The guide to the depths of the internet (Downloading files and reliable sources)

KingKeith55 · December 22, 2015

The guide to the depths of internet hell.

A guide written by KingKeith55

Index:

Section 1. Intro and General tips

Section 2. File types and where they come from

Section 3. Installers, legit or not?

Section 4. Where to download from

Section 5. Bonus: Youtube

Section 6. Some final words

Section 1

Intro:

Alright, I decided to post a guide on the yes and no's of downloading files, surfing through the depths of internet hell and even the parts of youtube you never want to see again. Because why not, and there's also some people who could really benefit from this information.

Now let's commence, shall we?

Have you ever needed to look for a program to reinstall on your new rig, torrent that new Justin Bieber album (not promoting this), or can't find a driver for grandma's old computer, or just casually trying to find that "Adult Skyrim Mod" that you accidentally deleted and can't seem to find anywhere again?

Whatever you're downloading; say it's a driver, file, or mod and it's not coming from a trusted website, these tips are really good to follow. Either way, this is useful no matter what. This applies to torrenting, web downloads, ftp and so on. Just about anything really.

General Tips:

- Trust your gut, if something feels like it's a virus or something then don't download it and don't run it

- Downloading something almost 100% of the time doesn't mean your machine is infected, only once you extract or run the file it infects it. So if you want, download it and run a virus scan on it.

- If you're paranoid, get a full time antivirus that constantly monitors your PC.

- No matter what, have something like Malware Bytes to scan your PC if something's not right.

Section 2

"You can tell who packaged the file just by looking at the file type it is." - KingKeith55

This is actually pretty funny if you ask me, but it's true.

For whatever reason, certain filetypes usually mean certain things. We're talking about archive types mainly. I also have conveniently listed a few common file types I can think of right now.

Archives/Installers:

Note: As with any file type, it could be anything. These file types are just ones to look out for.

.rar = Usually really shady, beware of it. Either it's packaged by some dummy or a little kid, or it's packaged by pirates, or it's a virus. Doesn't mean it always is, can be legit.

.7z = For whatever reason, almost all .7z files are packaged by someone/something pretty trustworthy. Most likely because it's not as popular as .rar. Whatever you do, still be cautious. Don't treat it as if it's always completely safe.

.zip = Could be anything, usually people who just want to package something quickly use it.

.msi/.exe installers = Depending on where they come from and what, there's a bunch of huge things that help you tell if it's shady or not. These are also commonly referred to as "SED's" or Self-Extracting-Devices (Basically an archive that automatically unzips itself)

Common file types:

.exe = Executable program. If it doesn't look reputable, don't run it.

.dll = Dynamic link libraries, sort of like an application extension. It's also a file format game hacks use (such as aimbot, wallhax) and are injected into the game's .exe file.

.mp3/.wav/.ogg/.flac = Audio files (Just a few common ones)

.mp4/.flv/.avi/.wmv = Video files (Just a few common ones)

Section 3

There are some things to be wary of when you're about to run an installer. Installers are really common targets for sneaky adware.

- Does it have a super flashy icon, a ton of images and crap, not very simple or straightforward = Look out for hidden adware being installed

- Is it super simple, really barebones and you know it came from a most likely reputable source = Most likely legit

- Is it super simple, really barebones and you have no clue where it came from? = Take your chances if you want, be sure to have an antivirus or do scans after it if you're paranoid

Here are some really common sneaky adware things that people like to add in (Usually so they can make money, not their fault if they're running a free service):

1. If it looks something like this one, then check "I do not accept"

2. If it looks something like this, make sure to click "Custom" and uncheck any boxes that say to install the file.

Section 4

Onto download locations.

This sometimes can say a lot about if the file is legit or not. But usually you want to know what areas you will usually get good download speeds from. If you see a download in NA and you're in NA, then use that one. Or if you see a download in EU and you're in EU, then use it. If not, then here's what I usually would do:

- Download from any real developed country or any country with high access to the internet. Think of the ones closest to you, or the areas with presumably good internet access. Also think places like North america, Europe, Russia, Australia, Asian countries (although if you aren't in an Asian region it's usually not a good idea to download from one mainly because you will get insanely slow download speeds, this comes from my experience)

- If it's coming from some shady 3rd world country domain, then it's a little obvious. DON'T DOWNLOAD IT!

Section 5 (Bonus!)

Before proceeding, I should mention that this one is a little bit humorous. Mainly as a kick or informal for people who are relatively familiar with what I am talking about.

Now about youtube videos,

There's a lot of tutorial Youtube videos, just about anything you could think of. How to install x, or How to use x, or even x mod for x. Sometimes it's even useful for tutorials on how to fix an issue with something, however there's a lot of things to beware of.

For context, in case you didn't know, a lot of these videos I am talking about are the ones that include download links or a link to a file hosting service/forums. Now say I am downloading a mod for a game. Youtube is a great place to find reviews for mods, and a lot of the time you can find download links to them. Honestly if I am looking for mods I try and find a youtube video on them just so I don't download and install it just to find out it sucks. Sometimes I use youtube to find driver downloads for old devices or to find tools or utilities I can't find anywhere else. But there are some things to look out for when watching these videos.

If the video has:

- Windows movie maker

- "English" review/reviewer uses broken English or speaks broken English, basically it sounds like google translate.

- Extremely poorly done review

- The dreaded notepad + Slow typist combo

- Annoying music that doesn't fit in or belong anywhere

- Very poorly done (Ex. You can see a kid dragging his hypercam window into the corner)

- Keyboard typing sounds in the background (The kid clearly has a mic, leaves it on and doesn't use it. So all you hear is a jet turbine fan and typing sounds)

Then move on, and try to find something else. Unless it's your only option. Then trust your gut I guess.

Example:

A tutorial on how to install a mod for Minecraft, that has Let the bodies hit the floor blaring in the background of a notepad typist, who has terrible grammar explaining very poorly on how to install it.

Now, I understand what I said there sounds pretty weird. And, you might be thinking, "Where do you come up with this stuff, very funny haha". BUT NO. IT'S TRUE. I had to look for various hard to find stuff that would only be found in the depths of internet hell. And I had to dig through all this crap, and the type of stuff I am talking about was basically every other youtube video back in the old youtube days (Like 2009 or something).

Section 6

Alright, I hope everyone enjoyed this guide and (Maybe?) learned something from it. Maybe @LinusTech and @Slick (can't think of any other usernames at this point) could use some of this information (The file types and installers stuff, and some of the tips) in a Techquickie video?

If you have any tips for a next guide (or if I should even keep doing these, I have a ton of energy and it's like 2am and I can't go to sleep so I wrote this), then feel free to let me know in the comments or in a PM if you want, I'm fine with whatever.

Indus Monk · December 22, 2015

Never trust onhax.net and of it says "latest", just move on and those notepad style cum moviemaker videos sometimes work. Also, if you are downloading something and you end up with a downloader for that file.... just close and delete the file.

KingKeith55 · December 22, 2015

Never trust onhax.net and of it says "latest", just move on and those notepad style cum moviemaker videos sometimes work. Also, if you are downloading something and you end up with a downloader for that file.... just close and delete the file.

I said if those movie maker ones were your only option, go for it.

Also, I am going a whole day with no sleep to fix my sleep schedule. This was written at like 4:30am.