Thread: Blocking the Public from Saving Items from your website!?

OK,

I have finally got my HomePage up and running.

Before I start creating the rest of the millions of pages (exageration) I would like to know how you can block people from saving images etc from your site?

If you dont understand, here is an example of what I mean;

If I was looking at a website and I liked a picture that was on that website I can usually right click on my mouse and 'save picture as'.
On some websites I cannot do this.

I want to be able to block people also, because I will be putting up a lot of images that are copyrighted, of which I have permission to use.

Thanks,
Ad

Hello.

There is no way to stop this, no matter what you would do, the average user would know exactly what to do to get around it.

You can though stop people from getting your images through Google Image etc. by going in your cPanel and Enable HotLink Protection.

Other than that, you can put html codes on your site that won't allow me to copy paste or save as.. but I would be able to get around it within a second guarantee..

Your best option is to get HotLink Protection. Also, most web development books mention the top 10 most annoying things to the user.. one of them is not being able to do what they want.

You can't deprive them of doing what they want, if they want to right click, you have to let them right click or they will get mad and won't come back.

How do you get around it???

I know I managed to get around it once - ages ago - but I cannot remember how I did it!?

Im not so bothered about people like you, who can take the images, but to the people my site is geared towards I would say that 99/100 havent got a clue of how to get around it.

So how do you stop the copy, paste and save as functions?? Im new to this website building lark - pretty clueless to be honest!!

Ad

You can find some javascript code to disable the right click menu (Or right click altogether, but I wouldn't recommend that one).

Anyway, Its not possible to prevent them from getting stolen. Even if your website is geared toward users who don't know much about computers, for one thing its not going to be 99% of your users. Disabling something with javascript isn't going to prevent those who have javascript disabled, or know how to disable it on a page by page basis.

A user can always do a print screen to capture whatever is on their screen and there is nothing you can do to prevent that. As Jeremy has already said you can view the source code and find the image locations in the code.

Basically you simply cannot prevent it, even if you implement some advanced way to prevent it for 99% of your users, the 1% who can get past it will, and it will end up on another website with any security features whatsoever, and people will get it from there.

The best advice you can get is to just not worry about it, its just going to stress you out and waste time. Just live with the fact that it is all part of running a website

Go ahead and disable right click - and then come back and I'll take all your images anyway. The point is - that doesn't work. If someone wants them - then can take them.

If you are so worried about it - don't put it on the internet. Plain and simple.

adz931,

If your worried about it- simply place a water mark across the picture. They can still steal it but it will be of little use if there is a water mark spalshed across it.

Andy

You could also place a transparent shape over the image as well, that then the user thinks they are getting a copy of your picture but in all reality when they check later it's only a transparent shape ..

Now, if people are only coming to take what they want from your site - i.e., your images, I certainly wouldn't be upset if they didn't come back because they couldn't steal your images, lol ..

You can't stop everyone, as everyone says and like watdaflip mentions, you can always take a screenshot .. however, I think most people that know how to get around this are not the people you need to worry about stealing or doing anything with the images, most know better not to use them commercially .. so it might be a personal user that saves one of your images as a desktop pic or something - and well hey, that's good for you isn't it ..

As Lady Eye has said- the ones you want to stop - are the ones that can get around all the methods you've got here. Believe you me, I have been thrilled when someone has taken an image to my site to show to others in their blogs - and I've seen direct traffic and sales because of it. Those are people who might be stopped by disabling right click, etc.

Now, if you're working in art - that you don't want to give free - use a watermark - it won't stop everyone but will make a difference. And size the pictures so they'll lose quality if they try to size them up where they'll look good printed.

Hi... Lady Eyes' suggestion to cover the image with a transparent shape does make it more difficult to get an image copied..... Doug

Why not place a link or a advertising logo on to the picture so if anyone steals it they'll be giving you free advertising?




http://www.koolspaces.com
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koolspaces, that's what a watermark is for - although sometimes it's not done with advertising :)

What can go wrong if they end up having your picture? You find out you get them in trouble. You don't find out it won't hurt you right?

That's how everyone else is rolling on the web now and days. If you put a watermark it won't look too good, you can do it in Flash but people can still print the screen and then paste and save.

I use a tracker called whozontop.com which tells me how many people come to my site and has an added benefit of disabling right clicks if you tell it to for any page you place it on. The majority of the people driven to my site generally wouldn't "steal" something anyway but we have had problems with some puppy mills stealing legitimate show photos to claim the dogs as their own and say they show their dogs. I know there are lots of people who can get around it but it makes me feel better to have it on there anyway.

Melissa