FAQ. Content Protection (disable right-click) - Read first!

Hey Guys,

I'm sure that many of you would like to keep your copywrighted content protected from visitors to your site. This goes especially for image files that you post online. Many users would like to prevent visitors from saving their images and re-using them on another website. Currently, there is no method, software/application or code that can prevent visitors from copying images . This is not unique to Webs; it is standard across the Internet.

One of the measures many people use to prevent what they perceive to be the theft of images is a “no right-click” script. This is not 100%. That function can only be used on non-application pages within the Sitebuilder. In addition, that function excludes the ability to protect images. This means that images within your Photo gallery can be copied and used by visitors or potential theives. However, you can use the script to protect your written content. If you would like to use the function, copy the code shown here and replace the brackets with html brackets (<>)

[body oncontextmenu="return false;"]

--Using the right-click button on a mouse simply launches a context menu, the same menu that can be launched with a key on the keyboard (usually it’s to the right of the spacebar). Therefore, someone that wants to view a page’s source code can still do so without the aid of a mouse.

--Most, if not all, browsers allow visitors to simply click on an image and drag it directly into the address bar. This will take a visitor to the image’s direct location and away from any right-click scripts that have been coded into a page. The only way this won’t happen is if the image is a hyperlink.

--Browsers that allow extensions, like Firefox for example, can provide visitors with the ability to install a feature that disables no right-click scripts, therefore allowing the visitor to successfully right-click and perform any actions from the context menu.

--Additionally, one of the simplest ways to snag an image is to simply create a screenshot. This feature is built into every operating system and there is no way to prevent someone from taking a screenshot of your website.

The best option currently is to watermark your images. This is a method photographers and designers use to brand their images and demonstrate ownership. While this will not prevent the actual steps someone would take to save the image, it sometimes devalues an image to potential thieves, as they find that an image with branding on it is not useful. Additionally, if the image shows up on another website, since you have watermarked it, the image will serve as promotion for your business.

For more on watermarking, please check out the following article:
http://cameras.about.com/od/printing/...

The content you add to your webpage, particularly if it is related to your business, is your creative, personal, professional property and responsibility. If you are an artist or photographer, it is useful to consider what you want to share online, and if it is worth the risk of making it available to potential thieves.

Simply put, there is no surefire method to prevent visitors from saving images. Anything posted on a public website can be accessed by the public.

Hope this helps guys!

-Dom
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