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5 Simple Steps to Protect your Digital
Downloads
by: Priya Florence Shah
A couple of
days ago, I was searching for a popular
eBook online.
Now I'm not
going to tell you the name of this eBook for
reasons you'll understand in the next few
minutes.
Okay, so here
I was, opening Google, entering the name of
the eBook - clicking search, and checking
through the first few pages of search
results.
-> Forward to
Page 5 of Google
I saw a link
that looked like a PDF document.
Right click ->
open in new window
There, in full
glory, was the eBook I was searching for!
The complete
eBook, mind you, not a trial or demo -
sitting there for the world to download.
And this is a
product that sells for over $25 online!!
Obviously I'm
not going to tell you the name of the eBook
because it would not be fair to the
reseller.
But it just
made me realise that one of the reasons
digital theft is so prevalent is simply
because... its so EASY!
Don't get me
wrong. I don't condone theft of any kind -
digital or otherwise.
But would YOU
shell out $25 for a product that everyone
can 'legally' download off the 5th page of
Google?
Most people
would just shrug their shoulders, hit the
save button and thank their lucky stars.
Result: The
opposite of $ KA-CHING $ for the sellers
One of the
problems with selling digital products
online is that it is so SIMPLE to do. So now
everyone and their grandmother wants to do
it.
But most
newbies have no idea that it requires only a
few simple steps to ensure a moderate degree
of security for your downloads.
So here I've
outlined the five most BASIC security steps
That anyone selling digital products online
must take.
These will
take you only a few minutes to do, and you
do not need any special software or
programming knowledge.
1. ZIP THAT
FILE
The biggest
problem arises when sellers store their
downloads as PDF documents, as in my
experience above.
Now you should
know that Google, Altavista and many other
search engines can read and list PDF files.
While this may
not be a problem for those adding content to
their sites in the form of PDF newsletters
and reports, it also means that you must
never store a product you want to SELL as a
PDF file (unless it is in a password-
protected folder).
It gets worse.
Google also converts your PDF files into
HTML documents. So ordinary browsers not
only have access to your PDF file, but -
horror of horrors - they can download your
SOURCE FILE as well!!
The next
logical step is for them to customize it
with their own links, compile it and sell it
or give it away.
Result: The
opposite of $ KA-CHING $ for the sellers
...AND the author.
A simple way
of keeping your files out of the reach of
spiders is to upload them as a zip file.
Search engines cannot look inside zip files
(yet) and list their contents.
2. CREATE AN
INDEX.HTML FILE
You MUST have
an index.html file in EVERY folder. It acts
like a curtain that keeps your files away
from prying eyes.
A folder
without an index file is like a house
without walls. Everyone can enter and help
themselves to the valuables.
If you don't
create an index.htm or index.html file,
you'd be allowing everyone to directly
access the root directory of the folder
where you store your downloads.
Here is a
folder I uploaded to show you what happens
when you DON'T have an index file.
As you can
see, all the files stored in it are clearly
visible and ready to download.
And yes, feel
free to help yourself - I won't accuse you
of stealing :-)
3. SHOW
PEEPING TOMS THE EXIT
You can use a
simple script to redirect peeping Toms back
to your home page.
Here's the
easiest way to do it using what it called a
"meta refresh tag." Add it between the
Header tags like this.
Just replace
my URL with your own in the example above
and paste it into the head of your document
(before your text).
You can see
how it works by clicking on the test folder
here.
Now even
though you click on the folder URL, you will
be sent to my home page.
4.
SPIDER-PROOF YOUR DOWNLOAD PAGES
To prevent
search engine spiders from reading and
listing the download pages that link to your
eBooks add the tag below in the head of the
document.
This "Robot"
tag tells the spider that this page is not
to be spidered or indexed. As a result it
should never show up on a search.
5. CHANGE YOUR
DOWNLOAD LINKS OFTEN
To prevent
unscrupulous people from posting your
download links on forums or message boards,
change the folder or file name where you
store them from time to time, even if it
means having to change the download links in
your merchant account.
Using these
methods will give you a good degree of
satisfaction, knowing that you have taken
the most basic steps to protect your digital
valuables - and at absolutely no cost to
you.
If you want
greater security and more information on
plugging the security loopholes in your
website, you should take a look at this very
revealing report by Bogdan Ravaru.
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