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Thread: How To Stop Content Stealing?

  1. #1
    Trench Warfare
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    How To Stop Content Stealing?

    What are the best ways to prevent people from using bots/software etc. to steal your websites content to reproduce it elsewhere? I realize I can't stop people copy and pasting every page of my site's content, but I would at the very least like to prevent "mass theft" of my content.

    Cheers...

  2. #2
    Administrator Chris's Avatar
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    1. Check User Agents and redirect the bad ones elsewhere.

    No legitimate program allows user agent changing, if you can change your user agent the program is theft-ware. Its like calling trojan horses remote administration tools.

    Anyways, for those who do change the user agent, you can't do it (unless you know their user agent is still fake, for instance if it is blank, or just says "Mozilla" or something like that.)

    2. Check your logs for large requests from 1 IP, check out who owns the IP and it's viewing behavior. If it looks suspicious and is not a real search engine, block it.

    3. For repeat offenders with changing IPs I've blocked entire chunks of IPs.

    4. Use a script or something to monitor in real time which ips are requesting what files and when a single IP requests too many, block it.
    Chris Beasley - My Guide to Building a Successful Website[size=1]
    Content Sites: ABCDFGHIJKLMNOP|Forums: ABCD EF|Ecommerce: Swords Knives

  3. #3
    Trench Warfare
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    Isn't there a way to ban user-agents/bots in robots.txt or something? Does this also work against unknown spiders etc?

    Cheers...

  4. #4
    Website Developer
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    Best solution: occasionally check google for duped content. If you find anything send a DMCA notice to their host and also Google.
    Make more money - Read my Web Publishing Blog

  5. #5
    I'm the oogie boogie man! James's Avatar
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    @ozgression+robots.txt Some unknown ones ignore it.

  6. #6
    Future AstonMartin driver r2d2's Avatar
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    Yes, I would have thought that if they were stealing content, they wouldnt really even look at robots.txt, nevermind take notice of it.

  7. #7
    Registered Xander's Avatar
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    You can always check for already copied content with something like copyscape (http://copyscape.com/).

  8. #8
    http://copyscape.com/ seems like a good option indeed.

    So what do you do exactly when you find a stolen copy of your content? Contact their webhost with request to remove the stolen material? Get your lawyer to send them a letter with request to remove the stolen content?

    Has anybody actually done this?



    Thanks,

    Peter

  9. #9
    Administrator Chris's Avatar
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    I have, sent it to the host, their site was down for a week or so while they removed it.
    Chris Beasley - My Guide to Building a Successful Website[size=1]
    Content Sites: ABCDFGHIJKLMNOP|Forums: ABCD EF|Ecommerce: Swords Knives

  10. #10

  11. #11
    Do you guys have a sample letter, which can be sent to the host in case of stolen copyrighted content?


    Thanks,

    Peter

  12. #12
    Website Developer
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    Here's an example:

    Search for kazaa in google. Scroll down to the bottom and you see this message - "In response to a complaint we received under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, we have removed 6 result(s) from this page. If you wish, you may read the DMCA complaint for these removed results."

    You can read the exact letter sent to Google.

    Here is Google's information they require for a DMCA notice: http://www.google.com/dmca.html

    The ISP has to remove copyrighted content on request of the copyright holder or else they may be liable for it.
    Make more money - Read my Web Publishing Blog

  13. #13
    Registered Mike's Avatar
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    Heh, never seen anything like that before on google.
    Don't you just love free internet games ?

  14. #14
    Registered Xander's Avatar
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    I find that strange to target google to get results taken out. Why not just get the sites themselves removed. Is it illegal to link to a site that contains illegal items/copyright infringements?

  15. #15
    Future AstonMartin driver r2d2's Avatar
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    Interesting, so thats the Kazaa copyright owners complaining about people copying their program? Kind of ironic really..

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