Some of the files available for download from the SEC website are in "zip" archive format, identified by a file extension of .zip or .gz. Use of file compression technology allows us to efficiently distribute large data files in smaller packages. You'll need to extract or "unzip" the compressed files for use on your computer.

Recent versions of Windows Explorer can extract compressed files. A number of other decompression and extraction utilities are available as shareware or freeware on the World Wide Web including

• ALZip, available for Windows from www.altools.net
   
• PKZIP^®, available for Windows, DOS, and Unix from www.pkware.com
   
• WinZip for Windows, available from www.winzip.com
   
• Stuffit^TM for Windows, Macintosh, and Linux or Expander^TM (freeware) for Windows, Macintosh, Linux, or Solaris from www.stuffit.com/mac/index.html

These and other compression/extraction utilities are also available from third-party download sites.