installing apps once they are downloaded

[bobo60]

hi,

when i download an app, like an antivirus app, or even a game. how do i get it to install and run? most times it will just sit in the download folder, and no icon will show up on the desk top, or options to install...bob

[L4Linux]

Which distribution do you use? Each distribution has a "Package Manager". It downloads and installs the programs you want and lets you update ALL your program (Firefox, openoffice, Linux Kernel, video players) with one click. Thanks to this way of installing programs, Linux is not vulnerable to viruses like other Operating Systems. There is a high probability that ClamAV antivirus exists in your distribution's repositories. If you do a monthly scan you are more than OK.

Post again your distribution to help you install whatever you want.

[oz]

It's usually best to use the default package tool that came with your distro for installing software. When that won't work, you can install software from source. Here's a HowTo that might help you:

http://www.linuxforums.org/forum/lin...are-linux.html

[bobo60]

Which distribution do you use? Each distribution has a "Package Manager". It downloads and installs the programs you want and lets you update ALL your program (Firefox, openoffice, Linux Kernel, video players) with one click. Thanks to this way of installing programs, Linux is not vulnerable to viruses like other Operating Systems. There is a high probability that ClamAV antivirus exists in your distribution's repositories. If you do a monthly scan you are more than OK.

Post again your distribution to help you install whatever you want.

l4linux,

i have x86_64 fc10, firefox 3.0.5 clamav is one of the downloads i wanted to install. i have downloaded it. how would i do a periodic "scan' of the system? and how would i use download manager, if i have it?...bob

[hazel]

Are you using your browser to download these packages? That's what you'd do in Windows: download them first, then install them as a separate operation. You can do the same thing in Linux too but you don't usually do that because Linux has much easier ways of installing software, ways that Windows users can only dream about.

I don't know what distribution you are using, but if it's something like Fedora, you would use yum to download and install programs; if it's a Debian-based distro like Knoppix or Ubuntu, you'd use apt-get or synaptic. The point is that these programs download the program you want and all necessary libraries and immediately install the whole thing. You don't need to use your browser at all.

Don't be surprised though if nothing appears on your desktop. In Windows everything you install puts an icon on the desktop and an entry in the start menu; in the world of Linux, it's considered rude for a programmer to contaminate other people's desktops with possibly unwanted icons. It's your desktop: you put the icon on it if you want it there, after you've installed the program.

[bobo60]

hi,
i just tried using yum to install the weather channel desktop, after i downloaded it. below is what i got. what did i do wrong? did i miss a step somewhere?...bob



[root@localhost bob]# yum install desktopsp2_Stubinstaller.exe
Loaded plugins: protectbase, refresh-packagekit
livna | 2.4 kB 00:00
rpmfusion-nonfree-updates | 2.7 kB 00:00
fedora | 2.8 kB 00:00
rpmfusion-free-updates | 2.7 kB 00:00
rpmfusion-free | 2.7 kB 00:00
updates | 2.3 kB 00:00
rpmfusion-nonfree | 2.7 kB 00:00
0 packages excluded due to repository protections
Setting up Install Process
Parsing package install arguments
No package desktopsp2_Stubinstaller.exe available.
Nothing to do

[Bemk]

About this virus scanner, that's not really necessary as Linux uses rights more strictly than Windows. Viruses can only access the files you have the rights to access, and you need to run those viruses one way or another. A thing I do recommend is using a firewall. By the way, a virus scanner is never wrong when trying to protect the Windows machines you contact through the internet(like through E-mail).

[spencerf]

It appears as if you are trying to install a .exe file which is a windows binary file and won't work with Linux natively (unless you use WINE). You probably want to stick with Linux programs at first.

If you post the distro of linux you are using it will probably help others answer your question. (i.e. Ubuntu, Fedora, Suse, Gentoo, etc...)

[coopstah13]

if you read his second post, he says he uses FC10

windows binaries will not run on linux natively, you would need to use wine to run them, but like spencerf said, its better to find a linux alternative, you should be able to find *most* software you need by using yum search <keyword> then install it with yum install <package>

edit: if you are using gnome desktop, which i'd guess you are, you can add an applet to the gnome bar by right clicking on the bar, click add to panel, if you scroll down there is a weather applet you can add, after you add it, right click it and go to preferences, then you can set your location and have the weather