Help on protecting my images.

Johnny Doomo · October 31st, 2005, 03:30 PM

I guess the first main question I have or assumption I've had since I've been working on my site is that the .htaccess files COMPLETELY protect images from being hotlinked onto other sites. Is this correct? So .htaccess makes it so they just can't steal your bandwidth, right?

I was looking more at the bottom options in the admincp and noticed this: "watermark.php - this script will 'hide' the location of your images by requiring that all image displays go through this script."

If I'm not concerned with people right clicking or saving images then I don't really need to worry about hiding the location of images do I?

My other question, assuming my above assumptions are correct, is can I get help on what exactly I need to set or change to make it so that all thumbnails are hotlinkable, but medium and fullsized images are not hotlinkable? I also wanted to protect the upload directory so users didn't just upload images to their upload directory and never process them so they could use that directory and link to the fullsized unprocessed images.

Thank you.

Chuck S · October 31st, 2005, 03:57 PM

If you want to truly protect them you do this

1. use watermark.php to serve the images
2. enable right click protection
3. use htaccess in IPS to block bandwidth theft
4. In IPS move the large image server path to a directory you create beneath the webroot and the script can move the images there so they can not be taken

Johnny Doomo · November 1st, 2005, 12:09 AM

1. If I use watermark.php I don't have to use a watermark on the image do I?
2. I want to allow people to save the images to their computer, I just don't want them to steal my precious bandwidth and if you disable the right click, they can't save wallpapers or images... as far as using another browser that ignores it like Opera or using the built in save feature in IE.

Also, I was hoping for some help on what I should actually add into the .htaccess fields and which ones. Can you help me with that? Giving me steps to what I need to do is a great first step, but I still am not really sure what I set any of those features that you mentioned to. Can you help an image protection noob out? I've never used IPS before, is there an official thread that helps step us through it?

Thanks.

Michael P · November 2nd, 2005, 08:32 AM

I use this for a .htaccess to prevent hotlinking, my version serves up a default graphic in place of the image they are trying to hotlink to:

Code:

Content visible to verified customers only.

IPS is in the Admin Options and contains fairly explicit instructions when you look at the options; depending on your needs you may or may not need to use this. If all you want to accomplish is preventing hotlinking, the .htaccess in your data directory should be enough.

Johnny Doomo · November 2nd, 2005, 10:47 PM

OK, here's an update:

I followed a tutorial that explained to add this to my htaccess

Quote:

RewriteEngine On

RewriteCond %{REQUEST_FILENAME} .*jpg$|.*gif$|.*png$ [NC]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_REFERER} !^$
RewriteCond %{HTTP_REFERER} !domain\.com [NC]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_REFERER} !www.domain\.com [NC]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_REFERER} !google\. [NC]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_REFERER} !search\?q=cache [NC]

RewriteRule (.*) http://www.domain.com/images/banners/block.gif

I turned off using the watermark.php and the above text in the htaccess seems to work and show my block.gif message, but it doesn't allow the thumbnails to get through. Do I need to set something else?

Also I noticed that when I look at the htaccess file on the "Edit data .htaccess" and the "Edit fullsized .htaccess". It's the same text, but I only inserted text into the "Edit data .htaccess" link. Is it suppose to show up on the other? From what I can see it's blocking just like what I want, but I want it to left all thumbnails through to other sites.

Can you please help me finish setting this up?

Chuck S · November 2nd, 2005, 11:58 PM

How abouts removing the slashes in your domain name

Johnny Doomo · November 3rd, 2005, 10:34 AM

It had those in there and it seems to work. I don't understand any of it. I just followed the tutorial and it worked. I just need it to now let thumbnails through. Can you tell me how I can do that?

Chuck S · November 3rd, 2005, 06:40 PM

try the htaccess we suggest in out support manual pages

http://www.photopost.com/support

Johnny Doomo · November 4th, 2005, 10:30 AM

That link just goes to the photopost front page. Can you point me in the right direction? I checked the "PhotoPost User Guide" but I couldn't see anything about the htaccess file. Can you help me find the support page that discusses the htaccess file?

Thank you.

Chuck S · November 5th, 2005, 04:18 AM

here it is

http://www.photopost.com/tipsphp.html

Johnny Doomo · November 7th, 2005, 04:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chuck S

here it is

http://www.photopost.com/tipsphp.html

That didn't fix the problem.

How do I get it so that the thumbnails will show on other sites, while the medium and full size images will be blocked?

The htaccess I posted or even MPs works better than the one offered on that tip page.

Perhaps, if you could help me understand the two links in the adminCP I could better ask the question or put forth an ideas on how I might be able to do it.

See, whether I click the "Edit data .htaccess" or the "Edit fullsized .htaccess" links in my admincp it takes me to the same page for the htaccess. Is this a bug? If I edit one of the fields and save it, and then look at the other one it's saved to whatever I just changed on the other link. I don't understand why there are two links.

My other question is, Is the "Edit fullsized .htaccess" link suppose to block/create htaccess rules for only the originally fullsized images, or does it also create rules for the medium sized images as well?

I have seen and followed htaccess tutorials, but I don't know how to get it so that it will allow the thumbnails while still blocking the medium and fullsized images in Photopost. I need help on how to figure this out and get it working. Can you please help?

Chuck S · November 7th, 2005, 06:15 PM

You I guess would need to add those sites to the htaccess file as the whole point of htaccess is to block access to files on remote sites

Johnny Doomo · November 10th, 2005, 10:48 AM

I understand that the htaccess is used to prevent sites to linking to my images directlry. Is what I want is for it to do JUST THAT for the native and mid sized images.

The thumbnails are stored in a thumb directory so isn't it possible to have an htaccess that allows the thumbs to be linkable and not follow the rule of the native or mid sized images that are in different directories?

The only categories I have setup are the members gallery and a gallery for unregistered users. The unregistered users would be easy since they aren't allowed to create any albums, but for the members how do I get it so that if they create albums that the thumbnails inside those albums are still linkable, while the native and mid sized images aren't?

I thought this was capable "out of the box"? I thought this is what the IPS was all about? Was I mistaken?

Is all I want is for all images to be blocked EXCEPT thumbnails, can this be done and can you help me with where the htaccess files should go?

I don't know anything about htaccess files, but I would think that there would be a way for it to have the rules work for everything with the option to exclude those rules from working on a directory... of course if new thumb directories are being created everytime somebody creates a new album that could cause problems.

Can you please let me know what I should do? Is this going to require a mod?

Chuck S · November 10th, 2005, 12:58 PM

Your confusing what IPS is and HTACCESS

IPS uses watermark.php to serve the images. It always you to disable right click. htaccess is always an independent issue.

htaccess locks down your data directory so if your locking it down of course any subdirectory of data is locked

Johnny Doomo · November 10th, 2005, 04:04 PM

OK, so can I use the "Storage Options" in the adminCP to make it so that the all thumbnail directories are stored somewhere else?

If not that, then is it possible to have a htaccess file auto created in all thumbnail directories that will "unlock" the thumbnail images so that they can be linked onto another site?

I need "something" that will allow the thumbnails to be linkable to other websites while keeping the native size and mid size of the images protected. I guess I thought Photopost was capable of doing this, and that's why the thumbnails are put in their own directory.

If it is not possible to do this with a simple htaccess file locking some images and unlocking thumbnails in their directories, then could you give me some ideas on a type of mod you would create to do what I am trying to get done? Maybe throw a price out there for me if it's something that you wouldn't do "out of the kindness of your heart"

This is a big problem for me as it is sort of a very large feature of the site, that I guess I misunderstood when looking into Photopost.

Thank you.

Johnny Doomo · November 14th, 2005, 03:28 PM

bumpy bumpy

ghinton · November 21st, 2005, 05:21 PM

I agree. I would like a way to get the thumbnails out of the main image directories, because I have modiifed my site so that only paying members can view full sized images, but can still view the thumbs. But I have found if you have the path of the thumbnail, then all you have to do is remove the /thumbs/ and you can view the full image. Also, if you want access to just the thumbs, then if you .htaccess the directory, then you block access to the thumbs as well.

Chuck S · November 21st, 2005, 05:36 PM

ghinton your situation is exactly why you would use the storage options and move the large images. This feature is already included in the software

Johnny Doomo · November 29th, 2005, 05:08 PM

So it is currently impossible to protect the medium and full sized images and not allow them to be hotlinkable, while allowing the thumbnails to be hotlinkable to other sites?

Could a personal modification be done to make it so that thumbnails wouldn't be protected, while all other sizes would be? (Even for a price?)

I have been rolling around with ideas, but it seems that I really can't do a whole lot until I get this problem fixed. Maybe any ideas you have for me of how to fix this problem?

Any ideas, suggestions or help would be much appreciated.

Thank you.

Chuck S · November 29th, 2005, 10:44 PM

large can be stored below the web root thumbnails and medium are not. This is just how IPS was written.

To allow or disallow hotlinking has to do with mod rewrite and with that you go past me realm as I have never gotten to heavily into what you can and can not do with that