YouTube often disappoints me by listing videos that when you click on them direct you to another site to view or download them. My search for clips of the TV series The Closer lead me to the approved download site, which says it’s willing to let me watch episodes for free but wants me to install something called Keydownload. My question is, is this basically slaveware that will demand total control of my browser and computer? Should I allow it?
Ahhh, I think you may have some kind of malware installed. As far as I know and have experienced YouTube should never, ever forward you to another video hosting site to watch a linked video. Not unless you click on a URL link in the text or replies section…
Concur. Sounds fishy as hell. I’ve never been directed away from YT before. Run away!
ETA: And, yeah, start scanning your system, pronto!
The free one works for me…
http://www.malwarebytes.org/
I really wouldn’t install it whether or not it is malware.
Also, any site that requires you to install an application should be avoided. Dunno what an ‘Approved download site’ may be, never heard of such a thing ---- approved by whom ?
Sorry if I gave the wrong impression; it didn’t automatically redirect me, it gave me a message saying that YouTube couldn’t play it due to copyright issues but gave a link to where you could see it- in this case, thecloserseries.com
That site is not in any way approved by the copyright holders of the Closer. I would not install anything offered there. Also, copyright violation messages on YouTube do not direct you to another site that has the content you are seeking. It still sounds like your machine is infected with something.
If you need verification that things are not as they should be, you could post a link to the video on YouTube that gave you that message. Other posters can then tell you whether the video plays or the message appears to them.
I tihnk I know what the OP is seeing. Some YouTube videos will claim to have a movie or television episode but when you play it, it just has static text with a link to another site. Or the link will be in the description of the video. In other words, the person hosting the external site is using Youtube to drive traffic to it.
Yeah, I’ve seen that as well and it sounds like what the OP is getting. Even so, you sound *never *install any kind of oddball media player that a specific site ‘requires’, it’s almost guaranteed to be full of spyware. The only players you should ever need are:
[ul]
[li]Windows Media Player[/li][li]Media Player Classic[/li][li]VLC Media Player[/li][/ul]
Particularly VLC. It should be able to play any (legitimate) media file…
China has lots of services like these - you install their custom player to stream videos. An example is PPStream (PPS.tv - Wikipedia). Are these risky as well?
IDK. You’re in China - there must be many ways to get copyrighted media cheaply, with less chance of infecting your 'puter.