Is youtube.com Safe?

Youtube is, by far, the most popular video streaming web site on the Internet. Users are able to watch endless videos on the site, comment on most videos[*1] and interact with other users on the site, or upload their own videos and try to make a name for themselves. Streaming is generally fast and reliable, though there are a number of videos that contain political opinions, racial slurs, extreme profanity, or even nudity[*2] in some cases. The racial and profanity videos tend to appear quite often, making the site less suitable for children than should be intended. Users should also be very cautious when clicking off-site links in video descriptions, as many can lead to malware or computer viral infections. Other than that, this is definitely a good site and easily approved by hundreds of millions of users. *1 Not all videos have their comments enabled- typically, this is to stop immature viewers from ranting and endlessly calling out a video's negative aspects, mainly extremely biased on the viewer's opinion. In some cases, this is also used by hackers or people who are attempting to give others computer viruses by adding dangerous off-site links in the description of their videos and then not allowing anyone to comment saying that it leads to malware. *2 Videos that include nudity are extremely rare and in most cases removed from YouTube. If one of these videos is encountered, the viewer will likely be prompted by an age-confirmation screen before they can view it, though this can be bypassed by simply lying and is not an effective way to prevent children from viewing the content- parents be wary if you're sensitive about that subject.