How to protect web site images?

[Validweb]

Hi

Can people share what methods they are currently using to protect images you have developed from being sponged from your web site and used/abused by others?
Thanks

 

[Bender]

If you have Cpanel, there is an easy way to do it :
login, and look for "HotLink Protection".
Then add your website url on "Urls to Allow Access", and enable the protection.

 

[007]

Just anything but disabling right clicking.. That's the most annoying thing ever... :dead:

 

[Jonathan]

One thing to keep in mind - someone will always be able to steal the image, even if it means taking a screenshot and cropping.

One good technique that I've seen is to make the image the background of a table. Then put a transparent gif of exactly the same dimensions in the table.

So to better explain this - your image is 200 x 150. You make a table of exactly that size with 0 cell padding and spacing and 0 border. Then you specify the image you want to protect as the background for that table. Just leaving it like that would mean that people couldn't right click and save (although they can still go into the html source and get it). But to further confuse them, you put a transparent gif in the tablet that is exactly the same dimensions as the table. Then people will right click to save the image, and think they are saving the protected image to their computer - but they are just getting the transparent one.

 

[mubashirnisar]

i m also using Cpanel for Hotlink protection

 

[myst woman]

nice info i am looking to maximise my cpanel utility

 

[MrDude]

One thing to keep in mind - someone will always be able to steal the image, even if it means taking a screenshot and cropping.

One good technique that I've seen is to make the image the background of a table. Then put a transparent gif of exactly the same dimensions in the table.

So to better explain this - your image is 200 x 150. You make a table of exactly that size with 0 cell padding and spacing and 0 border. Then you specify the image you want to protect as the background for that table. Just leaving it like that would mean that people couldn't right click and save (although they can still go into the html source and get it). But to further confuse them, you put a transparent gif in the tablet that is exactly the same dimensions as the table. Then people will right click to save the image, and think they are saving the protected image to their computer - but they are just getting the transparent one.

Also think about encrypting the source :wink:

 

[OgieOgalthorpe]

Encrypting the source only works when browsers have javascript turned on. So you either have to lose non-js enabled users or direct them to a non-encrypted source. Either way, not much help. Hotlink protection using .htaccess i s one of the better solutions.

 

[Dylan_]

If you have Cpanel, there is an easy way to do it :
login, and look for "HotLink Protection".
Then add your website url on "Urls to Allow Access", and enable the protection.

Seem's simple enough, But what about disabling users to "Print Screen" Is there a way of doing this also?

 

[DogFaceBoy]

You can disable print screen, I am not sure how though. Do a search on google.

 

[Jonathan]

At the very most, you could only disable print screen when they had the window selected, but suppose they clicked on their desktop which would still leave their browser window open, they could just as easily do a print screen that way.

 

[Rarethings]

you could also put a transparent digital watermark on it, and set the image to display only when decoded with the right set of watermark codecs- more complex, but will stop a copy and paster.

But anyone can just snap a screenshot and steal the pic. TM the picture before you put it up.

 

[Validweb]

Hi

Thanks, what is the best way to do as you suggest, i.e, watermarking and trademarking?

 

[jojoyohan]

You could also make the image name something that would be easy for you to find through google like img######asdhvn.jpg. You could see if any site decided not to even change the name (some people are just plain dumb).

 

[jdk]

Why not disable selecting the images and text on your site, disable hotlinking (perferable using .htaccess), disable right clock (WITHOUT a gay popup or alert), disable print screen, watermark your images, and disable print screen and the print function.

OR

Just password protect what you are so worried about someone copying.

 

[VisualDigits]

This is all pointless, just about anybody could choose to save your page as html and therefore get the pictures anyways.

 

[Joe]

A company called Artistscope makes a professional program called CopySafe Pro, and another program called Secure Image Pro. Both these programs are designed to protect images from being copied, saved, or downloaded. I've reviewed these products years ago, and it's nice to see they are still being updated and sold.

http://www.copysafe.net/about.html

-Joe

 

[Dale Hubbard]

You'll never protect an image from someone who REALLY wants to get it. No doubt someone's written a 'video RAM dump' program somewhere. Best solution is watermarking heavily. That makes WORK for thieves.

 

[Anthony Ng]

Yes, there are always stupid people stealing images or even content online. Your best bet ma be to put up a stronger worded copyright notice if it is really necessary.

 

[nickniceman]

Hello.I have what you need.I can protect images at your website as low as $0.10 per image.
Look at my website - you will find there how i protected images from grabbing on my website.
Best Regards
Nick Niceman
http://eurovive.com/forum/showthread.php?goto=newpost&t=15438
Contact info above