Aydrian's Awesome Guide to Link Protection
1
Link protection has received a bad reputation over the years. Sharing forums started banning them around the time that people with malicious intent began using them to steal accounts. By my estimation, about 90% of the sharing forums on the internet ban their use, and a lot of people don't like them.
This is due in a large part to a lack of understanding of alternative methods. Read below to see some of the reasons why they're disliked.
Reasons For Protection Ban
Account Stealers
This was a valid reason for banning the use for protections links about two or three years ago, but these days a lot of protection websites require the use of legit links from Rapidshare or Megaupload etc. and won't even allow the links to be protected if they're not legit.
Downloader Support
Most download managers don't support protected links. A lot of people merely highlight a group of selected links and download them all through one click in their preferred download manager. Once again, this one true about two or three years ago but it has changed. I'll show you how later in this guide.
Link Checking
A lot of moderators and even common members have link checking software or browser addons these days. This software checks whether or not a link or group of links are dead. This has also changed, which will also be covered later.
Fear
Lets face it, people online are paranoid as all hell, not to mention they're not really receptive to new things. If one way works for them, then they're going to ignore anything better unless it's explained to them like a child. I don't mean to insult anyone, that's just how it is.
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Now I'm going to introduce you to a few good Link Protection websites. These are websites I have used in the past and experienced no issues with.
Websites
Linksave
I use this website the most. It's simple to use, effective, and it lets you add more information plus screenshots or box art.
Lix
Probably one of the most well known link protectors. Unfortunately, it's a little simple to add malicious links to Lix because they really don't care what you use it for.
RS Layer
I haven't used this one very much so I don't have much of an opinion on it. All I know is that it looks slick and it works well enough. I've never had problems with it.
Crypt-It
I only recently started testing this out. It's good, but it seems to be particular only to Rs.com links, because if you add anything else to it then it reveals the link in the name, which kind of defeats the purpose. Check it out to see what I mean.
*****************************
Now here we're getting to the important part. As I mentioned above, most people hate protected links because you have to click through each link instead of merely mass downloading through a manager. Again, the people who think that is the only method have been misinformed.
There is in fact a FREE download manager that automatically bypasses link protection websites merely by right clicking and copying the links. This download manager is perfectly safe and it works wonders. To be honest, there's more then one, but I'm going to suggest the one that I use.
Jdownloader
This download manager is great, both for people with sharing accounts like Rapidshare or Megaupload, and even those without sharing accounts. Let me explain the features you might find interesting.
Link Protection Bypass
Jdownloader uses many methods to make sure that protected links stay protected without causing problems. As an example, download and install Jdownloader, start it up, then merely right click and copy the full protected link.
Seconds later, Jdownloader will automatically decrypt the link and place it in the download menu. All the protection websites I listed above work with Jdownloader. For those people who are afraid of entering a link protected website because you're afraid it will take your account, well with this method you don't have to enter the website at all and it's perfectly safe.
Download Containers
Jdownloader also supports download containers. Containers are files that are only around 200kb in size. Loading these containers in Jdownloader automatically loads up the links inside of the container. Have you ever entered a topic and had to scroll through 50+ links? Well with this method you don't have to do that anymore. there will only be one link.
Again, the websites above create these containers automatically when you protect your links. You can try them out yourselves if you want.
Click'n'Load
This method is quite similar to the containers, except this one loads up automatically by merely clicking on a link. This does not in fact require a protection website. You merely upload the CnC file to a website and then point a link toward that file. From then on when someone clicks that link it automatically loads it into Jdownloader like usual.
Link Checking
When you load up any links, protected or not, it will automatically tell you if they work or not, and what website they're linked to, but not actually reveal the entire link. This is both a method to check if links are dead, and to show you what is behind the links, making sure you're not entering any malicious websites.
Automatic Downloading For Free Members
If you don't actually own an account for a website like Rapidshare or Megaupload then that's fine. Jdownloader will automatically continue downloading links when your wait time is finished. So if you have a dozen or so links to download but you can't wait around for each one, just load them up in Jdownloader and forget about it. It does all the work for you.
Other Useful Stuff
Jdownloader will automatically sort files, extract archives, combines files if they're split by HJsplit, and even download and check files that have nothing to do with sharing websites at all. It makes the entire process a lot easier.
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If one download manager fixes most of the problems people had with protection links, then why are they still not allowed? Simple answer: Admins and Mods just don't want to deal with it. Complicated Answer: Ask them.
If you're having problems with protected links, or if you're one of those uploaders who can't seem to keep his links alive for long, then this could really help you a lot. However, most forums won't even entertain the idea even if you make absolute perfect sense and offer a solution to every problem they present to you.
I have tried many times to get protected links accepted back into a sharing community, but I have been shot down every time. Although I can understand their reluctance, I am often ashamed of their inability to at least try to make it work. This isn't rocket science and it most certainly isn't as difficult as they make it seem.
I hope you enjoyed this little guide and it will help you out with protected links, and maybe even convince you to try them out.
This is due in a large part to a lack of understanding of alternative methods. Read below to see some of the reasons why they're disliked.
Reasons For Protection Ban
Account Stealers
This was a valid reason for banning the use for protections links about two or three years ago, but these days a lot of protection websites require the use of legit links from Rapidshare or Megaupload etc. and won't even allow the links to be protected if they're not legit.
Downloader Support
Most download managers don't support protected links. A lot of people merely highlight a group of selected links and download them all through one click in their preferred download manager. Once again, this one true about two or three years ago but it has changed. I'll show you how later in this guide.
Link Checking
A lot of moderators and even common members have link checking software or browser addons these days. This software checks whether or not a link or group of links are dead. This has also changed, which will also be covered later.
Fear
Lets face it, people online are paranoid as all hell, not to mention they're not really receptive to new things. If one way works for them, then they're going to ignore anything better unless it's explained to them like a child. I don't mean to insult anyone, that's just how it is.
*****************************
Now I'm going to introduce you to a few good Link Protection websites. These are websites I have used in the past and experienced no issues with.
Websites
Linksave
I use this website the most. It's simple to use, effective, and it lets you add more information plus screenshots or box art.
Lix
Probably one of the most well known link protectors. Unfortunately, it's a little simple to add malicious links to Lix because they really don't care what you use it for.
RS Layer
I haven't used this one very much so I don't have much of an opinion on it. All I know is that it looks slick and it works well enough. I've never had problems with it.
Crypt-It
I only recently started testing this out. It's good, but it seems to be particular only to Rs.com links, because if you add anything else to it then it reveals the link in the name, which kind of defeats the purpose. Check it out to see what I mean.
*****************************
Now here we're getting to the important part. As I mentioned above, most people hate protected links because you have to click through each link instead of merely mass downloading through a manager. Again, the people who think that is the only method have been misinformed.
There is in fact a FREE download manager that automatically bypasses link protection websites merely by right clicking and copying the links. This download manager is perfectly safe and it works wonders. To be honest, there's more then one, but I'm going to suggest the one that I use.
Jdownloader
This download manager is great, both for people with sharing accounts like Rapidshare or Megaupload, and even those without sharing accounts. Let me explain the features you might find interesting.
Link Protection Bypass
Jdownloader uses many methods to make sure that protected links stay protected without causing problems. As an example, download and install Jdownloader, start it up, then merely right click and copy the full protected link.
Seconds later, Jdownloader will automatically decrypt the link and place it in the download menu. All the protection websites I listed above work with Jdownloader. For those people who are afraid of entering a link protected website because you're afraid it will take your account, well with this method you don't have to enter the website at all and it's perfectly safe.
Download Containers
Jdownloader also supports download containers. Containers are files that are only around 200kb in size. Loading these containers in Jdownloader automatically loads up the links inside of the container. Have you ever entered a topic and had to scroll through 50+ links? Well with this method you don't have to do that anymore. there will only be one link.
Again, the websites above create these containers automatically when you protect your links. You can try them out yourselves if you want.
Click'n'Load
This method is quite similar to the containers, except this one loads up automatically by merely clicking on a link. This does not in fact require a protection website. You merely upload the CnC file to a website and then point a link toward that file. From then on when someone clicks that link it automatically loads it into Jdownloader like usual.
Link Checking
When you load up any links, protected or not, it will automatically tell you if they work or not, and what website they're linked to, but not actually reveal the entire link. This is both a method to check if links are dead, and to show you what is behind the links, making sure you're not entering any malicious websites.
Automatic Downloading For Free Members
If you don't actually own an account for a website like Rapidshare or Megaupload then that's fine. Jdownloader will automatically continue downloading links when your wait time is finished. So if you have a dozen or so links to download but you can't wait around for each one, just load them up in Jdownloader and forget about it. It does all the work for you.
Other Useful Stuff
Jdownloader will automatically sort files, extract archives, combines files if they're split by HJsplit, and even download and check files that have nothing to do with sharing websites at all. It makes the entire process a lot easier.
*****************************
If one download manager fixes most of the problems people had with protection links, then why are they still not allowed? Simple answer: Admins and Mods just don't want to deal with it. Complicated Answer: Ask them.
If you're having problems with protected links, or if you're one of those uploaders who can't seem to keep his links alive for long, then this could really help you a lot. However, most forums won't even entertain the idea even if you make absolute perfect sense and offer a solution to every problem they present to you.
I have tried many times to get protected links accepted back into a sharing community, but I have been shot down every time. Although I can understand their reluctance, I am often ashamed of their inability to at least try to make it work. This isn't rocket science and it most certainly isn't as difficult as they make it seem.
I hope you enjoyed this little guide and it will help you out with protected links, and maybe even convince you to try them out.
