question about someone using my images

dewd · 12-10-2005, 07:43 AM

hey

i was one of the first to have a xbox360 presale on ebay

and since then everyone has copyed my ebay AD

and i had alot of pictures on it, now since then i have noticed alot of bandwidth useage on them pictures which i didnt really care to think about at the time, until now i checked stats and there is alot of ppl using them for thier auctions/websites

so far this month ( dec 1st to dec 8th ) each picture has about 8.3 million requests

i have a list of near 5 thousand ebay listing # where my pictures are used, also on many web sites

now, should i remove the pictures on the domain and give everyone a headacke?

or photoshop them and advertise some of my sites?

or photoshop and say host-your-own-pics?

let me know what you think

**Gene** · 12-10-2005, 07:47 AM

I would print in bold red letters across the face of each image "IMAGE STOLEN FROM ____.COM!" Use a copy of the images renamed for your own use.

mch · 12-10-2005, 08:51 AM

Agree with Gene! Kick their asses!

WhiteWebServices · 12-10-2005, 09:41 AM

It's not as fun as Gene's suggestion, but I'd turn the image into an ad for your site. 8.3 million impressions / week is a lot of exposure to get for free.

**Gene** · 12-10-2005, 10:16 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by akrasia

I'd turn the image into an ad for your site. 8.3 million impressions / week is a lot of exposure to get for free.

I would be careful with this, as it may get you blacklisted for spamming.

Palyriot · 12-10-2005, 10:20 AM

I don't think you'd get blacklisted for this, when they are stealing your images. You have the right to put whatever you want on them. If it were me, I'd put something funny or po*n, get them all banned haha.

WhiteWebServices · 12-10-2005, 11:14 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gene

I would be careful with this, as it may get you blacklisted for spamming.

Ah, there's a good reason to go Gene's route. Fair enough.

guile · 12-10-2005, 11:24 AM

I don't see how you would get blacklisted by editting a picture? l would advertise your own autions or sell some advertising spots

sdsinc · 12-10-2005, 11:32 AM

One way around this is to perform image substitution using mod_rewrite. At least if some people are stealing your bandwidth you might return a modified image such 'image content stolen from yoursite.com' etc.

Here is an article which explores the issue:
http://www.webmasterstop.com/62.html

godinu · 12-10-2005, 05:40 PM

as the above have said, definitely tag the image as your own. Put your domain name in the picture and anyone who steals it will be advertising your site.
Another way to help prevent image thieves is to disable the rightclick function for images on your site. That way no one can steal your photos ubless they did a screen capture than edited it down to size (too many steps for lazy photo thieves).
I work for a company which has a merch area and i've already seen people buy our merch and resell it on ebay with our own images! hmm, time to implement these suggestions myself

DomainSage · 12-10-2005, 06:16 PM

A few options here

From your log files you can go after the people stealing your image, as long as you can show it is yours.

You canuse it for advertising,I would put something up along the lines of ' This is a illegal trader, buy from www.youname.com ', after all they are trading illegaly if the infinge copyright.

Alternatively, sell advertising space

Withe that many graphics being shown I am sure somone would be interested in the exposures even if they don'y get a link

All the best.

Richard

Palyriot · 12-10-2005, 06:21 PM

Not allowing right click does nothing, just go to View -> Source and search through the <img src="">'s.

Quote:

Originally Posted by godinu

as the above have said, definitely tag the image as your own. Put your domain name in the picture and anyone who steals it will be advertising your site.
Another way to help prevent image thieves is to disable the rightclick function for images on your site. That way no one can steal your photos ubless they did a screen capture than edited it down to size (too many steps for lazy photo thieves).
I work for a company which has a merch area and i've already seen people buy our merch and resell it on ebay with our own images! hmm, time to implement these suggestions myself

DomainSage · 12-10-2005, 06:46 PM

If someone wants to steal you images there is very little you can do to stop it, don't forget that with a bit of programming ( especially now with the .net platform ) any program can basically treat instructions from the server as text strings and ignore what they were meant for in the first place.
However what we are talking about here is very low tech and from people that probably don't even know much about how the internet works.
They are stealing bandwidth and copyright !
Let all of us know where the images are being used and we can start posting questions to the seller about where they get the images from,believe me with the increasing exposure of fraud on the internet ( and e-bay ) if someone views one of their auctions and sees these questions then they will think twice about ordering

All the best.

Richard

dochlaggie · 12-10-2005, 08:14 PM

I have had this done to me. My reaction was not nice but got immediate results. I renamed a very XXX image and uploaded this one to my server as a replacement. In a short space of time the item had been removed from ebay.
Gene's solution is a very good one.

zanzan · 12-11-2005, 02:34 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dochlaggie

I have had this done to me. My reaction was not nice but got immediate results. I renamed a very XXX image and uploaded this one to my server as a replacement. In a short space of time the item had been removed from ebay.
Gene's solution is a very good one.

the person who had stolen ur images might have an headache when he sees his "stolen" pic change to an XXX pics.. lol

localpub · 12-12-2005, 08:12 AM

It's a strange thing nobody suggested an 'official' no-hassle way to protect yourself from bandwidth thieves. You can create a .htaccess (note the dot in the begining!) file with the following in it:

Code:

RewriteEngine    on
RewriteCond    %{HTTP_REFERER} !^$
RewriteCond    %{HTTP_REFERER} !^http://([-a-z0-9]+\.)?YOURDOMAIN\.TLD [NC]
RewriteRule \.(jpe?g|gif)$ /allowed/hotlink.$1 [L]

This particular example will protect from hotlinking to jpeg/gif files. You might want to add any other file extention you feel like somebody is stealing. Also, you might want to change YOURDOMAIN and TLD parts.

Upload it to the main directory of your webfiles.

Good luck!

P.S. As a side note, I'll go for XXX stuff. Anybody stealing your images will be banned from eBay for good for dispalying them on their auctions....

If you need some images to start with, please pm me.

skrilla · 12-12-2005, 08:57 AM

i agree xxx or advertise. people think its ok to steal just cuz its pictures. well i say give em pictures,lol. I got a few you could use as well. haha

JMJ · 12-12-2005, 09:14 AM

How would you get blacklisted for spamming? If anything they are going to hurt your google rankings on the domain because of a large number of incoming links over a short period of time. They are they ones stealing the images and bandwidth. I wouldn't even have to think twice before I changed over the images to "This image is was stolen from and bandwidth costs being paid by MySite.com"

mch · 12-12-2005, 11:32 AM

Hey j0e, come on tell us what did you do at last?

dewd · 12-12-2005, 12:21 PM

i havent done anything yet

the requests are climbing everyday

Troubled1 · 12-12-2005, 01:05 PM

I sure wouldn't be letting them get away with it. I'd rename some pics for my own use then change the ones they are linking too. If they are too lazy to get their own pics they deserve whatever they get. They could have at least had the decency to copy the pics and put them on their own hosting.

Maverick · 12-13-2005, 04:31 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by j0e

i havent done anything yet

the requests are climbing everyday

I wouldn't let this continue... It's time to implement one of the many suggestions that have already been given in this thread.

Let us know the results.

mrfike · 12-13-2005, 09:03 AM

I vote for the XXX images, or bunny rabbits, or you could replace with a gif that says
"Ebay sucks" or "your mom...."

dewd · 12-13-2005, 09:47 AM

send me some images, and i will put them on, lol

1 image 422px by 123px
1 image 445px by 67px
5 images 87px by 87px <<--- most used ones

they are small but i imagin someone can put something nice in there

PM me for email details and il swap it then give a list of auctions its on, lol

kiore · 12-13-2005, 04:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by localpub

It's a strange thing nobody suggested an 'official' no-hassle way to protect yourself from bandwidth thieves. You can create a .htaccess ...

Normally this is a good idea but won't work in this case as j0e is using the images himself from his ebay auctions. He'd need to write a load of rules o distinguish between the links from his auctions & the auctions of bandwidth thieves.

12-10-2005, 07:43 AM	#1 (permalink)
dewd Senior Member Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Canada Posts: 1,673 147.15 NP$ (Donate)	question about someone using my images hey i was one of the first to have a xbox360 presale on ebay and since then everyone has copyed my ebay AD and i had alot of pictures on it, now since then i have noticed alot of bandwidth useage on them pictures which i didnt really care to think about at the time, until now i checked stats and there is alot of ppl using them for thier auctions/websites so far this month ( dec 1st to dec 8th ) each picture has about 8.3 million requests i have a list of near 5 thousand ebay listing # where my pictures are used, also on many web sites now, should i remove the pictures on the domain and give everyone a headacke? or photoshop them and advertise some of my sites? or photoshop and say host-your-own-pics? let me know what you think __________________ TurtleHosting.com - Hosting as low as $0.99/month! ( NP$ Accepted )

12-10-2005, 07:47 AM	#2 (permalink)
Gene DomainersUniversity.com Team Leader Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: Oswego, NY Posts: 4,718 96.11 NP$ (Donate)	I would print in bold red letters across the face of each image "IMAGE STOLEN FROM ____.COM!" Use a copy of the images renamed for your own use. __________________ . . ◊ ◊ ◊..Learn from the Experts for free at DomainersUniversity.com..◊ ◊ ◊

12-10-2005, 09:41 AM	#4 (permalink)
WhiteWebServices NamePros Regular Join Date: Oct 2005 Location: Gloucestershire, England Posts: 450 0.00 NP$ (Donate)	It's not as fun as Gene's suggestion, but I'd turn the image into an ad for your site. 8.3 million impressions / week is a lot of exposure to get for free. __________________ White Web Services - Professional web design and HTML / CSS coding to W3C standards.

12-10-2005, 11:24 AM	#8 (permalink)
guile NamePros Regular Join Date: Aug 2005 Posts: 206 172.00 NP$ (Donate)	I don't see how you would get blacklisted by editting a picture? l would advertise your own autions or sell some advertising spots __________________ FightForum.com - Play Free Games - News Forum - Arcade Live.com - Arcade Forum

12-10-2005, 11:32 AM	#9 (permalink)
sdsinc Domains my Dominion Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Web 1.0 Posts: 6,285 1,095.94 NP$ (Donate)	One way around this is to perform image substitution using mod_rewrite. At least if some people are stealing your bandwidth you might return a modified image such 'image content stolen from yoursite.com' etc. Here is an article which explores the issue: http://www.webmasterstop.com/62.html __________________ Buy now - MassDeveloper.com $500

12-10-2005, 08:51 AM	#3 (permalink)
mch NamePros Regular Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: EU Posts: 248 99.25 NP$ (Donate)	Agree with Gene! Kick their asses!

12-10-2005, 10:20 AM	#6 (permalink)
Palyriot NamePros Regular Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: Seattle, Wa Posts: 596 76.25 NP$ (Donate)	I don't think you'd get blacklisted for this, when they are stealing your images. You have the right to put whatever you want on them. If it were me, I'd put something funny or po*n, get them all banned haha.

12-10-2005, 05:40 PM	#10 (permalink)
godinu NamePros Regular Join Date: Dec 2005 Posts: 389 77.10 NP$ (Donate)	as the above have said, definitely tag the image as your own. Put your domain name in the picture and anyone who steals it will be advertising your site. Another way to help prevent image thieves is to disable the rightclick function for images on your site. That way no one can steal your photos ubless they did a screen capture than edited it down to size (too many steps for lazy photo thieves). I work for a company which has a merch area and i've already seen people buy our merch and resell it on ebay with our own images! hmm, time to implement these suggestions myself

12-10-2005, 06:16 PM	#11 (permalink)
DomainSage NamePros Regular Join Date: Oct 2003 Location: Venus ( everyone goes to Mars :) Posts: 825 335.99 NP$ (Donate)	A few options here From your log files you can go after the people stealing your image, as long as you can show it is yours. You canuse it for advertising,I would put something up along the lines of ' This is a illegal trader, buy from www.youname.com ', after all they are trading illegaly if the infinge copyright. Alternatively, sell advertising space Withe that many graphics being shown I am sure somone would be interested in the exposures even if they don'y get a link All the best. Richard __________________ As we slide down the banister of life, may the splinters never point the wrong way. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ http://DomainSage.com COSHH information

12-10-2005, 06:46 PM	#13 (permalink)
DomainSage NamePros Regular Join Date: Oct 2003 Location: Venus ( everyone goes to Mars :) Posts: 825 335.99 NP$ (Donate)	If someone wants to steal you images there is very little you can do to stop it, don't forget that with a bit of programming ( especially now with the .net platform ) any program can basically treat instructions from the server as text strings and ignore what they were meant for in the first place. However what we are talking about here is very low tech and from people that probably don't even know much about how the internet works. They are stealing bandwidth and copyright ! Let all of us know where the images are being used and we can start posting questions to the seller about where they get the images from,believe me with the increasing exposure of fraud on the internet ( and e-bay ) if someone views one of their auctions and sees these questions then they will think twice about ordering All the best. Richard __________________ As we slide down the banister of life, may the splinters never point the wrong way. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ http://DomainSage.com COSHH information

12-10-2005, 08:14 PM	#14 (permalink)
dochlaggie NamePros Regular Join Date: Jun 2005 Posts: 411 107.01 NP$ (Donate)	I have had this done to me. My reaction was not nice but got immediate results. I renamed a very XXX image and uploaded this one to my server as a replacement. In a short space of time the item had been removed from ebay. Gene's solution is a very good one. __________________ Domain Portfolio * Domain News Mobile Dog Portal Holiday Guide Property Guide Mobile Music News Mobile Art * Australia Mobile * Pet Supplies Mobile Beauty Salons Antiques Mobile * Horoscope *

12-12-2005, 08:12 AM	#16 (permalink)
localpub NamePros Regular Join Date: Oct 2005 Location: behind you Posts: 267 302.95 NP$ (Donate)	It's a strange thing nobody suggested an 'official' no-hassle way to protect yourself from bandwidth thieves. You can create a .htaccess (note the dot in the begining!) file with the following in it: Code: RewriteEngine on RewriteCond %{HTTP_REFERER} !^$ RewriteCond %{HTTP_REFERER} !^http://([-a-z0-9]+\.)?YOURDOMAIN\.TLD [NC] RewriteRule \.(jpe?g\|gif)$ /allowed/hotlink.$1 [L] This particular example will protect from hotlinking to jpeg/gif files. You might want to add any other file extention you feel like somebody is stealing. Also, you might want to change YOURDOMAIN and TLD parts. Upload it to the main directory of your webfiles. Good luck! P.S. As a side note, I'll go for XXX stuff. Anybody stealing your images will be banned from eBay for good for dispalying them on their auctions.... If you need some images to start with, please pm me. __________________ My domaining blog \| 1 \| 2 \| 3 \| 4 \| 5 \| 6 \| 7 \| 8 \| 9 \| never buy hosting from registrar and domain from hosting company!!! If you find my post useful, please consider adding rep or donating some NP$ - thank you

12-12-2005, 08:57 AM	#17 (permalink)
skrilla Senior Member Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: canada Posts: 1,020 591.76 NP$ (Donate)	i agree xxx or advertise. people think its ok to steal just cuz its pictures. well i say give em pictures,lol. I got a few you could use as well. haha __________________ RB's Lingerie COME VISIT NOW!!! Sign up for adsense at www.ratemymug.com This line is for sale PM for details

12-12-2005, 09:14 AM	#18 (permalink)
JMJ Senior Member Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Nashville Posts: 1,834 263.00 NP$ (Donate)	How would you get blacklisted for spamming? If anything they are going to hurt your google rankings on the domain because of a large number of incoming links over a short period of time. They are they ones stealing the images and bandwidth. I wouldn't even have to think twice before I changed over the images to "This image is was stolen from and bandwidth costs being paid by MySite.com"

12-12-2005, 11:32 AM	#19 (permalink)
mch NamePros Regular Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: EU Posts: 248 99.25 NP$ (Donate)	Hey j0e, come on tell us what did you do at last?

12-12-2005, 12:21 PM	#20 (permalink)
dewd Senior Member Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Canada Posts: 1,673 147.15 NP$ (Donate)	i havent done anything yet the requests are climbing everyday __________________ TurtleHosting.com - Hosting as low as $0.99/month! ( NP$ Accepted )

12-12-2005, 01:05 PM	#21 (permalink)
Troubled1 NamePros Regular Join Date: Oct 2005 Location: Texas Posts: 306 224.20 NP$ (Donate)	I sure wouldn't be letting them get away with it. I'd rename some pics for my own use then change the ones they are linking too. If they are too lazy to get their own pics they deserve whatever they get. They could have at least had the decency to copy the pics and put them on their own hosting.

12-13-2005, 09:03 AM	#23 (permalink)
mrfike NamePros Regular Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: davison Posts: 455 145.94 NP$ (Donate)	I vote for the XXX images, or bunny rabbits, or you could replace with a gif that says "Ebay sucks" or "your mom...."

12-13-2005, 09:47 AM	#24 (permalink)
dewd Senior Member Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Canada Posts: 1,673 147.15 NP$ (Donate)	send me some images, and i will put them on, lol 1 image 422px by 123px 1 image 445px by 67px 5 images 87px by 87px <<--- most used ones they are small but i imagin someone can put something nice in there PM me for email details and il swap it then give a list of auctions its on, lol __________________ TurtleHosting.com - Hosting as low as $0.99/month! ( NP$ Accepted )

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