^I think it depends on your how you code your design. there are some footer that has the codes connected to the layout (esp the /ending of the codes) so if any of it were modified, ofcourse the design will break.
Its too easy to unravel a code this way. Its just a case of view source on the page and then then relace the footer include with the rest of the html. HTML wise i dont beleive you can do anything but php its a possibility
Those encoders can be decoded very easily, i've done it with a couple themes. If they realy want to remove your adds/links it will be done simply within 5 minits (if they have some php experience)
it really depends on how you encode the footer. It it;s a simple base64 encode with some code obsfucation then maybe you can do it in 5 minutes. But I highly doubt that anything that is encoded with zend encoder or ioncube can be decoded in 5 minutes. Most cormecial php software use these encoder to encode their "call home" stuff and although there are some that are already decoded by pirates some , for example WHMCS, are not cracked yet by the pirates it goes to show if you use good encryption and do the checks and call backs at the right places chances are you code is safe. again, it depends on how far you are willing to go to protect your theme. It is likely that most theme you came accross the author simply can't afford to use a commercial solution like zend or ioncube. Furthermore base64 is not really an encryption algorithm but more like a way to do code obsfucation. The purpose of Base64 encoding is actually to do binary to text conversion.
code your sidebar into the footer file and then encode it so if they delete it the theme doesnot work also make the footer dynamic so they cannot just look at the pages source and coppy/past that into the footer file
WHMCS has been decoded and nulled for about 2 years Anyway zend is not a good encoder anymore there are many working zend decoders floating around the net
as far as I know the nulled version is a really old versions and newer ones have never been nulled since.. or maybe i just hang around at the wrong warez board...;p
Do you have some example code you can provide on how to code the sidebar into the footer. I need to do something like this to break the theme if the footer is changed. Right now, my footer is as follows: <div id="footer"> <p>Design by <a href="http://www.domain.com">Domain name</a></p> </div> </body> </html> It's a very generic footer and even if I encrypt the footer, if someone just takes a default footer and replaces my encrypted one, the theme works. I know encryption isn't 100% perfect, but it will stop the average person from trying to decode it. That's why I would really like to have the theme break if the footer is replaced with generic code.
that's why you need to hook something into the footer .. you could define an empty function with an obscure namein to footer.. and then call it somewhere from within you theme.. you have to encrypt the calling part too ofcourse.. so if someone just replace your footer the theme throws an error.. you have to catach the error too.. so that php doesn't just throw the function name back in the error output.. otherwise they'd just create a function with that name.. this is just a random example.. i'm sure there are other ways to do it.. just be creative...
Thanks for all the advice provided in this thread, I've employed a couple of methods to get my theme to break if the footer is changed. Now I need to encode it. Base64 encryption seems to be very easy to decode (reverse engineer). Someone recommended Truebug and I tried it, but I think that is Base64 as well. Ioncube and Zend Guard are a little to expensive for me. Is there any free PHP encoder on the same level as Ioncube and Zend Guard but is free? Thank you
I want to make sure that sponsors get their value by preventing their links from being removed from themes.
Come on guys, there must be some easy way to do this. The simple footer encryption sucks, anyone can remove it in 10 secs.
Its a game really. Its not about trying to protect the footer to a point that no one can remove it. Even with the most sophisticated protection I have seen its still easy to remove it. The rules of the game are to try and make it difficult for the average person who doesn't know what they are doing to remove. So simple css and even base encoding do that. MAtt
I've read something about it. Do you mean the protection where removing the footer will result in breaking of the design? I will have to hire someone to do it for me .
If you need a practical example of this method, just get the source code for SMF (Simple Machines Forum) they have a DIV that is triggered if the forum is missing the "powered by" section.
Hi, Check out my encryption system at wor dpre ss templates.com, remove the spaces , Go there, download any tempalte, and try removing the link, its tough . Thanks imphp.
Hi I'm starting a theme directory myself with all original wordpress, joomla, and blogger designs, is it possible you could provide some sort of tutorial on how you encrypted the footer links for your themes?