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3 Methods To Protect Your Web Images From Thieves

Dean Sherwin — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 20:01:10 +0000

The most widely used method for photographers and artists to protect their work online is by using the watermark. Basically, a transparent yet fully visible image laid over the original image to signify that the image is not to be copied or used for free or without permission.

This will work for most people, but then there are the determined thieves who target the prized works of well known photographers without giving the poor schmuck a dime.

You see, watermarks aren’t 100% fool-proof; there are programs that some unscrupulous characters use to digitally remove the watermarks or to minimize them so they’re barely visible. Thus defeating the purpose of trying to protect images by using what is now a primitive method – not to mention crude and unattractive.

In this article I’m going to show you three great ways to protect your web images without breaking the bank on complex encryption programs.

Splicing

One method to protect web images is to cut them up into several different images and put them all side by side to form one whole image. Then, anyone who tries to save the image will only get a small segment of it. The result is that they have to tediously click around the image, guessing where the cuts have been made and then paste them all together. Big images such as the ones found on photographers’ and artists’ blogs can be cut up into over 20 or 30 pieces.

This acts as a deterrent to most copies and they’ll look elsewhere.

Probably the best program for the novice user to automatically splice images before they go live on your site is Super Simple Image Tiles.

All you have to do to activate it on a particular image, once you have installed it on your web directory using the instructions included in the download, is to slightly alter the image’s HTML. Most blogging platforms such as Wordpress and Blogger offer HTML editors alongside the text editor. Simply enter ‘Protect’ in the image HTML as I did in the screenshot above.

J-Query Plug-in

The way most people steal an image is to simply right-click on it and select ‘Save As’.

The tried and tested method, if you will. However, you can nip the problem in the bud by taking away the ‘Save’ function when someone right-clicks on your image.

The plug in for this is available right here to download for free, along with the instructions. It will also disable any kind of image saving toolbar or add-on in a browser which a user may utilise instead of right clicking.

The plug-in is as lightweight as possible and as such shouldn’t effect the speed or functionality of your pages, all the while keeping your images safe.

Again, this program simply needs to be installed onto your web directory as a plug-in which the big names offer on their dashboards.

Embed as Flash

The final option to protect web images is to upload your images as a flash file instead of as an image. This will disable right clicking as well but it also gives you more options about what to do with your images in terms of web-design which would be hindered if you were using a plug-in which may conflict with Flash design. Basically, you can style your images using CSS properties.

SWF–IR (the SWF originating from Flash’s file extension and the IR standing for ‘Image Replacement’) is available here. Upload it to your web directory.

Then, to put it to work on your post, place this HTML in the section of your post:

So there you have it webmasters and photographers. Protect your images the best way you can for free by using the above methods. Remember, images are never 100% secure online but these methods will stop 99% of thieves from stealing your high-resolution originals.

BONUS: To see whether people have already copied your image(s) online, use Google’s ‘Similar Images’ app here.

Did you like the post? Please do share your thoughts in the comments section!

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Plagiarism Checkers: 5 Free Websites To Catch The Copycats

Saikat Basu — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 20:01:36 +0000

“A lack of originality
Couldn’t focus on the day
so much for the radio
Everybody sounds the same
Everybody wears the same clothes now
And everybody plays the game”

That was from ‘Copycats’, a song by the Cranberries. Just swap the radio for the web and we could have an anthem for our times where content is free and content lifting is freedom. Copying is tame, plagiarism is the more serious (and demeaning) word and with the laws against copyright infringement in place, plagiarism as intentional fraud carries a mean look.

Content plagiarism on the web spreads as fast as the web itself. With blogging, which is usually written words, an original thought becomes the archetype . Duplicate content is the bane of webmasters and even bloggers. A webmaster can easily but unsuspectingly publish duplicate content on the fly (though a guy who knows his job won’t!). A blogger can see his work being scraped on another site. The bane – a lower page rank by search engines like Google which hates duplicate content.

Many tools exist which help us in sidestepping prickly copyright issues. The professional ones are of course potent, spiffy and dollar loving. The free ones may not be too much on looks but without a pinch they are adequate for the blogger world. Here at MakeUseOf, we have previously covered quite a few content tracking web services.

Here are five more for the armory.

Plagiarism Checker

A free online service which searches for originality (or lack of it) using a few phrases taken from different parts of the document. The phrases need not be contained within search operators like quotation marks as the plagiarism checker does it on its own through its code. Content checking is optional with either Google or Yahoo.

The two search engines though are word limited in the use of phrases – Google allows 32 and Yahoo’s word limit is 50. Plagiarism Checker thus limits the phrase within the word count. The word limitation restricts the scope of the content check. The matches open up in another webpage.

In a previous post we had looked at how Google Alerts could be used to keep track of your content. This service provides a button to the Google Alerts page for setting it up.

A webpage can also be submitted for a plagiarism check through a URL.

Article Checker

A very similar plagiarism detection tool which checks for duplicate content using either Google or Yahoo. Both the search engines can be used to compare results. Input of content is through a text area box or by giving the URL of a webpage. The checker functions by taking blocks of text and running it through the search engines. A Google Alert can be set up for the positive matches with a click.

Plagiarism Detect

This is a full-featured web service with a free and a paid option. The free option requires a signup and gives us an upload of Doc or Text files (or paste contents in a text area) and basic duplicate checking. The site makes a disclaimer that it does not store the uploaded content. Despite the basic checking service, the results are neatly displayed for us to sift through.

Quote Finder

This is a very simple content checking aid from Google Blogoscoped; a site which unofficially covers Google related news. The plagiarism checker is a simple text area for pasting the relevant text. The results are highlighted in yellow with the number of sources obtained from the web search. Clicking on the highlighted phrases takes us to the Google search results page. It is simple, uncomplicated and relies on the power of Google search.

DOC Cop

This free web service offers the option of a File Check and a Web Check. Using File Check we can scan and compare a maximum of eight Microsoft Word or AdobePDF files of up to 100,000 words each against one another. We can specify the average string length (i.e. the number of words) that must be compared. The report can be optionally obtained in HTML or Doc format through email.

Web Check is where we can put a webpage, a Doc file or a PDF file through a duplicity check on the internet. Web Check is limited to a maximum of 550 words. Again, the word length can be specified using the string length dropdown.

The web tool requires registration and access is through a guest ID. A real time status indicator shows the current status of the submission. According to the site, it takes about an hour to generate and send the report using email.

With the help of these free web tools, detecting duplicate content is not too tough a task. For a content writer, these useful tools serve another purpose – to determine where his ghost written articles have ended up… or even where they have been re-used with due citation and credit. But mostly, it helps each writer check his work against the web to avoid unintentional duplication.

We have featured quite a few other tools here at Makeuseof.com –

Copyscape : See Who is Stealing your Blog Content
Plagium: Online Plagiarism Tracker
The Plagiarism Checker: Check Papers For Plagiarism
CopyrightSpot: Search Web for Copies of Your Blog Content
FairShare: Find Out Who Is Stealing Your Content
CopyGator: Tells You Who Is Stealing Your Blog Content

The use of this rooster of article plagiarism checking apps should be enough to make us all tread on the side of caution and keep our creative spirits intact. If you write (or publish)…do you check? Let us know.

Image: swanksalot

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How to Create Copyright and Trademark Symbols via Keystrokes [Windows]

Saikat Basu — Tue, 26 May 2009 17:00:01 +0000

This post came about because I was searching for ways to create a copyright symbol for a batch of graphics in Photoshop. Working inside a graphical environment makes one depend too much on the tools and menus. A “C” and a stroked elliptical marquee around it, said my right brain. But then my left brain remembered that there are shortcut keys available for special characters and symbols in Microsoft Word.

Hey presto! A bit of rummaging about and I discovered the shortcuts which helped me apply the copyright/trademark symbols with a keystroke.

The copyright (©), trademark (™) and the registered (®) symbols are obligatorily required to protect the original source of any document or product. If it falls under a copyright act, it needs to be marked out as such. And if you are a person given such a task for any work that goes on the net, it helps to know these timesavers.

Inserting a copyright, registered or trademark symbol in Microsoft Word

In MS Word, these symbols can be inserted from the Insert – Symbol dropdown menu. If the symbol is not there, click on More Symbols to see the huge list for each different font.

But to save time, applying the symbols with keystrokes is always better. The shortcut keys are –

Ctrl+Alt+C=© (The Copyright Symbol)
Alternatively, type an open parenthesis – type a c and close the parenthesis. MS Word automatically creates the symbol.

Ctrl+Alt+T=TM (The Trademark Symbol)
Alternatively, type an open parenthesis – type tm and close the parenthesis. MS Word automatically creates the symbol.

Ctrl+Alt+R=® (The Registered Symbol)
Alternatively, type an open parenthesis – type r and close the parenthesis. MS Word automatically creates the symbol.

Inserting a copyright, registered or trademark symbol in any Windows applications

In any Windows application like Notepad or Photoshop, the numeric keypad is used in combination with the Alt key. Activate the numeric keypad by pressing the NumLock key.

For the Copyright symbol (©) Hold the Alt key down and type 0169.
For the Trademark symbol (TM) Hold the Alt key down and type 0153.
For the Registered symbol (®) Hold the Alt key down and type 0174.

Inserting a copyright, registered or trademark symbol in HTML

In any HTML coding application, HTML symbols can be created using the same number combination in the source code but prefixed with &# and a semi-colon in the end.

™ – TM
Alternatively, for trademark symbols, ™ can also be used.

® – ®
Alternatively, for registered symbols, ® can also be used.

Points to note

The clarity of the symbols may need to be adjusted by changing either the font size or the font itself.
The copyright symbol is always on the baseline.
The trademark ™ symbol is always superscripted.
The registered trademark symbol can be on the baseline or superscripted.
The Windows Character Map accessed via Programs – Accessories – System Tools can also be used to copy-paste the symbols. With the huge list of characters, finding them is a chore.

These shortcuts prove that sometimes a keystroke is faster than several clicks of mouse. If you think that this timesaver tip is worth your while, drop us a note – as usual, in the comments.

Did you like the post? Please do share your thoughts in the comments section!

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How to Remove False Information about Yourself on Internet

Ryan Dube — Fri, 16 Jan 2009 22:01:54 +0000

Bloggers are usually well aware of the dangers of being accused of libel, and that’s why most independent online journalists are very careful to make sure that everything they write about someone on their blog is backed with documentation and evidence. But when someone writes something libelous about you, you need to be well prepared to fight back hard.

So what can you do? And how can you remove false information from the internet and ultimately remove that info from Google.

What is Libel?

In the United States and in many countries around the world, truthful statements about another person are safe to publish. However, publishing outright lies with the intent to defame or injure the reputation of others is illegal.

In the U.S., the victim of libel has the right to bring a civil lawsuit against the defamer. Such lawsuits are usually very expensive and not worth the effort for most people. If you find that someone has published untrue information about you online, there are less expensive and more effective ways to remove that false libelous information from the web.

Beg For Mercy

Before you do anything else, swallow your pride and contact the person who published the information. Locate the contact details on the website if you can, and send a friendly email pointing out why what they wrote is untrue. Don’t call them a liar, just ask them if they wouldn’t mind entering into a friendly dialog with you regarding the issues that were published. You’d be surprised how many of these situations arise out of a gross misunderstanding. Communicating with the other person can immediately clear up any disagreements you may have had, and you may discover that the author is willing to remove the hurtful page. Kindness can often go a very long way to getting what you want.

Unfortunately, the odds are pretty good that you may be dealing with an unstable or unreasonable individual. They may get obnoxious and rude in response to you, and refuse to cooperate. That’s when it’s time to step it up a notch.

Shut Em’ Down

Before you conduct full-fledged warfare against the offending website, you’ll need to do a little bit of investigating. The first step is to identify the name and contact information for the person who registered the site that hosts the libelous material. Personally I like the Domaintools Whois Lookup because it provides detailed information about the website. The results you get back from a whois search will look like the results below.

The two items that you need are “Admin Email,” and towards the top of the listing, Domaintools also reports the host company in the “Server Data” section as shown here. The admin email listed above is the address you’ll need to contact the webmaster if no contact emails were listed on the website.

Once you know the name of the web hosting company, visit the website and obtain their contact information as well as a list of their Terms and Conditions. Make a list of those terms that you can determine the offending webmaster has broken on his website.

#1 – Report All Terms & Conditions Violations to the Host

If you’ve contacted the webmaster and they are unwilling to cooperate, then the first part of this battle will be firing off as many abuse violation reports as needed. Your first order of business is to report a violation to their web host. It’s important that you find a violation on the web page that goes against the terms and conditions of the host. Most web hosts do not allow libel or copyright infringement.

For example, Hostdime, the web host of the offending site listed above, provides an “Unauthorized Personal Material” claim form. One of the first things HostDime will do when they receive such a report is to “Expeditiously remove or disable access to the personal material that is claimed to be unauthorized.” This occurs immediately! There is no faster way to remove a website with libel on it. All you need to do is find any place on the website where the author makes use of your name, personal information or any other “personal material,” without your permission.

Usually you’ll need to send in the notice via snail mail, so do so as soon as possible. Wait a week or so, and then follow-up with an email to make sure they received it okay, and to let them know that you’re very serious and expect a prompt response. You should notice the website go down within just a week or two.

#2 – Report Privacy or Copyright Infringement To Google

Another approach is to remove information from Google and get that web page delisted from the search engines. Google is the powerhouse of online search rankings, so getting delisted from Google would virtually destroy any chance the offending website would have of getting any visibility. There are specific situations when Google will willingly remove the site from their listings. Those situations include when any of the following are published on a web page:

* Your social security or government ID number
* Your bank account or credit card number
* An image of your handwritten signature
* Your name or business published on an adult content site spamming Google’s search listings.
* Infringement of copyrighted content like text or images

In most cases you can use Google’s web page removal request tool to submit your request to Google.

#3 – Report Any Other Abuse to Google

If the website that’s posted libel about you hasn’t broken any privacy rules, you still have a chance of removing their site from Google if you can find a case of abuse related to Google’s Terms and Conditions. Search the website and try to find examples of any of the following.

* If the site is just spam
* If the site buys or sells links
* If the site is infected with malware or malicious software

If you can identify any of the above activities on the website, submit a report to Google using the Spam Report Tool.

Don’t Give Up

One of the most important things you can do when you’re looking to take down libelous content about yourself online is to be persistent and tenacious. In 2006, a person seeking to libel me sent out my personal information to a mass list of over 200 email addresses. By following the guidelines in this article, I was able to trace down the sender’s ISP, and after submitting an official report for both spam and distribution of private information – the spammer’s ISP issued him a warning and removed his Internet access for a full week. It was very sweet retribution.

Have you ever had to remove libel about yourself from the Internet? What tools or tricks did you use to do it?

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3 Tips For Getting More Out Of Creative Commons

Sandra Hajda — Fri, 26 Dec 2008 17:01:17 +0000

Creative Commons is becoming a web force to be reckoned with. I recently switched to a Firefox browser from Internet Explorer (a revelation in many ways, but that’s another article) and didn’t even have to modify my toolbar to create a Creative Commons search shortcut. CC is one of the default directories; it was already there, alongside big names Yahoo, Google, Amazon, Answers.com, eBay and Wikipedia.

The site is growing in leaps and bounds. As the tentacles of the Creative Commons organisation lengthen and curl, and its presence is felt in every corner of the web (who hasn’t read a plethora of blogs with the disclaimer ‘licensed under a Creative Commons 3.0 by-nd license’, or some such) it’s time to explore how online users can get the most out of this newfangled intellectual copyright phenomenon.

1. Search for Usable Content

If you’re a blogger, musician, photographer, researcher, writer or creative person of any kind, you’ll know how annoying it is to chase up ‘permission’ to use the images, soundbytes etc. you want to include in your work. Creative Commons licenses make this easy by dividing content into categories, and allowing people to use content as long as they agree to the terms (for example, ‘No Derivatives’ means you can use the content as long as you don’t modify it, and ‘Attribution’ means you must give credit to the original author/creator). No need to send a sycophantic email (’I LOVE this image! Can I reproduce it?’) to a photographer ever again.

Head to the Creative Commons search website and you’ll see an entry bar with two adjacent search options. Check the appropriate box and enter your search term.

Below that you’ll see a list of tabs – three familiar ones (Google, Yahoo, Flickr) and three relative obscurities (blip.tv, OWL music search and SpinXpress).

Now, this is an important thing to recognise about Creative Commons. The organisation doesn’t actually keep a comprehensive database of licensed content. There’s been a small trickle of criticism over this, because of the potential for fraud that it introduces (if I really wanted to I could apply for a license, get it, then destroy all copies of my licensed content and be free to accuse a random, innocent remix artist of nicking my stuff because no one has records of what I actually licensed in the first place) But that’s not worth going into here. So far, no earth-shattering lawsuits and CC is looking into building a database.

The point I was making is that when you do a Creative Commons search, you still need to nominate a search directory. If you nominate Google you’ll get a bunch of (hopefully) relevant articles. Interested in images? All the usual Google rules apply – you’re still able to fine tune your search by typing ‘images’ after the query term. What you’re doing is a Google search restricted to Creative Commons licensed content. The same goes for the other directories (Flickr, Yahoo, etc).

Note: Always use the top (green border) entry bar to limit search results to Creative Commons content. The lower entry bar (under the directory tabs) does not limit results – it does a standard search with Google, Yahoo, etc.

2. Learn the Jargon

When you stumble upon something fabulous you want to use, it’s important to understand what it means for something to be licensed under a ‘Creative Commons Attribution- No Derivative Works 2.5 License’, for example.

It’s not as complicated as it sounds. Creative Commons has four sets of license terms.

Attribution – the original author/creator must be credited.

Non-Commercial - the work must not be used for commercial purposes.

No Derivatives – the work must not be modified.

Share-alike – any derivative works must be licensed under the same Creative Commons license.

These are combined to produce the variety of CC licenses available.

Some popular combinations are by- nd (Attribution + No Derivatives) and by-sa (Attribution + Share-Alike). ‘No Derivatives’ and ‘Share-Alike’ are obviously mutually exclusive. You’ll never see these together.

Sometimes people will only use abbreviations and symbols to specify how their work is licensed, so it helps to know them.

Attribution = (by)

No Derivatives= (nd)

Non-Commercial =(nc)

Share-Alike = (sa)

3. Know the Alternative Databases (what is blip.tv anyway?)

Who can be bothered, right? That’s what we’re here for! Here is a run-down of three less common Creative Commons search databases.

Now that you know all about Creative Commons, why not submit your images and photos to the MakeUseOf Flickr photo group?

Did you like the post? Please do share your thoughts in the comments section!

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