Copryight Infringement/Bandwidth Theft

I (as I'm sure you all have too) have spent countless hours perfecting my site, and stuff like this really pisses me off.

A site, www.proxyguide.org, owned by a DP member, has copied and pasted the code from my FAQ page. Then, he states:

Not only did he have the nerve to do this, but it still links to the images on MY server.

I won't say the member's name at this time, as I've sent him a request to remove it immediately.

Any suggestions as to what I should do about this?

EDIT:: Copyright*

Also, upon further examination, he copied many lines from my CSS.

 

Change the images so they're very inappropriate on his site

 

Good plan.

EDIT:: Changed them to huge GIFs that kill his page.

I have another idea, but it's a secret.

 

LOL.....That's hilarious. Oh man I could have a lot of fun with this hotlinking images.....ROFL

 

Well, since it's my bandwidth, I kept the files small.

 

Haha that is pretty funny

Edit: You should put some other types of images up

 

Hmm.. I know what is that "other" type.

 

Like I said, I don't want to eat up my bandwidth.

 

If you have CPanel, they have a tool called "Hotlink Protection". You might want to use it to prevent people like this.

Here's the description:

HotLink protection prevents other websites from directly linking to files (as specified below) on your website. Other sites will still be able to link to any file type that you don't specify below (ie. html files). An example of hotlinking would be using a <img> tag to display an image from your site from somewhere else on the net. The end result is that the other site is stealing your bandwidth. You should ensure that all sites that you wish to allow direct links from are in the list below. This system attempts add all sites it knows you own to the list, however you may need to add others.

 

I have CPanel, and I'm well aware of that, however I enjoy this method.

 

this is a realy good idea. i did this to someone who was using ripping my ebay images. i won't say what i changed the pics to but i will say his auctions were shut down.

 

He changed the images, that's it.

Albeit the script was public, he didn't even bother to change the CSS, HTML, or even the text.

Still hasn't.

 

The answer to stopping people from stealing your bandwidth due to images is to alter your htaccess file.

Go to this website
http://www.htaccesstools.com/

click on hotlink protection and fill in the necessary field and click generate .htaccess file. Copy the code into your htaccess file and I don't think any people can link image from your site anymore.

 

hey opioq!!! one time along time ago hotlinked some one picture in my ebay auction(bad move i was young. well....what happend was horrible!!! they replaced the image with a the front page image from tubgirl.comeek: DO NOT VISIT THIS SITE I PROMISE IT WILL RUIN YOUR LIFE! ), hmmm...i bet since i said that every one will go there, but really don't just take my word that is the worst img you could ever image!!! anyways i didn't even realize for like 3 days, untill i got a message from a fellow ebayer asking how i was goin to ship the item pictured(thats a whole lot of wierdness even asking). opioq was that you???

 

It wasn't the hotlinking that made me the most angry, it was (is) the content theft.

 

Thanks. I want to study .htacess

 

The guy's username is jacobbannier.

He's just ignoring my requests now.

 

I have hotlinking/bandwidth theft by the ten thousands each month - much of it with huge files ( wallpapers )

typically i use mod_rewrite to replace the hotlinked pics with a clean animated banner from my site
hence even if i still lose some bandwidth - at least I get free promotion for my site on myspaces, hi5 and similar hotlink-pros.
last year for another copyright infringement case with msn.com, i created a special text gif to make msn aware of their legal situation in addition to a few emails sent to msn
a few weeks later and until now - zero hotlinking from msn anymore.

replacing hotlinked pics with other pics - of course it works but is of no use to YOU asa you lose bandwidth with nothing in exchange for it - while replacing hotlinked pics with banners from your own site gives you the benefits of free promotion.

a clickable flash banner might even be better but won't work if the pics are used as background

 

If somebody is hotlinking and killing your bandwidth, just recall Niall vs. MS, and do the same. Atleast I feel so, 'coz this is just un-ethical to do hotlinking.

 

The problem is no longer bandwidth theft. If you look at the FAQ page on his site, the text and HTML (and even the CSS) are the same as my page. The script is publicly available, so I can't lay claim to that, however he ripped it all from my site.