How to Download Files Safely

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Media files to Avoid Downloading

The internet has opened up many opportunities for computer users to access files from offline anywhere. One of the great things about the internet is that users can download files in various formats. No matter if you are looking for video games, music, TV series, you can find it all online.

However, it is not safe to download just about anything. Some files could be infected with malware, viruses, or some other hurtful software that will damage your computer system. This is why you need to learn what to download and what to avoid.

Be Careful When Downloading Emails

One of the greatest dangers when downloading files are files that are attached to emails. First of all, you should never download files which are sent to you from unknown emails. There are a lot of hackers looking to exploit email users.

On the other hand, even familiar people can send you harmful files without even knowing. Look to avoid downloading files that have extensions such as:

  • .rge
  • .msi
  • .vgs
  • .js

Some of the file extensions you can generally trust and download are:

  • .png
  • .jpg
  • .xlsx
  • .docx
  • .pptx
  • .pdf

These file formats are trusted because email platforms can recognize whether they are corrupt or not.

Use Official Websites to Download Files

One of the biggest dangers of downloaded files is downloading files from untrusted websites. There’s no good way to tell if files are harmful or not, but a good way to see their trust level is to take a look at the site.

You need to make sure that the site you are downloading from is the real official site because hackers often create fake sites with similar addresses. Make sure that the URL is completely original and that it is, in fact, the real website.

Don’t Download Torrents

Torrents are some of the worst options for download because they’re peer to peer and illegal. When you are torrenting, you can easily download infected files. At the same time, when torrenting, you are exposing personal information and your IP address.

A lot of people use torrents to download music, but the better alternative is to use a YouTube downloader such as ours where you can legally download the latest music through streaming without any problems.

In the end, make sure to have an antivirus software and that you update it frequently because it is the only way you can prevent downloading a file that is malicious to your computer system.