Windows 7 Understanding the Risks of Downloading Movies

[jacksprat]

I have been told ot to download movies, but not why. What is the down side of this practice? It seems like I can't watch a movie without downloading.

 

[patcooke]

True - you cannot watch anything on your pc without "downloading" it - downloading mean transferring to your pc. You must distinguish between two basic methods of seeing a movie on your pc.One is "streaming" which means watching the movie in "real time" or as it is delivered. The other is downloading the movie and storing it on your hard drive and playing it after it has all been downloaded. Streaming requires a reasonably fast broadband connection and if your connection is not fast enough you may suffer breaks in playing the movie. The second way may take much longer to download but once it is complete you should be able to play it with no problem. In either case you need also to be careful about the source of the movie - you may be subject to problems of copyright and/or malware from many sites which offer access to movies.

 

[jacksprat]

Hey Patcooke,
thanks so much for the info, I guess the reason I was told not to download was that it would gum up my hard drive and since I am not really a puter guy, I would not want that to happen.

Again, thanks for the info.

Jacksprat

 

[MikeHawthorne]

If you download movies just make sure that you know where they are being saved and delete them after you watch them.
Movies take a lot of hard drive space.

 

[jacksprat]

If you download movies just make sure that you know where they are being saved and delete them after you watch them.
Movies take a lot of hard drive space.

Thanks, I know nothing about hard drives. Is there a chance that I might mess up something? How do I delete after watching? Is it like deleteing normally or is there a particuliar way to delete? Have been told that if I mess up the hard drive it is a very expensive repair job, true?Should I just let well enough alone? I sure would like to watch the movie "grizzly falls" though.
Jacksprat

 

[cybercore]

Is there a chance that I might mess up something? How do I delete after watching?

The only chance that you might mess up something is if you download a virus under the guise of a movie, which is almost impossible if you scan your downloads for viruses and malware.


e.g.

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Malwarebytes



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Once you have downloaded a movie and scanned it, double click on it to watch. You don't have to delete it unless you need to free up some disk space. By 'may gum up the hard drive' I guess the technician meant it is easy to quickly fill up the entire disk space. A movie is usually 1-8 Gb depending on its size and quality. To shrink movies you can use various tools like:

Any Video Converter free

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