The world seems more real, looking through the glasses of visualization. It has been a journey of commendable transformation from audio to video. In day to day life, everyone would prefer a screen with bright color and attractive characters, along with the sound. From sharing videos on WhatsApp to watching them on Facebook or youtube, it’s a world full of ‘idealization.’ Some videos are worth cherishing, so you could even prefer to keep them in your gallery. Now, if in this situation, your internet connection or network creates issues, it leaves the viewers restless and frustrated.
To save yourself from such a situation, you would either choose to download the preferable videos offline or on your personal mobile or computers. But there’s a risk factor involved in it. Downloading them from unauthentic sites creates the risk of data loss or getting your files corrupted by the virus. So avoiding such sites is a safe choice.
Just click, and the video is downloaded! It has become so painless nowadays. Downloading was not at all this smooth back then. Most of the people in the 90s waited for a whole day to download a movie. You’d click download video, and in a blink, the timer goes from 40 seconds- to 40 minutes- to 6 hours and then a whole day. Nowadays, when I hear people complaining about slow internet speed, I can’t stop laughing at them. I still remember paying extra rupees at the internet cafe just to wait for the download to finish.
But the more the process is effortless, the less thoughtful we are. It has been rightly said that “WITH GREAT POWER COMES GREAT RESPONSIBILITY” and this is the case nowadays. Downloading has become easy-peasy, and so we are. Inattentive towards our action on the internet can become an agony for us. Cyber attacks can destroy your system and theft of your sensitive data. So, you need to make sure you are clean of any of those before downloading things online.
According to the report of Senior Security Researcher at Great Asia Pacific at Kaspersky, India ranks 11th worldwide in the number of attacks caused by servers that were hosted in the country, which accounts for 2,299,682 incidents in Q1 2020 as compared to 854,782 incidents detected in Q4 2019. According to Economic Times, 4 in 10 consumers have experienced Identity Theft. A popular newspaper, THE HINDU, says, “there are 375 cyberattacks every day in India,” and this is a huge number.
Despite knowing all this, we download things from the internet without sparing a second thought about security and end up doing blunders that we regret later. A lot of people suffer due to their mistakes. A video can cost them their precious data and information. Let’s see some of those mistakes people do online and anguish later:
1. Downloading from Unknown Sources
If you love trying out those free video links, you may have definitely clicked many of them out of curiosity. As a result, your smartphone starts vibrating vigorously with a count-down timer on a screen with a pop up saying FIX VIRUS. You are blank and have no idea what’s going on. I am sure most of you have faced this. These kinds of pop-ups are known as MALWARE and can cause huge damage to your device. So browse safely using (https://4hub.net/dailymotion-video-downloader/) and only from other trusted sources.
Or you can use an app of friendship. A platform for sharing all kinds of moments from chats, to pictures, to videos. Facebook has always been the mediator friend we have always loved. We share a lot of things with our friends on a regular basis. Sometimes we find a video so attractive and influential that we tend to stick to watching it.
Instagram is also one such platform. Instagram has become one of the most trending apps, and to keep its users happy, they keep coming up with new ideas and trends. Reels have a wide viewers range, and it keeps rising. Almost every day, we watch multiple videos and even archive them in our accounts to be able to access them sometime again. It has become more convenient now as you can download any video you find attractive on Instagram by using the following links to download them.
So, you can always download good content from Instagram, Facebook or trusted applications rather than the pirated ones and save yourself from trouble or you can download from an online video downloader.
2. Not keeping an eye on Privacy Settings
Layering your systems with the tools is the best way to keep your data safe. Privacy settings are one of those layers. Some of the people don’t even know these settings. Your device is power-packed with security features. They equally deserve your attention. If you haven’t set up a privacy setting in your device, you will surely miss out on security measures. Spare some time turning them on. You should always make sure that your privacy settings are strong enough that no one can crack into your device. Moreover, make sure you have an antivirus installed on your system, because that thing saves you from a lot of trouble.
And, unlike on YouTube where you can always watch songs or videos on a daily basis. There are a million videos that are uploaded on YouTube by multiple users all around the world. Now, if you want to download a video to be able to access it anytime, you can save it offline on YouTube itself. But some videos cannot be downloaded in that way, no worries. There are various sites that allow you to download them on your device through URL copy, etc. You can always find them and save them for your use.
3. Avoiding a layer of protection that is ANTIVIRUS
If you are browsing unprotected, please stop! A system without an Antivirus is a house without a door. Antivirus works by detecting malicious code and preventing them from damaging your device. It is an electronic barrier that acts like a shield protecting you from viruses, malware, phishing attacks, and threats to your privacy. It ensures protection from removable devices. Schedule regular virus scans to keep your device virus-free.
4. Downloading cracked or pirated files.
Piracy is a criminal offense. It might be tempting to download free videos, but it can cost you a huge loss. Websites offering free videos can infect your device with malware and steal all your data, including credentials. It can take you to the sites you don’t want to visit and extract all your information, which is priceless to you.
Beware of these sites. They can get you in deep trouble and, even in certain circumstances, can land you in jail. Therefore avoiding the usage of such sites is the best way to help yourself.
5. Not paying attention to the Extensions.
Browser extensions are small applications executed in the browser context that provide additional capabilities and enrich the user experience while surfing the web. A Browser Extension is something like a plugin for your browser that adds certain functions and features to it. But they can be perilous sometimes. They are a harm to your privacy. They can capture your passwords, steal your personal data, and whatnot. This problem is getting bigger day by day.
Generally, downloads from these sites come along with viruses that corrupt your devices. Instead of being in benefit, your personal information could be in trouble. So try to avoid downloading from such unauthentic sources, but if you need to download from those like incase of urgency, make sure you have an antivirus in your device to protect your information from being hampered. If a site asks you to allow it for various permissions, try to read the terms carefully.
Conclusion
I have written this article for the internet, you are reading it through the internet which is self-sufficient to explain the upsides of the Internet. The Internet has become a vital part of our lives. We just can’t stop using it. But on the other side, we cannot discount flip-sides. So being alert is of utmost necessary Prevention is better than Crying. The only way to not be one of those victims is to have a Safe-Guard. Spot-on the errors if you make any of these and correct them. Stay Mindful with your eyes open. Remember all it takes a few Clicks!
There is a word of WARNING that you need to be careful about. The problems listed in the article are for making you aware before downloading free online videos for personal use. They should not be used to save and distribute copyrighted material. By doing so, you could get in serious trouble with the law. Downloading videos is also against a few sites’ terms of service. Even your account could be suspended or permanently banned. And, before uploading videos make sure you don’t post copyrighted content, or you might have the probability to get in trouble. So, go through the details and find the right content to upload.