Tuesday, August 24, 2010

With Free Movie Downloads Watch Out For Viruses

By Charmaine Chan

The internet is full of websites that offer free movie downloads, and yes - it's true you can find just about any movie you want if you look long enough. They can range from cute rated "G" flicks to those you wouldn't want to watch with your grandparents. But you have to be careful - especially these days - in looking for sites that offer the latest and greatest at no cost to you. Sometimes "something for nothing" is nothing you want. So here are a few tips to keep in mind when web surfing, that could save you from experiencing "computer home theater" regret:

Make sure free actually means "free" - No one looks forward to getting hit with the unexpected reality that "free movies" really means a free TRIAL membership they didn't want. This is especially irksome after they've spent the last hour on some endless form that supposedly gains them access to no-cost downloads. Then add in the fine print telling them they're expected to pay for three months in advance before they can get access to any movie, and that person wants to scream - to say the least.

To prevent this from happening, search the internet with key words like "totally free movie downloads". This should bring up any sites that are really offering free movies and free membership sign-up. This will save you a considerable amount of time, and annoyance, in wading through deceptive advertisements.

Expect the unexpected to trip you up - Sometimes the most frustrating part isn't finding a website that makes good on its "free" promises, but in locating an actual live download link that will give you the movie you've selected, once you're there. Broken links, offers for paid membership upgrades, and page unavailability are just some of the snafus you may come across when trying to access your free film.

Always know what operating system your computer uses - Sometimes you'll be asked to pick from a choice of several links - depending on what OS your computer uses. And if it uses one type of system and you pick the link for another, your computer won't be able to read the download, you won't get to watch your movie - and your system could be at risk from corrupted data.

Use a portable flash drive - Because of the many viral and hacker threats to computers systems and personal information these days, always use a flash drive to download internet goodies whenever possible, and be sure to scan each of them before viewing what they contain. This is especially important if your computer doesn't already have a good virus counter-attack program installed on it.

Whenever possible, use a flash drive for everything you save to computer from the internet - and scan it before you open it, of course. If you don't have a flash drive available, then at save internet downloads to a file folder on your computer, and be careful that it's scanned for errors or threats before you attempt to view the contents.

You can see that there are quite a few things to be aware of when looking for free movie downloads online. But maybe the most important thing you can remember is a lot of times getting something for nothing really means paying big in some way, somewhere down the line. - 40726

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