"SMITTY" <smitty69 RemoveThis @cableone.net> wrote in message
news:vn8q2v476lm45@corp.supernews.com...
> Can someone tell me how to keep people from right clicking and downloading
> pitures from my site?
>
> Thanks
>
>
How Do I Keep People From Stealing My Stuff?
The Issue:
Periodically, people come to the newsgroups I read to ask "How can I keep
people from stealing my images?". The desire to protect your material is a
natural one. Who wants to work hard to create something unique only to have
some slimeball steal it? The problem, in terms of publishing information on
the Internet, is the entire nature of the HTTP protocol makes your efforts
to disrupt the efforts of thieves totally and completely ineffective.
It is already stolen
The Hypertext Transfer Protocol is an application-level protocol with the
lightness and speed necessary for distributed collaborative hypermedia
information systems. It is a generic stateless object oriented protocol that
listens for traffic on Port 80. What does this mean to the layperson? The
issue of preventing theft relies on its being "stateless". Simply put, HTTP
works like this: 1) "Site Visitor" clicks a link to get to your page. 2) The
server sends the page to their computer. 3) The page is displayed on "Site
Visitor's" monitor. At the same time, the browser automatically saves the
page and all of the images and other objects used to build the page in the
browser's cache. The purpose for caching is to save on server load and
quicken download times. If a site has the same 30k logo on every page, it
saves the server 30k's worth of bandwidth load everytime someone requests
another page during their session. It also saves "Site Visitor" however much
time 30k takes to download on their connection. The issue here though, is
that as soon as the page is displayed on screen, it is already "stolen"!
Right-Click: A Misguided Solution
So at this point, you'd think people would just give up, right?
Unfortunately, no. Instead, they try to implement harebrained ideas like
disabling the right mouse button by using Javascript. Is it any wonder why
people turn off Javascript altogether? At best, a "no right click" script
will keep clueless newbies from stealing your images. I would guess though,
that the same people too clueless to get past this method are also too
clueless to use the right-click to steal something in the first place. At
the same time, the rest of the world is annoyed at this misguided trick.
Clicking the right mouse button is used for more things than just saving
images. It can also be used as a navigational tool.
Notice that in the right-click menu there's far more that you can do with
them besides stealing images. The right-click menu also displays a number of
important navigational aids that people (such as myself) often use to get
around. Because of the fact that "no right click" scripts disable any use of
the right mouse button, you're actually disabling a navigational feature
more than you are preventing theft. By disabling the right mouse button,
you're rudely dictating to the user how they can navigate your site. What if
I don't want to go all the way to the top left of my browser window just to
go back? Why should I? That's right, because you decided to mess with my
hardware. In a misguided attempt to prevent theft, users of "no right click"
scripts are doing nothing more than buggering their user's navigation.
The determined thief can do more than just right click to steal
Law enforcement professionals know one thing above all others: Locks and
other theft prevention devices only serve to keep honest people honest. The
theory is: keeping your keys in your ignition will increase your chances of
getting your car stolen only because it provides an impetus in
not-otherwise-criminal people. A determined car thief will steal your car
whether your keys are there or not. The same goes for people who want to
steal your stuff. "Go ahead with that silly javascript and I'll steal it
anyway" says the thief. And he can do so with confidence. While you sit back
thinking you're keeping people from stealing (as if it wasn't already
stolen, see above), there are still other ways to steal:
1.. See that purdy "File" on the top left of your screen? Click it then
click on "Save As" Badabing! The WHOLE page and its contents are now saved.
Congratulations. Now the person has not only the one image he/she really
wanted, but now they have every image on the page.
2.. In Windows, click Alt+Print Screen and they now have a 72dpi image of
everything on their screen. Now cut and paste it into any image program
3.. "View Source" then find the path of the file and type it into the
browser's address bar
So just don't bother trying to stop it
So at this point, it is just time to face the truth: You can't prevent theft
of your stuff. If you're really that concerned with not having your stuff
stolen, don't put it on the Internet. But there's another thing at issue
here: The fact that no matter how good you think your stuff is, you're no
Ansel Adams or William Talbot. Does the website for Ansel Adams have a
no-right-click script? No. Does the Van Gogh Gallery have a no-right-click
script? No. Then why should yours? I can download whole books by the world's
greatest philosophers and authors. But you want to hide your sourcecode from
the world? Your choice is simple - accept the nature of the Internet, or
don't make a web site.
--
Karl Core
Charles Sweeney says my sig is fine as it is.<!-- ~MESSAGE_AFTER~ -->
>> Stay informed about: downloading pictures 
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