Never Download “Codecs” or “Players” To Watch Videos Online

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While this is obvious to you and I, this is a good link to send to your less-than-tech-savvy family members that repeatedly fall for this stuff.

If a website asks you to download a “codec,” “player,” or “browser update” to play a video, run the other way. You don’t actually need to download this sort of thing — the website is trying to infect your computer with malware.
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They better STFU!!!! I've made buku money fixing peoples systems after they downloaded newest "Flash Player"... Damn you HTG!!! :eek:

But seriously, the last CODEC I even downloaded, and that was years ago, was a K-Lite pack... Good 'ole times of DivX....:cool:
 
Well, its true and good for the simpletons, but sometimes you do need codecs. W7 64bit Media Center is still useless without Shark007 codecs. Media Player also doesn't play everything IIRC.
 
I have Flash installed but disable ActiveX Filtering on my PC and enable it only on reputable sites to watch videos
 
yeah, in the decades I've been on the internet I've never had a website asking me to update codecs.. sure WMP did, but never a website.
 
Good luck with that. I have silly friends and family that will click anything for the vague on-screen promise of free streaming videos.
 
This issue is getting worse thanks to the "cord-cutters" clicking on various sites trying to find their TV shows online. So frustrating to work on the same computer 2 or 3 times when you've told them over and over again never to install or click on such things.
 
There is no such thing as free in this world, everything has a price tag on it; whether it be that it's packaged with some malware or your identity is stolen.
 
But how am I supposed to watch all those videos that are posted on facebook? :rolleyes::rolleyes:
 
You can't even trust most "legit" updates anymore; stuff like flash player, etc. These days even stuff that isn't straight-up malware will still probably try to push some bullshit on you like McAfee fail-scan or Ask toolbar :rolleyes:
 
Is there anything yet that lets you watch DVD's on Windows 7 without something like PowerDVD?

Never understood why Microsoft didn't have a DVD and/or Bluray addon, even if it was for $49 or whatever.
 
Klite pack is still relevant. Media player classic, video lan player, and kmplayer are some of the best around.
 
xX_Jack_Carver_Xx said:
Is there anything yet that lets you watch DVD's on Windows 7 without something like PowerDVD?

Never understood why Microsoft didn't have a DVD and/or Bluray addon, even if it was for $49 or whatever.
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I believe you can watch DVD's using MPC-HC and VLC, but getting them to play Blu-Ray movies is tricky. The new versions of PowerDVD are honestly pretty nice, although they're also needlessly expensive. I wish you could just officially buy their codec and plug it into MPC-HC personally.

With the bogus codec pop-ups, what I usually do for my family and friends is to uninstall WMP and put VLC on their machine. That's of course followed by "you don't need any codecs - so don't ever download any." I know there are some exceptions, but lets' be honest, that's true in like 99.9% of cases.
 
Why do people download anything other than MPC-HC and madVR? VLC is the next best thing but is so full of fluff in comparison.
 
Heh, noobs, my awesome russian codec configurings turn ALL youtube (and all other streams i want) videos into motion-tweened buttery smooth 60 fps with ambiex style lighting for the (dynamically-computed) letterbox and pillar black areas.


And the great thing is, i am actually being one hundred percent serious. Someone post a few relatively shitty youtube video links, and then i will attempt to take a slow mo video of what it looks like on my system with and without my fancy downloaded codecs.
 
Megalith said:
Why do people download anything other than MPC-HC and madVR? VLC is the next best thing but is so full of fluff in comparison.
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MPC-BE+MadVR+xySubFilter+LAV Filters. Only still use due to some of the more obscure settings i wish to play with and MadVR
 
Should I wash my face with lead cell battery acid? I really need some help here guys!
 
VLC user here for ever. Had the flash update a week ago. Clicked it away several times and the last time accidentally installed it. Fun. Had a krypto virus. Could not open any files on my desktop, they wanted $ 500 in Bitcoin. Restore did nothing. Luckily everything was backuped so I just reinstalled Widows7. Last night a Windows7 update popped up a few times. Looked legit. Another, this time a Lock virus, showed itself to me. $300 request this time. Restored a few days back in Safemode, fixed it. I'm using Bitdefender at max settings and still these triggers are being stored on my computer. Now I'm basically in lockdown mode. Nothing gets clicked on untill I've verified it's legit. Last couple of years 0 problems but it looks like the virus pushers have dialed it up a notch.
 
polonyc2 said:
I have Flash installed but disable ActiveX Filtering on my PC and enable it only on reputable sites to watch videos
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If anything out there is still using ActiveX then it is functionally broken and doesn't deserve to be viewed in the first place. ActiveX can go DIAF with Java...
 
bboynitrous said:
I've never even heard of it until you just mentioned it. I've been using VLC for years.
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I've been using VLC too for a long time too. While I've heard of MPC, I don't know what MPC-HC is. That, and I thought CCCP or K-Lite had to be downloaded and installed to correctly use MPC with everything. No idea what madVR is. Does it work as a stand alone software or is it in conjunction with MPC? Why would one need it? Doesn't MPC with the previously mentioned codecs play all files just fine otherwise?
 
outers said:
Are people really still falling for this trick?
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Of course they are. It's primarily why I no longer fix family computer issues. I got sick of repeatedly having to explain to people to quit clicking on random crap and installing things to watch movies/porn/games/etc.

You spend hours getting their crap computer running somewhat smoothly again, and the next day they're clicking random crap and installing malware even though you just spent half an hour explaining things. In fact, they'll even go out of their way to disable anti virus, anti malware software, etc. because "well it kept stopping me from watching a UFC fight" or some other lame excuse.
 
Bigc208 said:
VLC user here for ever. Had the flash update a week ago. Clicked it away several times and the last time accidentally installed it. Fun. Had a krypto virus. Could not open any files on my desktop, they wanted $ 500 in Bitcoin. Restore did nothing. Luckily everything was backuped so I just reinstalled Widows7. Last night a Windows7 update popped up a few times. Looked legit. Another, this time a Lock virus, showed itself to me. $300 request this time. Restored a few days back in Safemode, fixed it. I'm using Bitdefender at max settings and still these triggers are being stored on my computer. Now I'm basically in lockdown mode. Nothing gets clicked on untill I've verified it's legit. Last couple of years 0 problems but it looks like the virus pushers have dialed it up a notch.
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iWKad22.jpg
 
xorbe said:
Good luck with that. I have silly friends and family that will click anything for the vague on-screen promise of free streaming videos.
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I though you wrote steaming videos, which would explain why they where so eager to click on the links :)
 
Moved my internet machine on it's own earlier before this happened. It's off the LAN where my important programs and files are so no chance of infecting those. These things happen when I'm tired and in a hurry to get something done online.
 
Merc1138 said:
So quit going to whatever crappy websites keep wanting you to install crap? Clean up all of the systems on your LAN before putting them back on the network?
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lol. legit looking updates come through the browser of some weird website?
 
ravx25 said:
I've been using VLC too for a long time too. While I've heard of MPC, I don't know what MPC-HC is. That, and I thought CCCP or K-Lite had to be downloaded and installed to correctly use MPC with everything. No idea what madVR is. Does it work as a stand alone software or is it in conjunction with MPC? Why would one need it? Doesn't MPC with the previously mentioned codecs play all files just fine otherwise?
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MPC-HC is the Home Cinema version with all of the codecs already loaded. I haven't had to touch codecs (including K-Lite pack) in years! VLC was giving me problems with some videos, but MPC-HC plays them no problem.
 
xX_Jack_Carver_Xx said:
Is there anything yet that lets you watch DVD's on Windows 7 without something like PowerDVD?

Never understood why Microsoft didn't have a DVD and/or Bluray addon, even if it was for $49 or whatever.
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Either you have been living under a rock, or you are a bit confused between DVD and Blu-Ray and which versions of windows include DVD codecs.

You have been able to watch DVD's on WinXP, Win Vista, and Win7 since day one with no additional software. Drop in dvd, windows media player or any free to use player would play it with the microsoft provided codec.

Beginning with Windows 8, MS no longer includes the DVD codec, and you will need additional software. That is because that DVD codec costs MS about $2 per copy of Windows sold. I thought it was cheap of them to no longer provide it, but they are accountable to shareholders who demand profits. They probably justify it do to the increase of streaming services versus old school DVD's. This was also part (but not all) of the reasoning behind charging for Windows Media Center with Windows 8, where WMC was included with Vista and 7 for free. Windows Media Center for Win8 includes the DVD codec as part of the $10 package fee.

Blu-Ray is what you need additional software for *all* versions of windows since MS will not pay for the licensing for each and every copy of windows sold like it had done with DVD in years past. I'm willing to bet the fee for Blu-Ray is much higher than the estimated $2 per copy.
 
I don't do DVD or Blu-Ray playback so I know nothing about that. I kept trying VLC every now and then but MPC-HC always seemed better and more problem-free. No codecs needed for anything I ever played with MPC-HC.

For those who haven't paid attention, MPC-HC integrated LAV filters internally starting with 1.70; it's up to 1.7.7 now, and has its own site separate from sourceforge and xvidvideo.ru.
 
temujin987 said:
lol. legit looking updates come through the browser of some weird website?
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The guy has obviously been going somewhere and allowing something that keeps causing him problems later. I don't know or care what he looks at, but until he changes whatever it is he's doing... it'll keep happening.
 
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