With millions of videos to watch, including movies, music videos and shows, YouTube has become a major source of entertainment for most people. Plus, YouTube caters to audiences of all ages, so you can enjoy the site as a family.
Unfortunately, one of the disadvantages of YouTube videos as a source of entertainment is the many pop-ups that appear on the screen and disrupt your viewing or MP3 listening experience. Annoying ads make people look for ways to watch their favorite videos or listen to MP3s offline. To enjoy free offline videos and ad-free MP3s, you need to download the videos.
However, downloading videos from YouTube is illegal because most of the videos on YouTube are licensed. However, downloading unlicensed YouTube videos is legal. Regardless, most people still go ahead and download videos they want to watch offline.
One way to download videos from YouTube is to use Y2mate. But doesn’t this idea sound too good to be true? It is safe? Getting free, no registration required and unlimited YouTube downloads are too good to be true. This article discusses whether Y2mate is safe to use for your web browser, how to use it, how to remove viruses, and what is the best alternative for downloading YouTube videos.
Is Y2mate safe? – What is Y2mate?
Y2mate is a website that allows web browser users to freely convert and download videos and audios from video sharing sites such as Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube. Y2mate converts videos or audio to various formats such as FLV, MP4 and MP3. Users then select their preferred format before downloading.
To download, open Y2mate.com and then copy and paste the link of the YouTube video you want to download. Y2mate will then display different versions of the video. Versions include MP3, Mp4 or other similar formats.
Basically, Y2mate is not a malicious site. However, the notifications and pop-ups that keep appearing on the web can easily affect your computer’s Windows system. The Y2mate website has many ads that redirect users to other malicious sites when clicked. Most of these ads lead to gaming and occasionally pornographic sites. Y2mate.com also has a virus known as Y2mate.com virus. Although Y2mate itself is not malicious, Y2mate.com virus is malicious.
It is challenging to avoid clicking on pop-ups on Y2mate.com because the download tab keeps moving. Unfortunately, as soon as you click on the ads or notifications, your computer will be automatically infected with Y2mate.com and numerous malicious installations may occur.
Is Y2mate safe?
So is Y2mate safe for you to use? Although Y2mate is a free YouTube video downloader, it is not a safe download platform because of the Y2mate.com virus. The site has many ads and warnings that, when clicked, lead to other suspicious and potentially malicious sites. In addition, the website quickly redirects to other websites when they finally click on the “download” tab.
Once you click on the download tab, the page will redirect you to another suspicious, possibly malicious website, or your device may be automatically infected with the Y2mate.com virus. Most of the time you may be redirected to a gaming website or adult content website.
Another feature that makes Y2mate.com unsafe for downloading YouTube videos is the additional information available on the site. The website asks users to click an “allow” button to opt-in to receive push notifications. If you click ‘allow’, apart from infecting your computer with Y2mate.com virus, there will be an unwanted intrusion. As a result, you will start seeing a series of unwanted pop-ups and notifications on your computer screen, even after you close your web browser.
You will also put your computer at risk because enabling push notifications makes it easier for Y2mate.com virus and other viruses to enter your computer when you click on ads and notifications from malicious sources.
Most importantly, your privacy will be at stake as malicious sources can easily get your data once your device is infected with Y2mate.com virus. This can also happen once you enable notifications and pop-up ads.
Is Y2mate safe? – How to use Y2mate to download YouTube videos safely
To use Y2mate safely and avoid the Y2mate.com virus, be careful not to click on any of the suspicious pop-ups and notifications that keep appearing on your screen. Also, avoid clicking on obscure pop-ups that promise to install antivirus protection.
This is because most of the ads lead to malicious websites that hackers can use to obtain the user’s personal information. Hackers can then use the personal information to commit identity theft fraud. Clicking on ads also easily infects your computer with Y2mate.com virus, which makes it easy for other unwanted malware to infect your computer.
Additionally, avoid opening other websites that claim your device is infected. If you are not careful, you can easily be tricked into thinking that your computer is infected with a virus and therefore tricked into giving your personal information in exchange for fixing your computer.
Also, clicking on such pages and enabling cookies puts your personal data at risk.
So the safest way to use Y2mate to download YouTube videos is to avoid clicking on ads and notifications. Also, make sure you click on the downloads tab and not anywhere else on the screen and always decline cookies.
However, it is difficult to avoid opening other malicious sites while using Y2mate because other websites may open automatically when you click the “download” tab so you can download your YouTube videos.
How to remove Y2mate Virus
Does Y2mate give viruses?
As mentioned above, Y2mate is not a malicious website in itself, but it is the Y2mate.com virus and other adware found on the website that makes it malicious because it affects Windows. Moreover, malicious ads and notifications make the website unsafe for Android, Mac and PC users. Your device can get infected with Y2mate.com virus when you click on suspicious ads displayed on the website.
Fortunately, there are two ways to remove Y2mate.com virus from your web browser. These are:
- Using anti-spyware
- Manual removal of Y2mate
Use of Anti-Spyware
Spyware is a type of malware that hackers use to obtain a user’s personal information without the computer user’s knowledge, such as when a computer is infected with the Y2mate.com virus. Anti-spyware is software designed to detect and remove spyware programs.
Most of the time, malware gets installed on the computer without the user’s knowledge when the computer has a virus similar to Y2mate.com. This poses a threat to user security, as hackers can easily obtain user information without their knowledge or permission, which can lead to stolen credit card information and identity theft.
For example, malware can be installed without your knowledge when you click on ads and notifications that appear on the Y2mate website or download your favorite video.
Spyware hinders Windows performance by using computing power, redirecting your activity, or adding additional adware that can be just as harmful.
To remove Y2mate.com virus using antispyware, select an antispyware application and then update it before running a full Windows scan of your computer. Anti-spyware will do all the work of eliminating the Y2mate.com virus and any adware for you, as it will look for any unwanted and malicious applications that you may have unknowingly installed.
Manual removal of Y2mate
This option works best if you are well versed in computer troubleshooting. To start, open any recently installed apps that are on your computer and then uninstall them. Second, reset your web browser to default settings because Y2mate.com viruses also affect the browser. Finally, block all notifications to prevent future reinfection.
You can also adjust other settings and make changes to prevent further redirection caused by Y2mate virus. For security reasons, use system optimization software or computer repair tools.
You can also use Reimage, an online computer repair tool. Reimage automatically fixes all computer problems such as adware and malware by replacing all corrupted Windows files.
Browser extensions also help prevent various adware and malware. Extensions achieve this by blocking certain websites and ads from suspicious sources. Browser extensions are also responsible for translating the languages of web text.
Browser extensions also help manage cookies.
Alternative YouTube download options
Besides Y2mate, there are many other options for downloading YouTube videos. One option is OnlineVideoConverter. OnlineVideoConverter is an easy-to-use video downloader because you only need a YouTube video link and you’re good to go. Its only drawback is the slow speed when loading and sending data.
Other alternatives include:
- SaveFrom.net
- Clip converter
- Bitdownloader
All of the above alternative YouTube video downloaders are reliable and effective. However, they may have cookies and may also contain adware and malware, so they are not completely safe to use. Therefore, be careful when using them and always refuse cookies to be safe.
Conclusion
Clearly, Y2mate is not a safe option for downloading YouTube videos. Although Y2mate is easy to use, reliable and fast, the site contains multiple ads and alerts from questionable sources that pose a security threat.
Safer alternatives to Y2mate include SaveFrom.net, Clipconverter, Bitdownloader, and OnlineVideoConverter.