When I go to the link for the .exe file as provided in the e-mail, I end up, after finally getting in to the server, with pages and pages of thsi:!!!PK

That generally indicates that the binary contents of the .zip file are being displayed in your browser window, instead of the browser prompting you to save the file to disk. I would recommend that you right-click on the link, and choose "save as..." in order to bypass this problem, if that is in fact the problem.