Stop Bandwidth Theft & Hide Your Image

Directory

While I realize that anything placed on the Internet can never be 100% secure, I love the challenge of discovering ways to deter someone from taking images without permission. In the process of working with PHP and MySQL over the last few months, Ive run across a great PHP script that is perfect for photographers and artists.

The SiteWizard offers a solution to one of the most annoying problems a webmaster has - Bandwidth Theft. When another website links directly to the images on your website, this is considered Bandwidth Theft. Talk about adding insult to injury! First they steal your image and then they hit your pocketbook by using up your bandwidth.

CHImageGuard is a simple, yet elegent PHP script. Once youve downloaded this free script, you need to edit (in your favorite text editor) the following variables:

$validprefixes - your domain or domains (www.domainname.com)
$homepage - (www.domainname.com)
$imagedir - the exact location of your images (i.e. "/users/yourname/www/images/")
$email (optional, if you would like to be notifed when someone has used your script on their website)

$validprefixes
CHImage checks to see if the referring url/domain (the place where the image is being called from) matches any of the domains youve entered. If it doesnt, visitors using your script will be taken to your home page ($homepage).

$imagedir
Once the referring url has been verified, the script goes to the named image directory and grabs the image. Your image directory is hidden from view in the source code, which means the visitor cannot use the direct url to your image because it is not shown.

Example of image tag using CHImage


Its a good idea to name your images directory something not as obvious as "images" or "pictures". Use an obscure name that only you know about. Ive moved my images directory to a protected directory. Even if someone guesses the name of the directory, they still could not access it from the address bar.

I highly recommend CHImageGuard PHP script as a means of stopping Bandwidth Theft and making it a little more difficult for someone to grab your images.

The SiteWizard provides detailed instructions on how to set up this script as well as the other scripts on their website. In addition to PHP scripts, The SiteWizard offers numerous tips and suggestions for webmasters.

Resources:
The SiteWizard - http://www.thesitewizard.com/
CHImageGuard PHP Script free download - http://www.thesitewizard.com/archive/protectimages.shtml

About the Author

Jan A. Allinder of Lucid Images Wildlife Photography is a professional photographer and website designer. She is the author of the popular series on Image Protection. Visit her site to learn more.

jan@wildlifephoto.net
http://www.wildlifephoto.net