diff --git a/.gitignore b/.gitignore
index f07fc5d60..564bde1d1 100644
--- a/.gitignore
+++ b/.gitignore
@@ -16,3 +16,4 @@ youtube-dl.exe
 youtube-dl.tar.gz
 .coverage
 cover/
+updates_key.pem
diff --git a/Makefile b/Makefile
index 818d93bdb..b49af6a7a 100644
--- a/Makefile
+++ b/Makefile
@@ -43,7 +43,7 @@ youtube-dl.bash-completion: youtube_dl/*.py devscripts/bash-completion.in
 	python devscripts/bash-completion.py
 
 youtube-dl.tar.gz: all
-	tar -czf youtube-dl.tar.gz -s "|^./|./youtube-dl/|" \
+	tar -czf youtube-dl.tar.gz -s "|^./|./youtube-dl/|" --exclude="updates_key.pem" \
 		--exclude="*.pyc" --exclude="*.pyo" --exclude="*~" --exclude="youtube-dl.exe" \
 		--exclude="wine-py2exe/" --exclude="py2exe.log" --exclude="*.kate-swp" \
 		--exclude="build/" --exclude="dist/" --exclude="MANIFEST" --exclude=".git/" .
diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 407b27970..993aef49e 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -196,7 +196,7 @@ Bugs and suggestions should be reported at: <https://github.com/rg3/youtube-dl/i
 
 Please include:
 
-* Your exact command line, like `youtube-dl -t "http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uHlDtZ6Oc3s&feature=channel_video_title"`. A common mistake is not to escape the `&`. Putting URLs in quotes should solve this problem.
+* Your exact command line, like `youtube-dl -t "http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uHlDtZ6Oc3s&feature=channel_video_title"`. If possible re-run the command with `--verbose`, it is really helpful. A common mistake is not to escape the `&`. Putting URLs in quotes should solve this problem.
 * The output of `youtube-dl --version`
 * The output of `python --version`
 * The name and version of your Operating System ("Ubuntu 11.04 x64" or "Windows 7 x64" is usually enough).
diff --git a/devscripts/gh-pages/generate-download.py b/devscripts/gh-pages/generate-download.py
new file mode 100755
index 000000000..f19729f59
--- /dev/null
+++ b/devscripts/gh-pages/generate-download.py
@@ -0,0 +1,33 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env python3
+import hashlib
+import shutil
+import subprocess
+import tempfile
+import urllib.request
+
+URL = 'https://github.com/downloads/rg3/youtube-dl/youtube-dl'
+
+with tempfile.NamedTemporaryFile(suffix='youtube-dl', delete=True) as ytdl_file:
+    with urllib.request.urlopen(URL) as dl:
+        shutil.copyfileobj(dl, ytdl_file)
+
+    ytdl_file.seek(0)
+    data = ytdl_file.read()
+
+    ytdl_file.flush()
+    version = subprocess.check_output(['python3', ytdl_file.name, '--version']).decode('ascii').strip()
+
+# Read template page
+with open('download.html.in', 'r', encoding='utf-8') as tmplf:
+    template = tmplf.read()
+
+md5sum = hashlib.md5(data).hexdigest()
+sha1sum = hashlib.sha1(data).hexdigest()
+sha256sum = hashlib.sha256(data).hexdigest()
+template = template.replace('@PROGRAM_VERSION@', version)
+template = template.replace('@PROGRAM_URL@', URL)
+template = template.replace('@PROGRAM_MD5SUM@', md5sum)
+template = template.replace('@PROGRAM_SHA1SUM@', sha1sum)
+template = template.replace('@PROGRAM_SHA256SUM@', sha256sum)
+with open('download.html', 'w', encoding='utf-8') as dlf:
+    dlf.write(template)
diff --git a/devscripts/gh-pages/sign_versions.py b/devscripts/gh-pages/sign_versions.py
new file mode 100755
index 000000000..5d94a3a03
--- /dev/null
+++ b/devscripts/gh-pages/sign_versions.py
@@ -0,0 +1,30 @@
+#! /usr/bin/env python3
+
+import rsa
+import json
+from binascii import hexlify
+
+# TODO path discovery
+versions_info = json.load(open('update/versions.json'))
+if 'signature' in versions_info:
+	del versions_info['signature']
+
+
+print('Enter the PKCS1 private key, followed by a blank line:')
+privkey = ''
+while True:
+	try:
+		line = input()
+	except EOFError:
+		break
+	if line == '':
+		break
+	privkey += line + '\n'
+privkey = bytes(privkey, 'ascii')
+privkey = rsa.PrivateKey.load_pkcs1(privkey)
+
+signature = hexlify(rsa.pkcs1.sign(json.dumps(versions_info, sort_keys=True).encode('utf-8'), privkey, 'SHA-256')).decode()
+print('signature: ' + signature)
+
+versions_info['signature'] = signature
+json.dump(versions_info, open('update/versions.json', 'w'), indent=4, sort_keys=True)
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/devscripts/gh-pages/update-copyright.py b/devscripts/gh-pages/update-copyright.py
new file mode 100755
index 000000000..12c2a9194
--- /dev/null
+++ b/devscripts/gh-pages/update-copyright.py
@@ -0,0 +1,21 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env python
+# coding: utf-8
+
+from __future__ import with_statement
+
+import datetime
+import glob
+import io # For Python 2 compatibilty
+import os
+import re
+
+year = str(datetime.datetime.now().year)
+for fn in glob.glob('*.html*'):
+    with io.open(fn, encoding='utf-8') as f:
+        content = f.read()
+    newc = re.sub(u'(?P<copyright>Copyright © 2006-)(?P<year>[0-9]{4})', u'Copyright © 2006-' + year, content)
+    if content != newc:
+        tmpFn = fn + '.part'
+        with io.open(tmpFn, 'wt', encoding='utf-8') as outf:
+            outf.write(newc)
+        os.rename(tmpFn, fn)
diff --git a/devscripts/transition_helper_exe/youtube-dl.py b/devscripts/transition_helper_exe/youtube-dl.py
index 409f980bc..dbb4c99e1 100644
--- a/devscripts/transition_helper_exe/youtube-dl.py
+++ b/devscripts/transition_helper_exe/youtube-dl.py
@@ -2,17 +2,48 @@
 
 import sys, os
 import urllib2
+import json, hashlib
+
+def rsa_verify(message, signature, key):
+    from struct import pack
+    from hashlib import sha256
+    from sys import version_info
+    def b(x):
+        if version_info[0] == 2: return x
+        else: return x.encode('latin1')
+    assert(type(message) == type(b('')))
+    block_size = 0
+    n = key[0]
+    while n:
+        block_size += 1
+        n >>= 8
+    signature = pow(int(signature, 16), key[1], key[0])
+    raw_bytes = []
+    while signature:
+        raw_bytes.insert(0, pack("B", signature & 0xFF))
+        signature >>= 8
+    signature = (block_size - len(raw_bytes)) * b('\x00') + b('').join(raw_bytes)
+    if signature[0:2] != b('\x00\x01'): return False
+    signature = signature[2:]
+    if not b('\x00') in signature: return False
+    signature = signature[signature.index(b('\x00'))+1:]
+    if not signature.startswith(b('\x30\x31\x30\x0D\x06\x09\x60\x86\x48\x01\x65\x03\x04\x02\x01\x05\x00\x04\x20')): return False
+    signature = signature[19:]
+    if signature != sha256(message).digest(): return False
+    return True
 
 sys.stderr.write(u'Hi! We changed distribution method and now youtube-dl needs to update itself one more time.\n')
 sys.stderr.write(u'This will only happen once. Simply press enter to go on. Sorry for the trouble!\n')
-sys.stderr.write(u'The new location of the binaries is https://github.com/rg3/youtube-dl/downloads, not the git repository.\n\n')
+sys.stderr.write(u'From now on, get the binaries from http://rg3.github.com/youtube-dl/download.html, not from the git repository.\n\n')
 
 raw_input()
 
 filename = sys.argv[0]
 
-API_URL = "https://api.github.com/repos/rg3/youtube-dl/downloads"
-EXE_URL = "https://github.com/downloads/rg3/youtube-dl/youtube-dl.exe"
+UPDATE_URL = "http://rg3.github.com/youtube-dl/update/"
+VERSION_URL = UPDATE_URL + 'LATEST_VERSION'
+JSON_URL = UPDATE_URL + 'versions.json'
+UPDATES_RSA_KEY = (0x9d60ee4d8f805312fdb15a62f87b95bd66177b91df176765d13514a0f1754bcd2057295c5b6f1d35daa6742c3ffc9a82d3e118861c207995a8031e151d863c9927e304576bc80692bc8e094896fcf11b66f3e29e04e3a71e9a11558558acea1840aec37fc396fb6b65dc81a1c4144e03bd1c011de62e3f1357b327d08426fe93, 65537)
 
 if not os.access(filename, os.W_OK):
     sys.exit('ERROR: no write permissions on %s' % filename)
@@ -23,13 +54,35 @@ if not os.access(directory, os.W_OK):
     sys.exit('ERROR: no write permissions on %s' % directory)
 
 try:
-    urlh = urllib2.urlopen(EXE_URL)
+    versions_info = urllib2.urlopen(JSON_URL).read().decode('utf-8')
+    versions_info = json.loads(versions_info)
+except:
+    sys.exit(u'ERROR: can\'t obtain versions info. Please try again later.')
+if not 'signature' in versions_info:
+    sys.exit(u'ERROR: the versions file is not signed or corrupted. Aborting.')
+signature = versions_info['signature']
+del versions_info['signature']
+if not rsa_verify(json.dumps(versions_info, sort_keys=True), signature, UPDATES_RSA_KEY):
+    sys.exit(u'ERROR: the versions file signature is invalid. Aborting.')
+
+version = versions_info['versions'][versions_info['latest']]
+
+try:
+    urlh = urllib2.urlopen(version['exe'][0])
     newcontent = urlh.read()
     urlh.close()
+except (IOError, OSError) as err:
+    sys.exit('ERROR: unable to download latest version')
+
+newcontent_hash = hashlib.sha256(newcontent).hexdigest()
+if newcontent_hash != version['exe'][1]:
+    sys.exit(u'ERROR: the downloaded file hash does not match. Aborting.')
+
+try:
     with open(exe + '.new', 'wb') as outf:
         outf.write(newcontent)
 except (IOError, OSError) as err:
-    sys.exit('ERROR: unable to download latest version')
+    sys.exit(u'ERROR: unable to write the new version')
 
 try:
     bat = os.path.join(directory, 'youtube-dl-updater.bat')
diff --git a/youtube-dl b/youtube-dl
index d5ca2d4ba..e6f05c173 100755
--- a/youtube-dl
+++ b/youtube-dl
@@ -1,15 +1,44 @@
 #!/usr/bin/env python
 
 import sys, os
+import json, hashlib
 
 try:
     import urllib.request as compat_urllib_request
 except ImportError: # Python 2
     import urllib2 as compat_urllib_request
 
+def rsa_verify(message, signature, key):
+    from struct import pack
+    from hashlib import sha256
+    from sys import version_info
+    def b(x):
+        if version_info[0] == 2: return x
+        else: return x.encode('latin1')
+    assert(type(message) == type(b('')))
+    block_size = 0
+    n = key[0]
+    while n:
+        block_size += 1
+        n >>= 8
+    signature = pow(int(signature, 16), key[1], key[0])
+    raw_bytes = []
+    while signature:
+        raw_bytes.insert(0, pack("B", signature & 0xFF))
+        signature >>= 8
+    signature = (block_size - len(raw_bytes)) * b('\x00') + b('').join(raw_bytes)
+    if signature[0:2] != b('\x00\x01'): return False
+    signature = signature[2:]
+    if not b('\x00') in signature: return False
+    signature = signature[signature.index(b('\x00'))+1:]
+    if not signature.startswith(b('\x30\x31\x30\x0D\x06\x09\x60\x86\x48\x01\x65\x03\x04\x02\x01\x05\x00\x04\x20')): return False
+    signature = signature[19:]
+    if signature != sha256(message).digest(): return False
+    return True
+
 sys.stderr.write(u'Hi! We changed distribution method and now youtube-dl needs to update itself one more time.\n')
 sys.stderr.write(u'This will only happen once. Simply press enter to go on. Sorry for the trouble!\n')
-sys.stderr.write(u'The new location of the binaries is https://github.com/rg3/youtube-dl/downloads, not the git repository.\n\n')
+sys.stderr.write(u'From now on, get the binaries from http://rg3.github.com/youtube-dl/download.html, not from the git repository.\n\n')
 
 try:
 	raw_input()
@@ -18,19 +47,39 @@ except NameError: # Python 3
 
 filename = sys.argv[0]
 
-API_URL = "https://api.github.com/repos/rg3/youtube-dl/downloads"
-BIN_URL = "https://github.com/downloads/rg3/youtube-dl/youtube-dl"
+UPDATE_URL = "http://rg3.github.com/youtube-dl/update/"
+VERSION_URL = UPDATE_URL + 'LATEST_VERSION'
+JSON_URL = UPDATE_URL + 'versions.json'
+UPDATES_RSA_KEY = (0x9d60ee4d8f805312fdb15a62f87b95bd66177b91df176765d13514a0f1754bcd2057295c5b6f1d35daa6742c3ffc9a82d3e118861c207995a8031e151d863c9927e304576bc80692bc8e094896fcf11b66f3e29e04e3a71e9a11558558acea1840aec37fc396fb6b65dc81a1c4144e03bd1c011de62e3f1357b327d08426fe93, 65537)
 
 if not os.access(filename, os.W_OK):
     sys.exit('ERROR: no write permissions on %s' % filename)
 
 try:
-    urlh = compat_urllib_request.urlopen(BIN_URL)
+    versions_info = compat_urllib_request.urlopen(JSON_URL).read().decode('utf-8')
+    versions_info = json.loads(versions_info)
+except:
+    sys.exit(u'ERROR: can\'t obtain versions info. Please try again later.')
+if not 'signature' in versions_info:
+    sys.exit(u'ERROR: the versions file is not signed or corrupted. Aborting.')
+signature = versions_info['signature']
+del versions_info['signature']
+if not rsa_verify(json.dumps(versions_info, sort_keys=True).encode('utf-8'), signature, UPDATES_RSA_KEY):
+    sys.exit(u'ERROR: the versions file signature is invalid. Aborting.')
+
+version = versions_info['versions'][versions_info['latest']]
+
+try:
+    urlh = compat_urllib_request.urlopen(version['bin'][0])
     newcontent = urlh.read()
     urlh.close()
 except (IOError, OSError) as err:
     sys.exit('ERROR: unable to download latest version')
 
+newcontent_hash = hashlib.sha256(newcontent).hexdigest()
+if newcontent_hash != version['bin'][1]:
+    sys.exit(u'ERROR: the downloaded file hash does not match. Aborting.')
+
 try:
     with open(filename, 'wb') as outf:
         outf.write(newcontent)
diff --git a/youtube-dl.exe b/youtube-dl.exe
index a11878986..45eee04bb 100644
Binary files a/youtube-dl.exe and b/youtube-dl.exe differ
diff --git a/youtube_dl/InfoExtractors.py b/youtube_dl/InfoExtractors.py
index e3cf7e115..d74751a55 100755
--- a/youtube_dl/InfoExtractors.py
+++ b/youtube_dl/InfoExtractors.py
@@ -1093,7 +1093,6 @@ class ArteTvIE(InfoExtractor):
         self._downloader.to_screen(u'[arte.tv] %s: Extracting information' % video_id)
 
     def fetch_webpage(self, url):
-        self._downloader.increment_downloads()
         request = compat_urllib_request.Request(url)
         try:
             self.report_download_webpage(url)
diff --git a/youtube_dl/__init__.py b/youtube_dl/__init__.py
index d12ece21e..8068810ca 100644
--- a/youtube_dl/__init__.py
+++ b/youtube_dl/__init__.py
@@ -34,106 +34,15 @@ import socket
 import subprocess
 import sys
 import warnings
+import platform
 
 from .utils import *
+from .update import update_self
 from .version import __version__
 from .FileDownloader import *
 from .InfoExtractors import *
 from .PostProcessor import *
 
-def updateSelf(downloader, filename):
-    """Update the program file with the latest version from the repository"""
-
-    # TODO: at least, check https certificates
-
-    from zipimport import zipimporter
-
-    API_URL = "https://api.github.com/repos/rg3/youtube-dl/downloads"
-    BIN_URL = "https://github.com/downloads/rg3/youtube-dl/youtube-dl"
-    EXE_URL = "https://github.com/downloads/rg3/youtube-dl/youtube-dl.exe"
-
-    if hasattr(sys, "frozen"): # PY2EXE
-        if not os.access(filename, os.W_OK):
-            sys.exit('ERROR: no write permissions on %s' % filename)
-
-        downloader.to_screen(u'Updating to latest version...')
-
-        urla = compat_urllib_request.urlopen(API_URL)
-        download = filter(lambda x: x["name"] == "youtube-dl.exe", json.loads(urla.read()))
-        if not download:
-            downloader.to_screen(u'ERROR: can\'t find the current version. Please try again later.')
-            return
-        newversion = download[0]["description"].strip()
-        if newversion == __version__:
-            downloader.to_screen(u'youtube-dl is up-to-date (' + __version__ + ')')
-            return
-        urla.close()
-
-        exe = os.path.abspath(filename)
-        directory = os.path.dirname(exe)
-        if not os.access(directory, os.W_OK):
-            sys.exit('ERROR: no write permissions on %s' % directory)
-
-        try:
-            urlh = compat_urllib_request.urlopen(EXE_URL)
-            newcontent = urlh.read()
-            urlh.close()
-            with open(exe + '.new', 'wb') as outf:
-                outf.write(newcontent)
-        except (IOError, OSError) as err:
-            sys.exit('ERROR: unable to download latest version')
-
-        try:
-            bat = os.path.join(directory, 'youtube-dl-updater.bat')
-            b = open(bat, 'w')
-            b.write("""
-echo Updating youtube-dl...
-ping 127.0.0.1 -n 5 -w 1000 > NUL
-move /Y "%s.new" "%s"
-del "%s"
-            \n""" %(exe, exe, bat))
-            b.close()
-
-            os.startfile(bat)
-        except (IOError, OSError) as err:
-            sys.exit('ERROR: unable to overwrite current version')
-
-    elif isinstance(globals().get('__loader__'), zipimporter): # UNIX ZIP
-        if not os.access(filename, os.W_OK):
-            sys.exit('ERROR: no write permissions on %s' % filename)
-
-        downloader.to_screen(u'Updating to latest version...')
-
-        urla = compat_urllib_request.urlopen(API_URL)
-        download = [x for x in json.loads(urla.read().decode('utf8')) if x["name"] == "youtube-dl"]
-        if not download:
-            downloader.to_screen(u'ERROR: can\'t find the current version. Please try again later.')
-            return
-        newversion = download[0]["description"].strip()
-        if newversion == __version__:
-            downloader.to_screen(u'youtube-dl is up-to-date (' + __version__ + ')')
-            return
-        urla.close()
-
-        try:
-            urlh = compat_urllib_request.urlopen(BIN_URL)
-            newcontent = urlh.read()
-            urlh.close()
-        except (IOError, OSError) as err:
-            sys.exit('ERROR: unable to download latest version')
-
-        try:
-            with open(filename, 'wb') as outf:
-                outf.write(newcontent)
-        except (IOError, OSError) as err:
-            sys.exit('ERROR: unable to overwrite current version')
-
-    else:
-        downloader.to_screen(u'It looks like you installed youtube-dl with pip or setup.py. Please use that to update.')
-        return
-
-    downloader.to_screen(u'Updated youtube-dl. Restart youtube-dl to use the new version.')
-
 def parseOpts():
     def _readOptions(filename_bytes):
         try:
@@ -567,6 +476,17 @@ def _real_main():
         })
 
     if opts.verbose:
+        fd.to_screen(u'[debug] youtube-dl version ' + __version__)
+        try:
+            sp = subprocess.Popen(['git', 'rev-parse', '--short', 'HEAD'], stdout=subprocess.PIPE, stderr=subprocess.PIPE,
+                                  cwd=os.path.dirname(os.path.abspath(__file__)))
+            out, err = sp.communicate()
+            out = out.decode().strip()
+            if re.match('[0-9a-f]+', out):
+                fd.to_screen(u'[debug] Git HEAD: ' + out)
+        except:
+            pass
+        fd.to_screen(u'[debug] Python version %s - %s' %(platform.python_version(), platform.platform()))
         fd.to_screen(u'[debug] Proxy map: ' + str(proxy_handler.proxies))
 
     for extractor in extractors:
@@ -578,7 +498,7 @@ def _real_main():
 
     # Update version
     if opts.update_self:
-        updateSelf(fd, sys.argv[0])
+        update_self(fd.to_screen, opts.verbose, sys.argv[0])
 
     # Maybe do nothing
     if len(all_urls) < 1:
diff --git a/youtube_dl/update.py b/youtube_dl/update.py
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..f6e3e5c69
--- /dev/null
+++ b/youtube_dl/update.py
@@ -0,0 +1,160 @@
+import json
+import traceback
+import hashlib
+from zipimport import zipimporter
+
+from .utils import *
+from .version import __version__
+
+def rsa_verify(message, signature, key):
+    from struct import pack
+    from hashlib import sha256
+    from sys import version_info
+    def b(x):
+        if version_info[0] == 2: return x
+        else: return x.encode('latin1')
+    assert(type(message) == type(b('')))
+    block_size = 0
+    n = key[0]
+    while n:
+        block_size += 1
+        n >>= 8
+    signature = pow(int(signature, 16), key[1], key[0])
+    raw_bytes = []
+    while signature:
+        raw_bytes.insert(0, pack("B", signature & 0xFF))
+        signature >>= 8
+    signature = (block_size - len(raw_bytes)) * b('\x00') + b('').join(raw_bytes)
+    if signature[0:2] != b('\x00\x01'): return False
+    signature = signature[2:]
+    if not b('\x00') in signature: return False
+    signature = signature[signature.index(b('\x00'))+1:]
+    if not signature.startswith(b('\x30\x31\x30\x0D\x06\x09\x60\x86\x48\x01\x65\x03\x04\x02\x01\x05\x00\x04\x20')): return False
+    signature = signature[19:]
+    if signature != sha256(message).digest(): return False
+    return True
+
+def update_self(to_screen, verbose, filename):
+    """Update the program file with the latest version from the repository"""
+
+    UPDATE_URL = "http://rg3.github.com/youtube-dl/update/"
+    VERSION_URL = UPDATE_URL + 'LATEST_VERSION'
+    JSON_URL = UPDATE_URL + 'versions.json'
+    UPDATES_RSA_KEY = (0x9d60ee4d8f805312fdb15a62f87b95bd66177b91df176765d13514a0f1754bcd2057295c5b6f1d35daa6742c3ffc9a82d3e118861c207995a8031e151d863c9927e304576bc80692bc8e094896fcf11b66f3e29e04e3a71e9a11558558acea1840aec37fc396fb6b65dc81a1c4144e03bd1c011de62e3f1357b327d08426fe93, 65537)
+
+
+    if not isinstance(globals().get('__loader__'), zipimporter) and not hasattr(sys, "frozen"):
+        to_screen(u'It looks like you installed youtube-dl with pip, setup.py or a tarball. Please use that to update.')
+        return
+
+    # Check if there is a new version
+    try:
+        newversion = compat_urllib_request.urlopen(VERSION_URL).read().decode('utf-8').strip()
+    except:
+        if verbose: to_screen(compat_str(traceback.format_exc()))
+        to_screen(u'ERROR: can\'t find the current version. Please try again later.')
+        return
+    if newversion == __version__:
+        to_screen(u'youtube-dl is up-to-date (' + __version__ + ')')
+        return
+
+    # Download and check versions info
+    try:
+        versions_info = compat_urllib_request.urlopen(JSON_URL).read().decode('utf-8')
+        versions_info = json.loads(versions_info)
+    except:
+        if verbose: to_screen(compat_str(traceback.format_exc()))
+        to_screen(u'ERROR: can\'t obtain versions info. Please try again later.')
+        return
+    if not 'signature' in versions_info:
+        to_screen(u'ERROR: the versions file is not signed or corrupted. Aborting.')
+        return
+    signature = versions_info['signature']
+    del versions_info['signature']
+    if not rsa_verify(json.dumps(versions_info, sort_keys=True).encode('utf-8'), signature, UPDATES_RSA_KEY):
+        to_screen(u'ERROR: the versions file signature is invalid. Aborting.')
+        return
+
+    to_screen(u'Updating to version ' + versions_info['latest'] + '...')
+    version = versions_info['versions'][versions_info['latest']]
+    if version.get('notes'):
+        to_screen(u'PLEASE NOTE:')
+        for note in version['notes']:
+            to_screen(note)
+
+    if not os.access(filename, os.W_OK):
+        to_screen(u'ERROR: no write permissions on %s' % filename)
+        return
+
+    # Py2EXE
+    if hasattr(sys, "frozen"):
+        exe = os.path.abspath(filename)
+        directory = os.path.dirname(exe)
+        if not os.access(directory, os.W_OK):
+            to_screen(u'ERROR: no write permissions on %s' % directory)
+            return
+
+        try:
+            urlh = compat_urllib_request.urlopen(version['exe'][0])
+            newcontent = urlh.read()
+            urlh.close()
+        except (IOError, OSError) as err:
+            if verbose: to_screen(compat_str(traceback.format_exc()))
+            to_screen(u'ERROR: unable to download latest version')
+            return
+
+        newcontent_hash = hashlib.sha256(newcontent).hexdigest()
+        if newcontent_hash != version['exe'][1]:
+            to_screen(u'ERROR: the downloaded file hash does not match. Aborting.')
+            return
+
+        try:
+            with open(exe + '.new', 'wb') as outf:
+                outf.write(newcontent)
+        except (IOError, OSError) as err:
+            if verbose: to_screen(compat_str(traceback.format_exc()))
+            to_screen(u'ERROR: unable to write the new version')
+            return
+
+        try:
+            bat = os.path.join(directory, 'youtube-dl-updater.bat')
+            b = open(bat, 'w')
+            b.write("""
+echo Updating youtube-dl...
+ping 127.0.0.1 -n 5 -w 1000 > NUL
+move /Y "%s.new" "%s"
+del "%s"
+            \n""" %(exe, exe, bat))
+            b.close()
+
+            os.startfile(bat)
+        except (IOError, OSError) as err:
+            if verbose: to_screen(compat_str(traceback.format_exc()))
+            to_screen(u'ERROR: unable to overwrite current version')
+            return
+
+    # Zip unix package
+    elif isinstance(globals().get('__loader__'), zipimporter):
+        try:
+            urlh = compat_urllib_request.urlopen(version['bin'][0])
+            newcontent = urlh.read()
+            urlh.close()
+        except (IOError, OSError) as err:
+            if verbose: to_screen(compat_str(traceback.format_exc()))
+            to_screen(u'ERROR: unable to download latest version')
+            return
+
+        newcontent_hash = hashlib.sha256(newcontent).hexdigest()
+        if newcontent_hash != version['bin'][1]:
+            to_screen(u'ERROR: the downloaded file hash does not match. Aborting.')
+            return
+
+        try:
+            with open(filename, 'wb') as outf:
+                outf.write(newcontent)
+        except (IOError, OSError) as err:
+            if verbose: to_screen(compat_str(traceback.format_exc()))
+            to_screen(u'ERROR: unable to overwrite current version')
+            return
+
+    to_screen(u'Updated youtube-dl. Restart youtube-dl to use the new version.')
diff --git a/youtube_dl/utils.py b/youtube_dl/utils.py
index 463804e18..e9336bcdd 100644
--- a/youtube_dl/utils.py
+++ b/youtube_dl/utils.py
@@ -154,6 +154,7 @@ std_headers = {
     'Accept-Encoding': 'gzip, deflate',
     'Accept-Language': 'en-us,en;q=0.5',
 }
+
 def preferredencoding():
     """Get preferred encoding.
 
@@ -187,7 +188,6 @@ else:
         with open(fn, 'w', encoding='utf-8') as f:
             json.dump(obj, f)
 
-
 def htmlentity_transform(matchobj):
     """Transforms an HTML entity to a character.