Our favorite software Web sites

The great thing about the software you need for the Internet is that most of it is available right on the Internet! Rather than telling you about individual programs, here's a list of the Web sites that we use to find the best software.

• TUCOWS, at http://www.tucows.com: TUCOWS (which stands for The Ultimate Collection Of Winsock Software) is a fabulous source of programs to use when connecting to the Internet -- and it's got Mac programs, too. From the first Web page you see, choose a mirror site that is geographically close to you for quicker access. Then click Windows 95/NT, Windows 3.1, or Macintosh. TUCOWS maintains copies of all the software they offer, so if you are looking for a popular program and can't get through to other sites, TUCOWS may be the answer.
• Stroud's Consummate Winsock Applications, at http://cws.internet.com: Here's another good source for Internet software. On the first page click 16-bit Apps if you use Windows 3.1 and 32-bit Apps if you use Windows 95 or NT. (If you use a Mac, go to TUCOWS instead.) Forrest Stroud has written a number of reviews, too, which are well worth reading.
• Shareware.com, at http://www.shareware.com: If you know the name of the program you are looking for, you can find it at Shareware.com. But unlike TUCOWS and Stroud's site, you can't browse programs by category, a major shortcoming of this site.