Download or Stream

[lhu05131]

General question for the forum (and I might be showing my age here ?) but is there a reason why some .MP4 files will happily stream but others need you to download them?

I keep finding videos I'd love to watch on the forums but don't want to risk downloading a file and leaving it somewhere on my phone for someone else to find one day.

 

[pes]

Some file formats are not able to be played directly in browser. mp4 is a container that can store different video formats.

 

[dartel]

Why the heck are you watching anything on a phone?

 

[pes]

I do not find that weird. Lots of people use mobile devices as their primary internet access thing.
It is not a good idea, but that is how people do it.

 

[lhu05131]

Some file formats are not able to be played directly in browser. mp4 is a container that can store different video formats.

Yup, showing my age that I didn't know that. Thanks!

I do not find that weird. Lots of people use mobile devices as their primary internet access thing.
It is not a good idea, but that is how people do it.

Why do you say it isn't a good idea?

I have a 2nd user profile set up on my phone and have it permanently through VPN. To me it seems far safer than using a laptop that the family might access.

Please don't tell me I've missed something there as well in terms of security/safety?!

 

[pes]

IT security is a complex thing.
I do not like mobile devices since they use flash memory and it is practically impossible to wipe data off the device without resetting it.
Which you do not want to do every time. Also it would only work if you are using encryption on the device.
A phone can be confiscated from you, unlocked in easy or less easy way depending on what you use and it will contain a considerable amount of data including your contacts.
A VPN by the way is just another company that you pay to give you services. All you have done is move the trust you have in your paid ISP to your paid VPN. A service that claims to not keep logs and has a significantly larger probability of being used by people for shady purposes.
Do you believe a company you give a couple dollars a month to will take a hit for you to protect your privacy once they get asked for your data?

 

[pes]

Online Security

GENERAL POSTING 1. Do not use an identifiable avatar. This includes faces, tattoos, fursuits (especially if they are not yours) 2. Review every picture, every video you post multiple times. Look for identifiable things; houses, barns, unique saddles, collars with or without tags, pictures...

www.zoovilleforum.net

 

[Goattobeloved]

Also, I do not think this site does actual on the fly streaming, but likely saves your viewed video on some temp data directory.

*if* they do a deep scan on our devices, lots of navigation data will surface. This you can be sure.

 

[pes]

Also, I do not think this site does actual on the fly streaming, but likely saves your viewed video on some temp data directory.

I do not actually know how this works these days, but it is likely saved in some browser cache either completely or partially.
The same goes for photos that are loaded by the browser.

 

[dartel]

Also, I do not think this site does actual on the fly streaming, but likely saves your viewed video on some temp data directory.

No site does. Anytime you view a video anywhere it has to transfer data to your computer. It may be in highly encrypted micro packets that cache and then auto delete when you close your browser, but it's still arriving on your computer.

 

[pes]

In fact it appears that if you let a video load completely in browser and then save it, it is saved instantly. So the whole file existed somewhere in cache.

 

[Goattobeloved]

No site does. Anytime you view a video anywhere it has to transfer data to your computer. It may be in highly encrypted micro packets that cache and then auto delete when you close your browser, but it's still arriving on your computer.

A true streaming would recieve the packets and show them, likely working on RAM or very limited cache, much as digital TV with no HD work.

For a website like this it will not be functional because the video would break and freeze on any network delay and what is lost, is lost.
The moment there *is* a bar showing the video is downloaded way beyond your present play point... it is stored somewhere on your prefered device.

 

[lhu05131]

Ok, thanks all. You've given me some definite pros and cons to think about here in terms of what is safest for me and my situation specifically.

 

[mrknotts]

IT security is a complex thing.
I do not like mobile devices since they use flash memory and it is practically impossible to wipe data off the device without resetting it.
Which you do not want to do every time. Also it would only work if you are using encryption on the device.
A phone can be confiscated from you, unlocked in easy or less easy way depending on what you use and it will contain a considerable amount of data including your contacts.
A VPN by the way is just another company that you pay to give you services. All you have done is move the trust you have in your paid ISP to your paid VPN. A service that claims to not keep logs and has a significantly larger probability of being used by people for shady purposes.
Do you believe a company you give a couple dollars a month to will take a hit for you to protect your privacy once they get asked for your data?

So from your experience, what would be considered a "secure" experience on the internet? What things can you control to maximize privacy and experience the content?

 

[pes]

So from your experience, what would be considered a "secure" experience on the internet? What things can you control to maximize privacy and experience the content?

Use TOR. It is not owned by any company and it is free. And the more people use it, the more difficult it is to identify a single user.
Do not use a mobile device.
Use Tails linux or Kicksecure or some other privacy oriented operating system that runs from a flash disk and only in RAM and does not use any permanent storage. Ideally use a separate computer for this.