He regularly repairs and repurposes old computers and hardware for whatever new project is at hand. He enjoys DIY projects, especially if they involve technology. He also uses Proxmox to self-host a variety of services, including a Jellyfin Media Server, an Airsonic music server, a handful of game servers, NextCloud, and two Windows virtual machines. He has been running video game servers from home for more than 10 years using Windows, Ubuntu, or Raspberry Pi OS. Nick's love of tinkering with computers extends beyond work. In college, Nick made extensive use of Fortran while pursuing a physics degree. Before How-To Geek, he used Python and C++ as a freelance programmer. He has been using computers for 20 years - tinkering with everything from the UI to the Windows registry to device firmware. Nick Lewis is a staff writer for How-To Geek. You might find some intrepid artist has already created what you're looking for already. If you're looking for more specific icons, like those specific to a fandom or in a particular style, try a social media group on Facebook, Twitter, or Reddit dedicated to that topic. There are a handful of big sites that have icons you can download: Like before, if you see an executable or anything like one, stay clear. The archive file should contain typical icon formats.

You should expect icon packages to come in some kind of archival file, like a ZIP, RAR, or 7Z file. PNGs and SVGs are especially versatile since they can be readily converted into an icon for any operating system out there. That said, it isn't unusual to download an icon in another image format, like PNG, SVG, or ICNS if it was designed to work with multiple operating systems. Individual icons will typically be an ICO file if they were designed for use with Windows.

Related: Basic Computer Security: How to Protect Yourself from Viruses, Hackers, and Thieves If you download an icon and find yourself looking at an EXE or MSI file - or any other installer or executable file - stop what you're doing and delete it. There is never a reason for an icon or icon package to install software to your computer just to download some icons.

Cool hard drive icons