j7n Posted August 30, 2023 Share Posted August 30, 2023 Why is it common for websites to wait for 5 to 10 seconds after clicking a download link before the download actually starts? They usually not show a countdown, and give a clickable link that starts the transfer immediately. The accompanying text might say: "If your download doesn't start automatically, click the link, or select another mirror." If I do click the link, I usually get a second download started after a delay. It is not those sites where you have to pay a subscription to get high speed, but regular open web servers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
D.Draker Posted August 30, 2023 Share Posted August 30, 2023 To annoy you, so you would purchase a "premium" account, simple. 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dixel Posted August 30, 2023 Share Posted August 30, 2023 Or just to force you to make an account (a "free" account), so they can track you more easily! Here's an example of such site. https://www.opensubtitles.org/en/subtitles/ 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
j7n Posted August 31, 2023 Author Share Posted August 31, 2023 I know about shady sites that require a premium account, but these are not among them. There you usually have to wait 30 to 60 seconds. For example on SourceForge, there is a circular counter that goes from 5 to 0 and then the download starts. You can also click on Problems Downloading directly. On ModDB you see a white box with a clickable link. Having an account on these sites doesn't bypass the intermediary dialog. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cocodile Posted August 31, 2023 Share Posted August 31, 2023 9 hours ago, j7n said: that goes from 5 to 0 and then the download starts Did you try to open the browser console to see what happens? 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
D.Draker Posted August 31, 2023 Share Posted August 31, 2023 Maybe five seconds is more than enough to make a good fingerprint, including clientrects and canvas? 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tripredacus Posted September 6, 2023 Share Posted September 6, 2023 I presume it is to show ads. For Nexus (the modding site) it is to show you the donation message. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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