How to protect an image?

[ep2002]

Hi there,

 

Ok, I hope someone on here can help me.

 

I'm about to launch a "Seal" program where people can purchase a monthly seal from me if they adhere to my Code of Ethics program, & then place it on their site.

 

I know I can't prevent them from taking the seal off of the delivery page (right?) even if they don't purchase, so I have to do something like track it so I can see what sites have the seal placed on it, especially if they ever cancel the program, try to put it on a 2nd site, etc.

 

Any suggestions (I hope).

 

Thanks

 

 

Michelle

[rubing]

If there's an image on my screen I can take it.

 

Some sites that issues certificates (e.g. nursing) wil have protections on their images, but a simple screnshot program and its yours.  Or just defeat the protections if you know what you are doing.

[AndyB]

If I can see it, I can take it. That pretty well sums it up.

 

What you could do is add some text to the image - on a background that will make it very tedious to edit - that says something like 'Valid only for June 2007'.  I wouldn't display that on my website in August to evidence adherence to an ethics program

[otuatail]

You could put a thumbnail version on the page and that would hyperlink to a download page of the larger version. You could prevent the download if they did not sign up or agree. you could place that in a folder that was protected aginst direct access. Seen it done but don't know how it's acheeved.

 

Desmond.

 

[kbh43dz_u]

You could put a thumbnail version on the page and that would hyperlink to a download page of the larger version. You could prevent the download if they did not sign up or agree. you could place that in a folder that was protected aginst direct access. Seen it done but don't know how it's acheeved.

 

Desmond.

 

 

Sombody who steals pictures also steals them with agreeing

[rubing]

I like the thumbnail idea.

[br0ken]

The thumbnail solution could work but what would stop them cancelling after a month and keeping the seal up? As far as images go there is no way to protect them 100% and no way to track who's using them as they could just take a copy of your image and host it on their server. Someone people use a flash file that links to your database to check whether or not they've paid and then display an image accordingly but still, print screen and photoshop could easily take advantage of this!

[soycharliente]

The only way I've seen to not allow someone to do a right-click and Save As is to use some kind of a flash embed and then edit the options that the right-click menu allows.

 

But like other people have said, a simple screen shot would get around that.

[ToonMariner]

There is no way you can prevent people getting hold of your images - those determined to get them will find a way - even if its the print screen option.

 

The only sure way to prevent them from getting their mitts on your stuff is to not put it on the internet

[TheFilmGod]

copyright it. If they use it you can sue them. 

[djbuddhi]

u can restrict by right click on the browser or u can restrict the print screen button both at the same time using a java script .u can  protect them anyway  ;D

[haku]

As has been said on this thread, a person just has to turn off javascript to be able to use the right click.

[justinjkiss]

1. use php to display the image - prevent source code access

2. take a transparant gif and layer over the top - on right click save they get a blank image saved

3. use javascript to prevent print screen - helps for some

4. Watermark the image in the most obtrusive way before sale then include a less obtrusive date its valid to

5. Make seal complex. Use gradients, a lot harder to manipulate in photoshop when removing valid date

 

Of course the items listed are just someways to block MOST people. There is no perfect way to protect current image files. Best would be copyright but then you still got to find it being used illegally. That would scare some away from trying to fake it.

 

All we can do is hope that a new image format will come out that you can imbed valid checks and site checks. Would help photographers if the machines would read a code like that and go invalid print file. But that will be years before we see anything.

[dannyb785]

You could include a link and serial # on each individual image and the link can go to a page on your site where the person viewing the seal and verify if the serial # is valid by entering it. So say, their seal says "A5d8K" and a link to "sealdomain.com/verify" that says "verify this seal!" and so the user puts in the small serial # and then you'd search your database for a current(not inactive) member with that serial number. If nothing pops up then you'd output "This serial is invalid and the person is a fake!" otherwise, it'd spit out whatever info the user may be looking up.