apriki:

If you’re planning to continue to use a downloading system (and I honestly hope you do - saying megaupload shutting down is the end of downloads would be like saying file sharing was dead when napster got taken), here are a few tips:

FOR UPLOADING

• rename your files something simple - for example, “GOT” or even “throne” for Game of Thrones, or “TVD” or “vampire” for The Vampire Diaries. Sometimes files will be taken down for being named something copyrighted.
• change the extension of your file to .ppt or .abc - after downloading the person can change it back to .avi
• put http://anonym.to/ before your url link

FOR DOWNLOADING

• there are lots of other downloading sites! Filesonic, fileshare, rapidshare, mediafire… get out there and explore for your links, you’ll find heaps of them (and probably in HD - megaupload was the go-to source of medium quality files, but 720p is usually uploaded to other servers)
• tehparadox is a goldmine for links - and most of them are filesonic/fileserve, which means they’re still valid.
• you can use torrenting! Here is a guide for everything you need to know about torrents and how to use them. It’s not complicated at all, and in some ways a lot simpler than direct download.
• Install JDownloader! It will change your life, I swear. 
• filestube is a great way to find links - just be really cautious as to what links you’re sent to - if you’re getting vibes that it isn’t a legit link (size is often an indicator here: regular shows should be about 350mb, movies 700mb - anything incredibly large (unless it’s HD) or small in size is not the real deal), don’t download it.
• AVOID programs like limewire - i hope this doesn’t even need to be said, but downloading programs are crawling with viruses.

FOR STREAMING

• ngl, the loss of megavideo is a blow in this department. I would say that if you can, download, but if you can’t, livestreams like justintv can work well.
• tumblr tags! Searching for a movie or show in the tags can produce a wealth of download or streaming links (the “shame” tag has been going off lately for this reason, fyi). 
• American sites like ABC often stream episodes after they’ve aired - for Americans only, of course. Use a proxy program like tunnelbear or hotspot shield to bypass country limits - this can be used for sites like hulu as well.

Have fun and be smart when it comes to downloads!!

(via howstrangetobeanythingatall)