in reply to PPM fails to install, complains of

I've had the same error when trying to install a module that the binary doesnt exist for on the package repository that you are using.

But also, for DBD::ODBC for example the colons are important:
>PPM install DBD::ODBC gives the 'junk' error
>PPM install DBD-ODBC works fine

Check the package exists and the package name