At 7/26/2007 08:40 PM, Chris Aitken wrote:
> > There's a couple of "protect your image" schemes that will frustrate
> > the typical user, but they can be easily broken, like the one I
> > created here:
> >
> > http://www.webbytedd.com/b/protect_image/
> >
>
> Firefox -> Tools -> Page Info -> Media -> Scroll Till Find -> Bingo!
Say Firefox to a "typical user" and they will assume you are swearing at
them in another language.
...
Typical users don't even KNOW they have a printscreen button.... just like
most typical users don't know there is ANOTHER kind of browser :)
That said, I don't think the hypothetical typical clueless user is
relevant here. A user who really wants to scrape images off websites
will find a way with very little effort -- just google and a few
clicks -- to view background images, to view page source, to disable
javascript disabling of context menus, to install Firefox and the web
developer toolbar, whatever; it's all within easy reach of anyone
with motivation and average intelligence. Sure, you can make it
difficult for X% of computer users to locate your images, but those
aren't the people you're worried about, it's the Y% who don't take no
for an answer and try, try again.
Trying to solve the problem of theft of intellectual property at the
browser level always seems to end in failure. Just go back to the
source and provide content that you don't mind people taking cuz you
can't stop them if they really want to.
Had to smile yesterday, was walking past an espresso bar that doubles
as an internet cafe. A customer had approached the counter and was
asking the barrista how to access his email because he couldn't find
Explorer, and she advised him to click on Foxfire. (Great movie, though.)
Regards,
Paul
__________________________
Paul Novitski
Juniper Webcraft Ltd.
http://juniperwebcraft.com
