Ways to Protect Images on the Internet
Posted: Thu Feb 14, 2008 8:03 amA huge problem for people who want to display original images on the Internet is that anyone who can view the images can steal them. This page provides a few suggestions on how to protect your valuable images.
First of all, understand this: Any image which is displayed in a user's browser has already been downloaded by the user. There is simply no way to avoid this — it's how web pages work.
The suggestions below will deter some people and make you a little bit safer, but nothing will stop a user who knows what they are doing.
1. Disable Right-Click
This is a popular trick in which you disable right-clicking with JavaScript code. When the user right-clicks an image to save it, they get an error message telling them the action is not permitted. This works in most JavaScript-enabled browsers, but not all.
Disabling right-clicking is a well-known trick and will not deter anyone who knows how to deal with it. Also, because this method disables all right-clicking, it is very annoying for visitors who genuinely want to right-click in the page.
2.Cloaking
A lesser-known nifty trick is to cloak images behind a transparent gif. Place the original image on the page in a table or layer, then place a transparent GIF image the same size over the top. When users right-click the image they will save the transparent GIF and end up with nothing.
3.Watermark
This is a very safe method which protects the actual image, not just the way someone accesses it. Place a semi-transparent line of text (e.g. your business name or domain name) right through the middle of the image, rendering it useless for anyone else.
Obviously this method impacts the way the image looks, and is really only suitable for displaying sample images.
4. Software Method
Specialized software that walks you through protecting your images. will even protect your web page source code.
Looking forward for more tips !
First of all, understand this: Any image which is displayed in a user's browser has already been downloaded by the user. There is simply no way to avoid this — it's how web pages work.
The suggestions below will deter some people and make you a little bit safer, but nothing will stop a user who knows what they are doing.
1. Disable Right-Click
This is a popular trick in which you disable right-clicking with JavaScript code. When the user right-clicks an image to save it, they get an error message telling them the action is not permitted. This works in most JavaScript-enabled browsers, but not all.
Disabling right-clicking is a well-known trick and will not deter anyone who knows how to deal with it. Also, because this method disables all right-clicking, it is very annoying for visitors who genuinely want to right-click in the page.
2.Cloaking
A lesser-known nifty trick is to cloak images behind a transparent gif. Place the original image on the page in a table or layer, then place a transparent GIF image the same size over the top. When users right-click the image they will save the transparent GIF and end up with nothing.
3.Watermark
This is a very safe method which protects the actual image, not just the way someone accesses it. Place a semi-transparent line of text (e.g. your business name or domain name) right through the middle of the image, rendering it useless for anyone else.
Obviously this method impacts the way the image looks, and is really only suitable for displaying sample images.
4. Software Method
Specialized software that walks you through protecting your images. will even protect your web page source code.
Looking forward for more tips !