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Help RaR videos

sleedeane

Android Expert
Jul 6, 2011
1,396
363
Columbia, MO.
I can't seem to find the PC forums, so I apologize if I'm in the wrong area. I'm in uncharted territory. again.
I want to watch a RaR video I dled.
I don't know if or where I unzip it or decompress it or extract it or what or what app I use to do whatever with it.
Thank you so much.
I really appreciate it.
 
You should take care downloading videos that are in .rar format. Some harbour nasties or be locked with a password that prompt you to go to doddgy websites to gain access.

Personally I avoid them like the plague.

Rar files are simply archived files. Rar is just an archive file format as are zip, dmg, tar, and dozens of others. By avoiding rar files you're only excluding yourself from a huge number of things the rest of us use every day. Sure there can be covert exploits hidden in some random rar file but you're ignoring the fact that this is also an issue with any in archive file (rar files or no more or less immune). Also note there are literally thousands of exploits tucked away in various web sites you might be viewing every day, there are really nasty problems embedded into MS Office files, there are security issues that hide inside PDF files, and the list can go on and on and on. Singling out rar files as a problem is just stirring up unwarranted paranoia.
 
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Yeh, rar itself is only one of a number of file compression and distribution formats. DMG usually only found on Macs, TAR is usually for *NIX OSs. I only use zip myself, for archiving, and for sending and uploading files, because that's pretty much universal and supported by just about all OSs natively. With Windows and OS X, you have to install a third-party tool to use rar, like 7zip. In fact I'm pretty sure I did email someone a rar file attachment once, and they came back, "How the hell do I open this?", i.e. same question as the OP. :)
 
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I am mearly stating the fact that downloading unknown video files within RAR/ZIPS withever compressed format can be a very doddgy thing to do. Not stating you should never ever open an archive just incase you get whisked away by the fairy's never to be seen again.

Rar files are simply archived files. Rar is just an archive file format as are zip, dmg, tar, and dozens of others. By avoiding rar files you're only excluding yourself from a huge number of things the rest of us use every day. Sure there can be covert exploits hidden in some random rar file but you're ignoring the fact that this is also an issue with any in archive file (rar files or no more or less immune). Also note there are literally thousands of exploits tucked away in various web sites you might be viewing every day, there are really nasty problems embedded into MS Office files, there are security issues that hide inside PDF files, and the list can go on and on and on. Singling out rar files as a problem is just stirring up unwarranted paranoia.
 
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You should take care downloading videos that are in .rar format. Some harbour nasties or be locked with a password that prompt you to go to doddgy websites to gain access.

Personally I avoid them like the plague.

Some educational video bundles I download from Baidu Pan in China are rar, and those are OK.

Bittorrent pirated movie rar downloads are definitely to be avoided like the plague.

Rar files are simply archived files. Rar is just an archive file format as are zip, dmg, tar, and dozens of others. By avoiding rar files you're only excluding yourself from a huge number of things the rest of us use every day. Sure there can be covert exploits hidden in some random rar file but you're ignoring the fact that this is also an issue with any in archive file (rar files or no more or less immune). Also note there are literally thousands of exploits tucked away in various web sites you might be viewing every day, there are really nasty problems embedded into MS Office files, there are security issues that hide inside PDF files, and the list can go on and on and on. Singling out rar files as a problem is just stirring up unwarranted paranoia.

Yeh, rar itself is only one of a number of file compression and distribution formats. DMG usually only found on Macs, TAR is usually for *NIX OSs. I only use zip myself, for archiving, and for sending and uploading files, because that's pretty much universal and supported by just about all OSs natively. With Windows and OS X, you have to install a third-party tool to use rar, like 7zip. In fact I'm pretty sure I did email someone a rar file attachment once, and they came back, "How the hell do I open this?", i.e. same question as the OP. :)

I am mearly stating the fact that downloading unknown video files within RAR/ZIPS withever compressed format can be a very doddgy thing to do. Not stating you should never ever open an archive just incase you get whisked away by the fairy's never to be seen again.

I didn't mean to stir up a hornets nest. Can't we all just get along.
Thank you all very much for the insights and advice.

Now I'm more confused then ever.
I enjoyed my video. I guess I'll consider myself lucky that nothing went wrong this time.
Yes it was a pirated bit torrent.
But I'm getting rid of the torrent and am not going to do it anymore.
Thank you all so very much.
 
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I didn't mean to stir up a hornets nest. Can't we all just get along.

You did not stir up anything, your initial posting was a perfectly legitimate inquiry. If anything I should apologize to you for diverting this thread's topic by trying to counter a misleading reply made by someone else.

Regarding advice to avoid services like BitTorrent or never downloading rar files, do NOT let one person's misinformed biases scare you off from the Internet. Just be judiciously careful about what you do online.
 
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You did not stir up anything, your initial posting was a perfectly legitimate inquiry. If anything I should apologize to you for diverting this thread's topic by trying to counter a misleading reply made by someone else.

Regarding advice to avoid services like BitTorrent or never downloading rar files, do NOT let one person's misinformed biases scare you off from the Internet. Just be judiciously careful about what you do online.

Well received. I'll Google RARs and try to get a better grasp on the whole subject.
 
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