure of an authors site we manually download and scan the file ourselves before offering a link to the file.

Q. Will I find any shareware on your site?
No, our site offers only freeware and not any form of shareware, trialware, demo's or time limited software. Occassionally you may find "lite" software on our site which is simply an alternative version of commerically available software but with less features. We feel that because the author doesn't charge for this type of software it can still be classed as freeware, and more importantly can still be useful if the features available can be used to fulfil a need.

Q. I was asked to provide my email address to continue using a freeware software title from your site, wasn't that why I registered with you in the first place?
Registering with FreewareBB simply allows you to access and use the many other features on our site such as marking certain files as your 'favourite' and receiving email alerts if these files are updated, etc. Whilst it isn't common, sometimes freeware authors like to know who is using their software and so request you register with them. We do not have any formal connection with author sites and if you are required to register with them to continue using their software this is a totally seperate process.

Q. I was asked to provide credit card/payment details after 30 days of using a freeware software title from your site, is this correct?
NO, No and No!!!. If you are ever asked to provide payment details for any freeware software you download from us, please let us now about it immediately as this isn't freeware and somehow slipped through our net.

Q. Is it safe to install a lot of freeware on my computer?
We wouldn't say it was exactly "unsafe" but installing a lot of any type of software on your computer isn't recommended unless you actually use or need it. The problem with having multiple applications on your machine is simply that it increases the chances of something conflicting or taking more resources from your hard drive, CPU or memory. Obviously you will be installing software to try it out and you may then decide it wasn't what you were looking for, but if you do this on a regular basis we would advise you to also install some form of system/registry cleanup software which can help clear any unwanted traces of uninstalled programs. Routine maintenance should be a part of every computer users tasks on a weekly or monthly basis. You will find such programs in our System Applications & Utilities category, in particular under the System Tweaking & Maintenance section. Similarly, ALWAYS make sure you read the on screen instructions when installing software of any type as it may be asking your permission to install other "add-on" utilities such as toolbars, etc which you may not want and will have the option to "untick" the appropriate check-box.

Q. When I click the download button on your site I'm asked to run or save an "exe" file. I've heard these are unsafe?
"exe" files are merely "executable" files that run automatically on your machine. They are not unsafe as such but it depends on where they come from. For example, if you don't actually click on a download link and you're prompted to run and "exe" file we would recommend not downloading it, although if you do click on a link then the chances are you have asked to download a file. In any case, ALWAYS have an antivirus application running on your machine which will prevent any suspicious file doing harm. ALL files from freewarebb are safe to install and all files that we provide links to have also been checked.

Q. I've found a great freeware application that isn't on your site. How can I tell you about it?
There are a few options open to you here. You can simply tell us about it using our Feedback & Suggestions forum or you can register on our site and add it yourself. Telling us about it is as easy as hitting the "New Topic" button and actually adding it yourself to our site takes a little longer but is as easy as 1-2-3. Step-by-step instructions on adding a file to our download system can be found HERE although if you are in any doubt then please don't hesitate to contact us.

Q. I'm having difficulty with software I downloaded from your site, can I get support from you?
Although we don't offer 'official' support we always attempt to help out where possible. If you have problems with a download from our site please use our Feedback & Suggestions forums where your query can be answered by anyone who is able to assist, including the author if they are available.
If all else fails and you are unable to get the answer you need, you can try the authors own website as they may even have a forum on the site or at least a method of contact. You can find details of the authors own website on the listing itself. Please DO NOT use the contact form to ask for support.

Q. I've noticed you are listing a product which has recently been updated, how often do you perform these updates?
Our files are updated on a daily basis, as and when they happen. We are constantly checking and monitoring multiple author sites, feeds and resources to ensure our site is bang up-to-date and I can even go as far to say that our site is amongst the fastest to list new and updated software!. Check for yourself using our RSS Feed or alternatively you can subscribe to our daily email alerts and receive the latest additions to our site; simply enter your email address near the top of our site just underneath our search box.

Q. I've noticed you are listing a product which hasn't been updated, why is this?
It's possible that we have still to update that particular download, although we do notice from time to time that some authors will deliberately raise the version number of their software without actually making any changes to the software and this is purely to get their listing back to the top of the "latest updates" list. This happens on almost all software sites, although because FreewareBB are responsible for what is added or updated to the site and we don't automatically accept any form of auto-submissions we can carefully control what is, and isn't added!. Where authors have registered on our site and have full control of their own listing, we will also be pro-active of this happening and will contact the person responsible should be believe there has been no good reason for the update.

Q. I have a website and would like to link to you. Where can I find your link code?
You can link to us using either text links or alternatively you can use any of our images. Full details can be found HERE

Q. On some downloads I can't see the size of the file, it just says "0bytes", why is this?
Because we often link to authors for the actual file download, we rely on their servers to support the technology which provides the file size. Unfortunately some authors servers don't support this and that's why the file size doesn't display properly. We are currently working on our own independant file hosting system which will avoid this happening as we can then host the files ourselves and as is will be seperate from freewarebb it won't not intefere with the speeds on the site.

Q. I am a freeware author and would like to offer my PAD file to FreewareBB, where can I do this?
Unfortunately, FreewareBB doesn't accept PAD files from authors as we feel this is outdated technology which isn't supported well. You are most welcome to register on our site and add your freeware or alternatively you can use our Contact form and let us know where we can find your PAD file and we will take the information from this and enter it manually on our site.

Q. I want to submit software to your site but you don't seem to have the necessary category?
We have attempted to list the most appropriate categories on our site, and those titles which can't fit into those already present can be submitted in the "misc" section appropriately, although if you feel we are missing an important category then please feel free to let us know about it.