Is 123Movies Safe? Best 123Movies Alternatives

Among the many sites that could fulfill the entertainment needs of users for free, 123Movies used to stand out. Although it is currently shut down, there are still many of its mirror sites that are continuing to attract movie or TV show lovers.

But is 123Movies safe? Are such sites legal? What can users do to ensure their safety when enjoying free services? Are there any alternatives to 123Movies besides mirror sites?

Don’t miss our blog, all these questions are answered in detail below. Now, let’s start with a short review of 123movies.

What Is 123Movies?

123Movies is a website that provides free streaming services that aims to provide movies/TV shows to worldwide users to bring the solution to indulge in watching streaming videos at no cost.

Although there are many free pirate resource sites on the market, this Vietnam-originated site has become one of the most popular free streaming sites with its massive library, fast upload speed, and HD video quality. Users can follow the navigation to find their favorite video resources from the library with great ease.

Videos that you have to pay for or across regions to watch on legitimate streaming platforms like Netflix and Disney+, 123Movies offers them for free in HD video quality with no registration required. For most fans of movies or TV shows, this is probably the most appealing feature of the site.

Of course, 123Moives’ actions were a serious copyright infringement and detrimental to other legitimate platforms, so it was eventually ordered to shut down. However, while the source site is unavailable, 123Movies is currently active in the marketplace with various mirror sites that continue to provide pirated content to streaming video enthusiasts around the world.

So, are 123Movies, 123Movies mirror sites, or other similar piracy sites illegal? Are users legally at risk for watching or downloading streaming videos through these sites?

The answers are shown below.

Is 123Movies Legal?

Is 123Movies legal? it depends. While we all know that copyright is very important, the illegality of copyright infringement depends on the specific laws in your country or region.

In most countries and regions, pirated resource sites are illegal, and the law prohibits anyone or any organization from downloading or distributing pirated content. However, in some regions, piracy is not strictly suppressed, and some countries even allow individuals to use pirated content.

You can determine if a site like 123Movies is legal in your location based on the picture below.

📝Source: The information in the image is from TOP10VPN

After checking out the images, if you find that your country does allow you to use 123Movies or other pirate sites, but you are still skeptical as to whether or not there are any security or privacy implications for you in using such sites, please read the following. We will tell you if there is any security on this site.

Is 123Movies Safe?

Is 123Movies safe? The answer is, no, definitely no.

Since sites like 123Movies are not legitimate streaming platforms and don’t charge users, the entire sites are littered with advertisements, spoofed links, pop-ups, and, in the case of some mirror sites, users who claim that they have encountered malicious viruses.

Under such circumstances, I think we can never consider 123Movies as safe. So, what exactly are the dangers associated with using such sites? We will give you a detailed explanation. Let’s dive in.

Main Security Issues of 123Movies

These are the security risks you may encounter when using 123Movies mirror sites or other similar free resource sites.

・Advertisements

Free resource sites like 123Movies always fill every part of the webpage with various ads. Besides bothering users, these ads are also very likely to violate your private information. If you are attracted by an image on a targeted ad and try to click on it, you will probably be directed to a malicious website where cybercriminals can get hold of your online information.

・Spoofed Links

Phishing is also one of the security issues that often arise on such sites. When you are looking for your favorite movie, you are likely to inadvertently click on malicious links. These links usually disguise themselves as coming from a credible platform, but in fact, it’s designed to trick users into giving them personal information to facilitate the hacker’s next step in the scam.

・Pop-ups

Pop-ups are actually a form of advertising. But unlike other ads that sit still on the page, pop-ups are more dangerous because they often lead to accidental touches by the user. For example, if you use your mouse to click on the screen to pause a video, but accidentally click on a malicious advertisement that pops up as a result of the pause, you are putting yourself in information danger.

・Malware

Official streaming platforms have trustworthy security, for they can deal with spyware, viruses, or malicious Trojans in advance to provide a clean environment for users to use. But pirate sites like 123Movies don’t have such capabilities. While using them, you need to prevent malware from causing trouble to your device.

After reading the content above, we both know that it is not safe to use 123Movies or similar sites and have been warned about the risks they can pose. To be honest, we don’t want you to use a site with such insecurity and the legal risks it is likely to entail at all. However, if you insist on using or accidentally visiting a site like 123Movies, we want you to keep your data as safe as possible.

If you have no idea about data protection, don’t worry, check the tutorial on how to stay safe online we offered for you.

⚠️Note:

We do not support copyright infringement and will never encourage users to use pirated websites. Our purpose is simply to help you realize the risks associated with such sites and to share effective methods that can safeguard your privacy and security from being compromised. However, we ask that you consider carefully the legal risks you may encounter before taking any steps.

How to Stay Safe Online?

In order to stay safe online, you must first maintain an awareness of the risks and then implement specific methods of protection. With this two-pronged approach, you will be able to conduct your online activities without any worries of losing privacy and security.

First, let’s see what preventive methods you need to implement.

Preventive Methods

・Stay Alert

You need to be on high alert at all times when it comes to your online activities. Don’t click on any advertising images, and don’t hit any links that appear on these unofficial streaming sites.

・Close Any Pop-ups

Quickly close pop-up windows while you are surfing. For windows that pop up every time you pause the video, you need to anticipate and minimize the number of false touches.

・Never Share Personal Information

Do not input your personal information no matter what happens when you are doing online activities on such sites. Unless it is an official platform that you know well, at all times you have to be careful about malicious people stealing your privacy.

・Comply with Norms

When you want to watch streaming videos for free, please pay attention to whether the laws in your country or region allow the viewing of pirated video content. If not, carefully consider whether you are willing to take that legal risk.

Having done the mental construction, it’s now time to look at what tools or methods can directly help us keep our online security uninterrupted.

Direct Methods

・Finding Safe Alternatives

The most straightforward way to actually be safe from sites like 123Movies is to look for safer and also more legal alternatives. If you are willing to pay for your hobby, then official streaming platforms such as Netflix are the best option. Of course, if you’re on a budget, we’ve also recommended the best 123Movies alternatives for 2024, which you can quickly scroll down to find the details.

・Updating Software

To prevent criminals from jeopardizing the security of your information through vulnerabilities, you’d better make sure that your device’s system, drivers, and even the browser you use, are updated to the latest version.

・Install Antivirus Software

Install powerful antivirus software or programs for your device. Utility software detects cyber risks in advance when you are doing online tasks and can stop malware downloads and installations before a crisis occurs.

・Use a VPN

Finding an applicable VPN for PC or VPN Chrome extension is the most effective method of security. VPNs can encrypt your Internet data and hide your real IP address through different server connections, making it impossible for third parties to track your activities and steal your information. Some powerful providers, such as X-VPN, even offer advanced VPN features like kill switch, double VPN and private browser to add an extra layer of security and privacy. And VPN protocols that have strong security and anti-blocking capabilities.

・Use an AD Blocker

Using an ad blocker can drastically reduce the number of ads you see, which in turn decreases the probability that your security will be affected by malicious ads or pop-ups. It’s worth noting, however, that some VPNs also offer ad blocking for their users.

It’s not hard to stay safe when surfing online, as long as you are constantly vigilant about not actively disclosing your personal info, and with the aid of useful tools to stop hackers from invading, you can freely carry out all kinds of online activities.

Next, we will bring you a step-by-step guide on how to use X-VPN for safe surfing online. Check this out.

How to Use X-VPN for Safe Surfing Online？

X-VPN is our most recommended data protection tool for your web surfing needs. It uses industry-standardized AES-256 encryption to protect your data and supports routing user traffic through two VPN servers simultaneously to increase security greatly. X-VPN will become your personal data cloak, protecting your browsing data by altering and hiding your online location settings.

Of course, if you’re considering using traditional streaming platforms or social media like Netflix, YouTube, etc., X-VPN can also give you a better viewing experience by stopping ISP throttling with dedicated high-speed servers.

💡Note: You can hit the link to get more tips about X-VPN’s perfect server for streaming, game, and social media needs.

Now it’s time to learn how to use X-VPN for safe surfing online.

Step 1. Download and Install VPN

Get a free VPN download on the X-VPN website for your device. Thanks to its strong compatibility, Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS, and Android users can download and use X-VPN for free. Even if you want to download a tool for your Smart TV, router, or gaming console, X-VPN can play its role too.

Step 2. Complete Individual Configurations

Launch X-VPN, and select the server you want to connect to. X-VPN has 8000+ servers in over 60 countries, so you can locate your IP in any country you like, or just pick the server closest to you, which will bring you faster speeds.

Of course, you can also use the extra features offered by X-VPN, like the kill switch, to adjust your personal configuration according to your actual needs.

Step 3. Connect VPN and Start Surfing

After making your decision, click the button to quickly connect to the server of your choice within 2 seconds, and your online activities will be strictly encrypted and protected from this moment on.

Now, you can safely and boldly use your browsers, and enjoy your video content with pleasure.

Now you have a full grasp of how to stay safe via X-VPN. But as we also mentioned earlier, you need to make sure that your actions do not pose a legal risk before you take a move.

Best 123Movies Alternatives

As mentioned earlier, 123Movies was officially disabled due to copyright violation. Although users can still access the site’s full content through its mirror sites at the moment, these sites are not only unstable but also have corresponding security risks. Fortunately, apart from mirror sites, we can also consider using 123Movies alternatives to get equal or even better video resources.

💡Note: If watching pirated videos is not legal in your area, you can only watch movies and TV shows through legal channels such as YouTube, Netflix, Prime Video, Disney+, Hulu, etc. These sites are some of the most popular streaming platforms available today and provide extremely high video quality, quantity, and functions that are not available on free sites.

We’ve picked out the best 5 highly competitive streaming services on the market for you.

Tubi

Tubi is one of the most popular alternatives to 123Movies after it shut down. It has a very user-friendly interface and offers a huge resource of movies and TV shows for free. Users don’t need to sign up for an account to watch all the content within the site freely.

However, the biggest drawback of the site is that you will also inevitably need to watch some advertisements while enjoying the video content. But since the quality of the videos offered by Tubi is really high quality, it is still considered by many users as one of the best free video sites.

SolarMovies

SolarMovies is a very promising free streaming service and has been continuously developing its features to bring an increasingly better experience to its users. The best feature of the site is that it has a huge library, so there’s a good chance that any video you want can be found on the site. In order to maximize the user experience, it has also launched an ad-free and pop-up-free version, which supports users to find their preferred movies or TV shows through a simple search.

With its rich library, ad-free, high-resolution, multi-subtitle, and no-registration features, SolarMovies really deserves more attention. However, its search function still needs to be improved, and sometimes users have trouble navigating to specific content.

YesMovies

The biggest advantage of YesMovies is that it allows users to download movies in 4K quality, something that many 123Movies alternatives do not have. The site offers a wealth of video resources, and the top-arranged category navigation allows users to quickly find the appropriate video content.

YesMovies is not ad-free, which is something to be aware of, and some of the ads will also automatically open in new tabs. If you mind this very much, then there are other alternatives available.

Popcornflix

Compared to other alternatives, the most obvious feature of Popcornflix is that it has a very aesthetically pleasing page that is equipped with clear navigation. As a first-time visitor, you will have no trouble finding the videos you want to watch. This is not an easy feat for an unofficial free website.

However, although Popcornflix offers users a variety of movies and TV shows, all of them are mostly popular videos, and the overall number of videos is still not dominant. Also, there are advertisements on the site and the videos are not all offered in HD.

Soap2day

Soap2day is an emerging force in online free streaming services, and users can undoubtedly watch the latest or hottest movies and TV shows online from the site. What’s special is that Soap2day offers English subtitles for most of its content, which is very friendly to many international viewers.

Of course, as with most 123Movies alternatives, Soap2day also pops up ads.

⚠️Tip: Of course, watching online videos through any of these sites may pose a risk to your security. After choosing your favorite site, make sure you protect yourself with a VPN tool.

Conclusion

Is 123Movies safe? After reading this blog, we are sure you already have an answer to this question – no, it’s not safe. Pirate sites like 123Movies have very many security risks, and we recommend you use a powerful tool like X-VPN to hide and encrypt your data from security hazards, or just go for a relatively safer 123Movies alternative.

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