This article explains what an EXE file is and how to safely use it on your computer.
What's in an .EXE file?
A file with the EXE file extension is an executable file used in operating systems such as Windows, MS-DOS, OpenVMS, and ReactOS for opening software programs.
Software installers are usually named something like setup.exe or install.exe, but application files have unique names, usually relative to the name of the software program. For example, a Firefox web browser installer might be called Firefox Setup.exe, but after installation the program opens with the firefox.exe file in the program's installation folder.
Some EXE files are called self-extracting files because they extract their contents to a specific folder when opened. This is useful, for example, if you want to quickly extract a collection of files or install a portable program.
