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How to stop hotlinking of images


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#1 Jacorre

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Posted 09 October 2006 - 10:55 AM

Hi everyone, I recently ran into a problem with gfxturk.com where they not only are listing my tutorials without permission, but they are also hotlinking my images. I'm not the only one that this is happening to either.

So I tried .htaccess to replace the images with a different image. However, when I looked at my site, it was also replacing images there as well so I had to stop using it.

Here's the code I was using:

Rewriteengine on
RewriteCond %{HTTP_REFERER} !^$
RewriteCond %{HTTP_REFERER} !^http://jacorre.com/.*$ [NC]
RewriteRule \.(gif|jpg)$ http://jacorre.com/images/donothotlink.jpg [R,NC]

Is there something wrong with it?

Also, I tried emailing the site but the email was sent back. Figures. Now my next step is the host.

#2 PSgirl

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Posted 09 October 2006 - 11:35 AM

I don't know how to use .htaccess but if you have cPanel you can use the hotlink protection it provides

#3 Donna

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Posted 09 October 2006 - 12:14 PM

Send a DMCA notice to both the hosting provider and Registrar and get them closed.

Before you do that slip an email to Google re: copyrighted content and making profits on adsense on your content, maybe VBulletin as well that looks like a nulled version.

http://whois.domaint...com/gfxturk.com

You better get used to this if your writing tutorials all the big sites have been through this, Russian and Vietnamese sites are the worst they take what ever they want and don't care if they hotlink, it's your tutorial or whatever. Complain and they'll try and take your site down anyway they can.

Dan has written an excellant article on DMCA http://www.pixel2lif...showtopic=20185

#4 Jacorre

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Posted 09 October 2006 - 02:52 PM

Thanks Donna, I actually referred to Dan's article when this started! I have emailed Google as well. If I can't get them to stop stealing from sites, maybe we can at least stop them from making any money.

#5 ProjectWhat

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Posted 09 October 2006 - 06:45 PM

If you dont mind them hotlinking for another week or so you should replace the images with different ones that says "I am a pedifile","This site is unsafe you will get a virus". Something like that. then they wont try that trick agian

#6 Jacorre

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Posted 09 October 2006 - 08:05 PM

It would take a lot of work for me to rename everything. It would also affect all the forums where I posted the same images. So that's not an option.

#7 ProjectWhat

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Posted 10 October 2006 - 05:55 PM

well, funny though!!

#8 Jacorre

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Posted 11 October 2006 - 08:44 AM

I got the htaccess to work. It's replacing all hotlinked images with an image I made. I have been seeing weird issues though. Some people say the replacement images aren't working. Some say my own site's images are being replaced. I haven't seen the problem myself. Any reason why there's an inconsistent result?

#9 Donna

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Posted 11 October 2006 - 01:32 PM

This turd has a tutorial just posted from my domain on there, ripped by another site. :) what the hell is wrong with these people, gonna kill 2 birds with one stone here.

#10 Jacorre

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Posted 11 October 2006 - 03:16 PM

Sorry to hear that Donna. Seems like they have no respect for anyone's work or the fact that people have been posting saying they are stealing. Hope you get something done with them.

#11 Donna

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Posted 11 October 2006 - 03:25 PM

I don't muck around sent a DMCA to the host of the site gfxturk.com is hotlinking the images from taken from my domain, getting so friggin tired of all these so called tutorial sites popping up all over the web with others content.

Saw ndesign-studio.com had all his tutorials ripped as well yesterday, these people must think we're all dodo birds and won't find them.

As with your hotlinking issues, are they still not working?

#12 Jacorre

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Posted 11 October 2006 - 06:06 PM

Looks like gfxturk.com deleted the tutorials they ripped! Nice job Donna and everyone that had posted on their site. I still see weird issues with the htaccess so I'm taking it down for now. But it did it's job for when it was needed. Thanks!

#13 Net-Margin

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Posted 11 October 2006 - 07:06 PM

I have only checked one but this tutorial also seems to have been hotlinked, I am sure this was listed in Pixel2Life but I can't remember.

http://www.gfxturk.c...h-logo-156.html

AdobeTutorialz is the site it's hotlinked from.

Edit: It is also on Donnas site 13Dots which I am guessing it got submitted there, or is the rightful owner..

http://www.pixel2lif...few_easy_steps/

Edited by Net-Margin, 11 October 2006 - 07:10 PM.


#14 Donna

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Posted 11 October 2006 - 07:11 PM

I have only checked one but this tutorial also seems to have been hotlinked, I am sure this was listed in Pixel2Life but I can't remember.

http://www.gfxturk.c...h-logo-156.html

AdobeTutorialz is the site it's hotlinked from.


:) Already sent a DMCA to the host of AdobeTutorialz, still awaiting response if I hear nothing today I'll resend in the morning then phone them direct, if they ignore me I'll send it onto the Data Center.

#15 Net-Margin

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Posted 11 October 2006 - 07:14 PM

I have only checked one but this tutorial also seems to have been hotlinked, I am sure this was listed in Pixel2Life but I can't remember.

http://www.gfxturk.c...h-logo-156.html

AdobeTutorialz is the site it's hotlinked from.


:) Already sent a DMCA to the host of AdobeTutorialz, still awaiting response if I hear nothing today I'll resend in the morning then phone them direct, if they ignore me I'll send it onto the Data Center.


Don't take no crap off anyone do you? Although I envy you as I wouldn't be assed to send DMCA to people who rip tutorials which I rarely write. Although it would annoy me. ;) :)

#16 Donna

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Posted 11 October 2006 - 07:21 PM

Nope I don't care whom they are, I have some really great staff and don't like them supporting my site and putting all their energy into writing tutorials for some moron to come along and freely take it without even so much as a credit to the author or our website and then getting paid by Google. So yeah I get pretty anal on tutorial rippers.

And there is a lot around atm

#17 DesignsbyPam

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Posted 13 October 2006 - 06:46 AM

My husband found some sites hotlinking to his images so he just replaced them with some not-so-nice ones. Most took them right down and I'm sure would think twice before hotlinking again. :P

#18 Donna

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Posted 13 October 2006 - 11:25 AM

My husband found some sites hotlinking to his images so he just replaced them with some not-so-nice ones. Most took them right down and I'm sure would think twice before hotlinking again. :P


Solves it temporarily but in the long run it won't, they can just come back to your site and remove the images again and upload elsewhere.

#19 DesignsbyPam

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Posted 14 October 2006 - 02:05 PM

oh I know... he will just turn on the hotlinking protection but in the meantime, let some people know it's not cool. :)

#20 seraph!m

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Posted 14 October 2006 - 03:05 PM

That happened to me once, but someone thought I "stole" their domain (I bought it before they got it) and they got really mad, so they used my images on MY server and put up their site using my site's layout. Since my site was really small and really useless, I had some fun. I went into fireworks, cooked up some fake images, saying things like "We steal designs", "I can't Photoshop", and "This site is no longer in service" and renamed them. So all the images on their site got replaced with the fake ones. It was a good laugh.

:)




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