Any guides to learn how to do a similar analysis on other websites?
Bypassing YouTube video download throttling
21–30 of 242 posts
Re: Bypassing YouTube video download throttling
#22Technically, all interesting. Ethically, if you don't only think “fuck Google”, I feel like it's reasonable to stop after the first optimization (“pass the real browser test to get regular browser speeds”). There you're not “wasting” any more of YouTube's resources than a browser user with ad-block. Getting full Gb/s without paying anything feels to me like you're pushing all the ad-blocked users' luck. But then agai…
I wonder how abusive this is though. In the end you are downloading the same amount of data, but in a shorter time. You are utilizing more bandwidth but you go away earlier. I think the original browser use case is tuned for the common occurrence of not watching the whole video. But if you intend to watch (and archive) the whole video to begin with then I don't think this eats away Google's bandwidth more. OTOH it pr…
yea, i also don't think that the increased rate is a problem per se, but i also doubt that a majority of youtube views cover the entire length of the video, hence downloaders do probably use more data.
Re: Bypassing YouTube video download throttling
#23Technically, all interesting. Ethically, if you don't only think “fuck Google”, I feel like it's reasonable to stop after the first optimization (“pass the real browser test to get regular browser speeds”). There you're not “wasting” any more of YouTube's resources than a browser user with ad-block. Getting full Gb/s without paying anything feels to me like you're pushing all the ad-blocked users' luck. But then agai…
>Ethically, if you don't only think “fuck Google" Companies do not have ethics, only interests. It's only natural I behave similarly.
> Companies do not have ethics, only interests.
While that's certainly true (although an simplification - they are just managed by people with low ethics), we can do better. If I behaved like managers of Google, Meta or Microsoft, I'd be ashamed of myself.
Re: Bypassing YouTube video download throttling
#24So make a nice, good documented blog post for google engineers to understand and fix this issue?? Whyy
The only real thing they could try to do is to try enforcing video/IP speed cap. They probably don't due to false positives - for example people jumping around a long video also make may "range" requests. And the other approach is currently in progress - soon logged users won't be able to view videos without watching(or at least displaying/downloading) adds, so the logical next step is to nerf anonymous(as is without…
There’s plenty they could do. They could flip a switch tomorrow and limit access to only signed-in users, and they could further enable DRM, as pretty much by now the majority of users are already on DRM-handicapped platforms. Any will-be-called "legacy" users would just get limited to 480p.
Re: Bypassing YouTube video download throttling
#25Any guides to learn how to do a similar analysis on other websites?
Which websites?
Re: Bypassing YouTube video download throttling
#26Re: Bypassing YouTube video download throttling
#27Earlier quoted context omitted.
Like, press the "Download" button and pay for Premium?
YouTube Premium doesn’t let you download the video file. Even if you do it from a browser, it is only accessible from the YouTube website run offline as a SPA. Even then, downloaded videos can only be played for 29 days before having to reconnect most of the time, with some regions restricting it to 48 hours.
I would totally buy Premium subscription if they let me download the videos, and I told Google that. The way it is now - no deal.
Re: Bypassing YouTube video download throttling
#28I've never tried YouTube, but I have downloaded videos from sketchier streaming websites using the web developer tools.
Almost all of them have the same protection: some code that triggers only when you open the tools and stops the video by creating a debugger statement you cannot skip and triggering some cpu-heavy code (probably an infinite loop, although I wouldn't discard cryptominers). More importantly this code also clears the network request information, making it more difficult to analyze the traffic sent so far. Note to Firefox devs: enabling "persist logs" should persist the logs. Don't clear them!
None of this is perfect and I never found a video I couldn't eventually download (timing attacks ftw), but I do wish I could find a deeper explanation on how this all works.
Re: Bypassing YouTube video download throttling
#29Earlier quoted context omitted.
Like, press the "Download" button and pay for Premium?
Premium is not available worldwide. I tried to trick google by creating an account using VPN in Europe. I even managed to subscribe for Premium. Even with an active Premium subscription Youtube app won't let me use its features such as downloading, background play and picture in picture (you know, basically everything) Because "you live in the wrong part of the world". Creating a problem, selling the solution is what…
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Re: Bypassing YouTube video download throttling
#30I'm constantly suprised when YT deploys another half measure against downloaders when GOOG also owns widevine. I wonder what is their reasons for not using it.
Widevine is used in some youtube videos. Not all, though; not even a high percentage -- I've only seen it in certain music videos. I'm guessing it's on a paid license basis…