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If you have ever had problems with freeware, you’ll be really precautious before installing any new software. Needless to say, if it concerns YouTube conversion, you’d like to check reviews of an unknown YouTube converter twice. Let’s see how to choose a safe YouTube to MP3 tool and what rules to observe while selecting it.
List of Best Safe YouTube to MP3 Converters
Oct 10, 2016 - So you are completely safe here. But is it legal to convert YouTube music videos into downloads, so that you can view them later? Or, make any.
It’s hard to provide a long list of safe YouTube converters. There are only 3 YouTube multimedia converters for Windows OS that are worth downloading and intalling on your PC:
- Freemake YouTube to MP3 Boom;
- aTube Catcher by Diego Uscanga;
- Free Studio by DVDVideoSoft.
All those tools meet the criteria of safety, namely they don’t install any third-party tools without your permission. Those tools don’t require registration or providing any personal data. Antivirus programs don’t flag these tools.
SEE ALSO: 8 Free & Safe File Sharing Sites for All Your Needs
Unfortunately, there are no online YouTube to MP3 converters that meet safety standards. Here are the reasons why. In fact, you can find dozens of free online YouTube to MP3 converters in Google. However, most of top 10 results presented in Google search show intrusive ads which are unsafe for work and kids, or annoying popups or animated banners that look like scams or malware. Such online converters have so many Download buttons that you don’t know which is correct. The resulted audio file may be also zipped as an archive containing instusive software or may even ask a payment for unzipping.
YouTube Software Safety Tips
Anyway, even using YouTube converting freeware it’s highly recommended to be careful. Before clicking a download button, you’d better take a look at these 7 key safety tips:
1. Download a YouTube Converter from the official websites or reputable archives only
Famous software developers like Freemake.com or DVDVideoSoft host their installation files on their official websites, so you may be sure that you download the genuine software as it is provided by the developer.
Try to avoid downloading software from unknown developers’ websites, especially those who host their tools using free hosting services and whose website look amateurish or outdated. Still if you prefer to get software from such a developer’s website, then make sure it doesn’t redirect you to weird sites, open pop-ups or ask for personal information (logins, passwords, credit card details, mailing address, etc.).
You may also take all the advantages of Google search and land at a popular download sites like Cnet or Softonic. As a rule, they test freeware before publishing it on their site. However, those archive websites may bundle free software with their own toolbars offering opt-in advertising. Therefore, be careful with Download buttons like the one below.
UPDATE: Such CNet monetization program is paused now.
2. Look for freeware reviews
If you download a famous YouTube converter, it has dozens of reviews from editors and ordinary people. Read them carefully and compare them. Top magazines like PCWorld or PCMag provide detailed editorial descriptions and their expert opinion. But remember user reviews or comments might be biased and you shouldn’t trust only users’ ratings.
3. Scan a download with antivirus
If you decided to download a YouTube converter, your next step should be an antivirus check-up. You can use your antivirus or a web service like VirusTotal.com that analyzes each file with a bunch of antivirus programs. Getting no alerts will mean that the new YouTube converter is likely to be safe to run. Several alerts from unpopular antivirus tools isn’t a reason for panic, either.
4. Don’t enter excessive personal info, if it’s not necessary
If you can watch a YouTube video without login in your YouTube account, then any YouTube to MP3 converter doesn’t need this data. If a YouTube to MP3 tool asks you for credit card information, PayPal email, telephone number, or other personal info, stop using it. Of course, some premium option may be paid within the software, but this is usually clearly said on the developer’s website and within the software.
5. Make sure you download videos from YouTube website
Some YouTube converters launch a web browser inside the program and suggest you to search for videos there. If you use such freeware, look at a URL line and see, whether it’s YouTube or not. The matter is that some deceptive tools download music from p2p websites or illegal music archives.
6. The tool should work as advertised
Test your new YouTube to MP3 converter, it should work as described without any breakdowns and scary alerts. The audio files should be downloaded in a decent quality and in full length. The process shouldn’t take much time. It’s good if the software provides a song preview before download, so you could make sure you download what you need.
If it’s declared that the tool should save the videos in AVI format, make sure that MP4 to AVI conversion is really supported.
7. Monitor your PC behaviour
You may notice certain changes in your computer’s performance after you intalled a new software onto it. For example, a PC might become slow, there are unknown processes in the taskbar, it’s time to get rid of such a YouTube converter.
Some tools (especially online YouTube converters) require Java exention to fulfill the downloading tasks, but this is already old school. Programming is so advanced nowadays, that old Java-based applications seriously lose their modern competitors. So bypass the tools which offer you to install Java applet together with it, as it’s really RAM-consuming tool which needs being constantly updated.
We hope you managed to find out how to choose a safe YouTube converter. Please don’t forget that you can download a secure YouTube to MP3 converter by Freemake for free here. Watch this video to learn how to use the tool.
And always use your common sense. If a program looks suspicious, ask about it at comments below, we’ll be glad to help!
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It's easy to spend hours watching new videos on YouTube when you have a reliable internet connection, but if you're going to be offline, you might want to save a collection of clips to watch later on your PC, tablet, games console, or smartphone. That's when you need a free YouTube video converter.
The best YouTube converters include preset profiles to take the guesswork out of choosing the optimum format, resolution, and compression settings for your device. They also let you save and convert clips in batches, and let you choose where they're saved once the download and conversion is complete.
Downloading videos from YouTube is against the site's terms of service . There's also a risk of copyright violation unless the video is in the public domain, or you have permission from the copyright holder.
If you specifically want to save music or other audio from videos, check out our guide to the best YouTube to MP3 software. If you're using a mobile device, the best video editor for iPhone might be a worthwhile addition to your collection, turning your phone into a mobile production studio.
- See also:how to unblock YouTube at school or the office
![Safe Safe](https://www.youtube-audio.org/images/sitethumbs/8.jpg)
1. 4K Video Downloader
Fuss-free conversion from YouTube and all other popular video sites
Very simple to use
Supports 4K, subtitles and more
When you need to download videos in a specific format, 4K Video Downloader should be your first port of call. Unlike most free YouTube video converters, there are no ads or unwanted extra applications to worry about - just a superb, flexible program that will grab the clips you want with the minimum of hassle.
It's possible to convert videos with subtitles and annotations, and - as the software's name suggests - in resolutions up to 4K where available. Those are features you'd normally only find in premium software, but here they're completely free.
4K Video Downloader can also convert videos from many sites besides YouTube, including Vimeo and DailyMotion. You can even download and convert entire playlists up to 24 videos long (a premium subscription will unlock the ability to convert more).
The downside of 4K Video Downloader is its relatively small selection of conversion formats - you can save video as MP4, MKV and 3GP, and audio as MP3, M4A and OGG. These will be enough for most purposes, and you get a wide choice of quality options (the exact number will depend on the quality of the source video) but it's a shame WMV and AVI aren't available.
If the choice of file types available covers your requirements, then you won't find a better YouTube video converter.
2. Free YouTube to MP3 Converter
Convert videos and rip their soundtracks for offline listening
Well designed interface
Free YouTube to MP3 Converter (from the superb DVDVideoSoft) is a wonderfully simple YouTube converter for ripping the audio from videos and saving it to your PC in a format of your choice.
The program lets you queue up multiple files for conversion and features a clean interface that clearly displays what files are waiting to be converted. There's even the option to download an entire channel, though this can be time-consuming so you might prefer to be selective.
If you do decide to go on a downloading spree, look in the options menu for the setting that shuts your PC down automatically once it's finished.
Free YouTube to MP3 Converter is a particularly useful tool for musicians who may want to download guitar backing tracks to jam along to, or similarly you could grab a karaoke backing track to burn to a CD ready for that weekend party – provided you have the copyright holder's permission, of course.
3. Any Video Converter Free
Convert videos from YouTube or any other source in seconds
Great choice of export options
Bundled extra software
Any Video Converter Free can download and convert files from almost any source – CDs, locally stored files, or video sharing sites including YouTube, Facebook, Vimeo and LiveLeak.
Any Video Converter Free is packed with options, but still accessible. The interface is well designed, with tooltips to explain each function. You can paste in URLs from your clipboard, as with most free YouTube converters, or drag videos directly from Chrome or Firefox.
While installing Any Video Converter Free, you’ll be prompted to install ByteFence (an anti-malware tool) and a Yahoo browser extension. It’s not immediately obvious, but you can opt out of these using the small text links labelled ‘Click here to customize the installation’ and unchecking the boxes that appear. Or you might choose to leave them selected to support the developers.
4. Free YouTube Download
Makes it easy to fine-tune clips for playback on your chosen device
Supports HD video
Another great tool from DVDVideoSoft, Free YouTube Download comes with a massive 25 video conversion options that can convert your files automatically once they've downloaded for viewing on different devices.
Its interface is almost identical to Free YouTube to MP3 converter – a clean, self-explanatory affair with more advanced settings tucked away in an Options menu. There, you can choose to shut down your PC once the download is finished, download via a proxy, and paste URLs from the clipboard automatically.
Clicking the file format details beside each thumbnails gives you a great choice of export options. Once you've made your selection, click the 'Download' button and your video will begin processing. You can only download and convert one video at a time without upgrading to the premium version of the software, but there's little else to complain about.
5. YTD Video Downloader
Dropped connection mid-rip? No problem – YTD will pick it up
Built-in editing tools
Includes bundled software
YTD Video Downloader can download and convert videos from some of the most popular video hosting sites, including Facebook, DailyMotion and College Humor and, of course, YouTube. It features the ability to convert videos into most popular video formats – from MP3 and MP4 to WNV, FLV, MOV, 3GP and AVI.
This YouTube downloader's makers claim that the latest version is faster and more stable than previous releases. It also has the handy feature of resuming downloads automatically if your internet connection goes down temporarily.
The thing keeping YTD from a higher place in our roundup is the WebDiscover browser that comes bundled with the software, and is difficult to avoid if you don't want its search bar welded to your desktop.
- Discover the best way to download YouTube videos
- Check out our guide to the best video editing software
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