Some is available at no cost, such as Netscape Communicator, Microsoft Internet Explorer or Adobe Acrobat Reader. For buyers who are uneasy about sending their encrypted credit card details over the Internet, the vendors usually provide alternative routes for payment. For more information on security see Security and Encryption. Knowing that there is a lot of software available is cheering, but browsing through cryptically signposted ftp archives is a very frustrating exercise. For effective use of ftp resources, it's advisable to be aware of a few useful tools and services.
Some suggestions follow.
They classify each item within a broad category making it possible to browse purposefully, whether or not you can put a name to the software you need. They also offer searching. If you know what you want the software to do then you should be able to search for it. For instance, you could search for a paint program using the search term paint, or an ftp client with the search term ftp. And you would be able to specify the operating system for which it is required.