Some cool little tips and tricks for you to use

Always be careful downloading software.

Make sure that you know what you’re downloading because if you don’t, its more than likely a virus or some malicious thing that will cause you headaches in the future. 

I can't emphasize enough, Know what you’re doing here.

A good, legal way to get some software is to use a site called Download.com It's pretty safe and has a lot of freeware/trial software.

I believe 4shared.com has a good amount of software, but I have never used it for downloading software. I just use it for DROID apps and music. (search the name of the app followed by ".apk")

For highly valuable software, this is where it gets tricky. You have to know what you're doing really and I recommend that you read up on as much as possible about torrents and how they work. Make sure that you read the comments and only download ones that have been available for awhile and are verified by other users. Always turn off your internet when installing them, and follow the instructions that come with the download precisely.

Finally, make sure that the program doesn't have access to the internet.