[WARNING] Udemy downloading could have them closing your account.

[Lumos]

They have closed accounts before and pretty much whenever they felt like it.
'Catching' folks grabbing content in a way that is not encrypted by their official method (like with Android) gives them the perfect excuse now that they have some new tech to detect it.

Lots of folks totally hate using the pewdemy site directly - 'specially if they have weak internet that causes loads of buffering and even more so since they made their 'new, improved' site design.

Since Berlinerin so wisely pointed me towards Udeler, I've used it with great success and zero problems to get tolerable copies of pewdemy courses for offline uses - until now.

They are now able to detect it and sent me a threatening message telling me that I better quit that 'unapproved downloading method' OR ELSE !!!

The idea of possibly getting my account there shut off genuinely pissed me off - and of course I'm sure my account is now red flagged there somehow so I'd best be careful.

Then I also contacted the Allavsoft folks and asked them about it, to which they kindly replied:

"We are so sorry that recently udemy has updated to prevent downloading.
You may use the Record option or try to find another method. "

For anyone using either JDL or IDM - I suspect this warning also applies - but I ain't willing to try things out and take those risks.

A wee bit of light at the end of this tunnel though - this method DOES seem to work via browser and without them detecting it, but it is manual and a bit tedious:
==============================
Downloading using Web browser Developer Tools

Open your logged in Udemy account and select the video you wish to download.

To open the Developer tools by pressing the F12 button

Click on Network followed by media.

Reload the page to ensure that the download link appears on the screen.

Right-click on the link and open it in a new tab to finally download it.

You can then view it by your computer's media player.
==================================

There may be slight variations needed for Chrome based browsers, I don't know 'cuz I haven't tried it that way, but with Basilisk it works just fine for me.

Chrome did have a great extension which would DL any video that was loaded and showing on your screen and it used to work very well for me with Vivaldi on skillshare and pewdemy, but I lost it after a crash and don't remember which one of the many that it was.

If anyone knows of a better way to DL stuff from pewdemy WITHOUT also getting threats from them, or having to record it live - please share that info here, OK ?!?

[KennedyDan]

Which course that is blocked from downloading?

I have some old courses in my account, I could download now some videos just with IDM.

See how the download tab appears in the top right

https://i.imgur.com/pCGBx8V.png

[Lumos]

It seems you have totally misunderstood my message...

KennedyDan wrote:

"Which course that is blocked from downloading?
I have some old courses in my account, I could download now some videos just with IDM.
See how the download tab appears in the top right
https://i.imgur.com/pCGBx8V.png"

NONE seem to be *blocked* and I did not say that, please re-read my warning more carefully.

What you show is NOT a browser tab - it is added by an extension - so please tell us all:
- Which browser you are using ??
- What extensions do you have for downloading ??

[angelcrc7]

Hi smithnowt, thanks for telling us about this change of policy of Udemy with new limits to download courses! :(

I do not know a good download method right now. But just a simple and useful tip: you can create a 2nd account with a couple of free courses to test any download method, and also a VPN (to protect your IP address)! Then you can use your primary account and download some courses only if you are totally sure of your download method (for your personal use)!


:)

[bs00001]

Perhaps the main method they can use is:

Check the numbers of download threads appearing at the same time for one account / one IP! (technically not difficult for them to use this method)

If we are just watching a course, this is just one thread for them to see.

If we are downloading a course with at least 2 threads or more, they can think that we're downloading a course! since we normally cannot watch a course but in several sections of this course!

so I believe that it's best to use a download manager to down a video with 1 thread only! Yes, this is a EXTREMELY SLOW method for downloading a course completely...

but it's much better than get caught then ban your udemy account by them!

[Lumos]

Thanks for the replies Folks !!

I have no idea what number of DL threads Udeler was using to get just a single module at a time - but the threat made after that last use was quite chilling.

What also may be possible for pewdemy to detect - like via useragent or the like - could be the way by which the login is handled - but this is merely my deductive speculation.

What I -do- care about are the courses already in my account that have yet to (ever ??) be grabbed for local uses by me - those that were only free from coupon codes especially.

Their site being the main viewer is useless for me, so=>
If anything is very, very important for me to DL, I am about 90% certain that the single-threaded and rather tedious browser based method shared above is harmless except for the time and efforts taken in using it.

Of course if member KennedyDan returns to share with us what browser and extensions he has used without getting threats or negative consequences this situation might improve a bit.

All told, until/unless this phase of their customer hate policies combined with the total absense of all possible QC at pewdemy actually improves - it all has me viewing their offerings with loads less interest than ever before.

Happy Holidays BBHF !!

[superduper12]

[quote='smithnowt' pid='3372547' dateline='1640328653']
Thanks for the replies Folks !!

I have no idea what number of DL threads Udeler was using to get just a single module at a time - but the threat made after that last use was quite chilling.

What also may be possible for pewdemy to detect - like via useragent or the like - could be the way by which the login is handled - but this is merely my deductive speculation.

What I -do- care about are the courses already in my account that have yet to (ever ??) be grabbed for local uses by me - those that were only free from coupon codes especially.

Their site being the main viewer is useless for me, so=>
If anything is very, very important for me to DL, I am about 90% certain that the single-threaded and rather tedious browser based method shared above is harmless except for the time and efforts taken in using it.

Of course if member KennedyDan returns to share with us what browser and extensions he has used without getting threats or negative consequences this situation might improve a bit.

All told, until/unless this phase of their customer hate policies combined with the total absense of all possible QC at pewdemy actually improves - it all has me viewing their offerings with loads less interest than ever before.

Happy Holidays BBHF !!
[/quote]

I recognize the button from KennedyDan's psot.

Its "Internet Download Manager" and has a Chrome extension to enable these download button to appear on the page.

[GalaxyQuest]

Thanks smithnowt for the heads up... Can I ask how was the message delivered was this through Udeler or email?
I have been using Udeler for the last couple of days, without any issues, and have downloaded 5 FREEBIE courses, without any issues.
I like many others download the courses to watch either on a tablet or phone... I will have to think twice, I used to use Antdownloader to rip the video but that was slow and tedious. Again like others, I have several courses sitting in my account most are Freebies, but some are paid for. Not sure why they are stopping downloading unless they feel people are selling them. I am thinking of contacting them and asking what the rules are in regards to downloading courses.

Hope everyone has a great holiday and a happy new 2022

[Lumos]

for that pointer Superduper12 !!
I stopped using IDM after finding that JDL was much better for my needs.

The really HUGE question which cannot be answered is HOW it is that pewdemy can detect DL actions;

2nd to that is whether it cares at all about folks grabbing free courses, or only the paid ones ?!?

@GalaxyQuest2:
That threat came right to my account's messages after I used Udeler to DL a paid course.

Their 'allowed' DL rules are really quite simple=>
Members can ONLY use their official DL buttons like what Android and some (very few) courses get via browser.

If you do it via Android, the files are hidden deeply AND encrypted to prevent re-uses.

Personally - I had grabbed quite a few via Udeler over time and those are sitting around waiting for the mythical 'rainy days' when I'll use at least some of them - so I guess those rainy days have now arrived !!

[vintom]

Merry Christmas!

----------------
just curious which specific "holidays" those other folks (incl. smithnowt) are celebrating?
Birthday of Karl Marx, maybe? Come on, it's too early.