Yes, it is perfectly legal to download software from the Internet.
But this legality is bounded by the location of the user who is downloading the software.
Suppose the user is in a home network that is not bound by corporate laws and companies’ security policies. As long as the user is aware of the consequences of downloading and using the software, they may download it.
But, if the user is bound by a company’s corporate laws and security policies, it might not always be legal to download software from the Internet based on its rules and procedures.
There might be acceptable usage policies present in the company that governs the use of the company’s information system, and there might be restrictions on downloading non-permitted software from the Internet.
There are available different types of software:
– Freeware: Users are free to download them and use them as long as they wish.
– Shareware: Users are free to download them but are only allowed to use them for a specific number of days or hours. Once the permitted period is over, the users need to pay a fee to continue to use them.
– Licensed (Commercial): Most probably, users wouldn’t be able to download them as they would need to buy the licensed copy of the software. If they can download the software, they are not allowed to use it until they have a valid license to use the software.