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In my office, I cannot create (or rename) any files with the extension .mp3 in my computer. Now, I would like to download a MP3 file from my office. I am using Firefox.

While starting the download, Firefox tells

Unable to save the file.

Are there any workarounds to download this file?

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Just Change file name to something else. Instead of clicking file link use right click and "Save Link As…" fro mmenu. However if these are not links in webpage but download is started by Javascript then it is more problematic. – Cougar Nov 25 '11 at 7:56
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How is this enforced? (And why?) If there's a valid reason for the restriction, maybe you should consider not trying to bypass it. If there isn't, perhaps you could work to change it. – Keith Thompson Nov 25 '11 at 8:21
@Cougar The download starts automatically in the background – emaillenin Nov 25 '11 at 9:40
@KeithThompson the only reason is to prevent MP3 downloads – emaillenin Nov 25 '11 at 9:41
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What M. Thompson is asking you to think about is the reason behind that restriction, not just about the restriction itself as you are currently doing. If you don't know the reason, don't guess, or just presume offhandedly that there's none. Ask your employer, or check your terms and conditions of employment or employee handbook, to find out. If, for example, it transpires that your employer put this restriction in place to combat a problem of employees abusing company property for illegal file distribution, coming to SuperUser and publicly asking how to bypass it is fairly foolish. – JdeBP Nov 25 '11 at 11:45
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4 Answers

up vote 3 down vote

Download it at home, without using your employer's resources.

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up vote 1 down vote

I'm assuming you're using Windows. Get another download program (wget has Windows implementations too, or comes built in in most Linux distributions). Once the download starts (even if it fails) go to the Firefox download list, and right click it. Choose "Copy Download Location." Then, at the command line (use "cmd" from the Run option in Windows Start Menu) and type "wget -o "some other name without mp3" "paste the download link here" " (don't use the quotes, just put the name and link in the respective places). That should work, I think, though I have never used wget on windows (I am a Linux user).

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The download does not get listed in "Downloads" – emaillenin Nov 25 '11 at 11:29
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up vote 1 down vote

You can use some developer tools like Firebug for Firefox or the built-in one in IE, Chrome and Safari to monitor the download url. Normally they should pop-up if you press F12. There should be a tab called Net(work) that lists all network activities from a page. You'll have to start a music download and observe which urls are accessed. The one with the MP3 extension should be quite easy to spot.

However, I fear that the policy is actually enforced at some corporate firewall, in which case you'll need some third-party VPN service or encrypted proxy to bypass.

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up vote 0 down vote

At school I am unable to download mp3's myself, due to our bandwidth limitations and teachers monitoring our screens and work. However, I've come up with an easy solution - USB drives. I simply load all my mp3 files on at home, and then open them at will.

Although your system blocks downloading such files types, you shouldn't have any trouble opening them with your media player of choice. Simple mp3 files are usually relatively small, you can easily stream them from a small USB drive. They're very affordable now and everyone seems to have one.

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