Web Site And Server Integration For Image Protect Software
The storage of images on a server utilized as an "image server" cannot be fully secure without ensuring that those images are protected in their raw state, which means encrypting them. Image protect software that merely delivers an image in encrypted format from a library of normal stock images offers no protection for the images while stored on the server.
Images stored in their normal state can be easily obtained by determined hackers and web hosting staff and your own staff. But if the images are stored in encrypted format then they will be protected from redistribution and unauthorized use, especially if the decryption key is wholly or partially dependent on the web site url that they are to displayed on. Being "Domain Locked" they cannot be decrypted for use on any other web site.
When referring to "protected images" most people will think of images being displayed online for public display such as in an online art gallery. But an even more critical scenario exists with secure document storage where the documents are scanned and stored as images. Those images can be in-house schematics never meant for public eyes or they can be records of court documents, which again, are intended for in-house use only.
Keeping such records private in this day and age of whistle blowing mania, demands drastic measures to ensure that they cannot be exploited from anywhere, especially from within. If those images can be stored in encrypted form then the battle is almost over.
Preparing or encrypting the images prior to upload can be a tedious task when managed by one person. But when several people are uploading and contributing to the library, not all of them will have access to the
image protect software or be familiar with how it works. Nor may they have an operating system that supports that software.
So the best solution is to provide access to a server side solution where they can upload and let the server perform the encryption and cataloging. Java based image encryption software has been around for years, and being Java based, it will run on all types of computers including Windows and Linux servers.
ArtistScope provide image protect software that can display encrypted images in web browsers on all platforms including Windows, Mac and Linux computers. They also provide server side interfaces for running that software on the server to process images as they are uploaded. Image protection is just one of the solutions that ArtistScope provides in their range of
web copy protection software.
The images can be displayed without further protection of the image while on display or they may be additionally protected from all forms of copy and save including PrintScreen and screen capture.
Display of the encrypted image on a web page requires an embedded viewer that can decrypt the image after first validating that it belongs to, and has been encrypted for, that domain. A Java applet can be delivered to non-Windows browsers and a browser plugin can be used to display such images on Windows based browsers.
Unfortunately, protection from screen capture is not possible from the Java applet but consolation can be found in the fact that the image cannot be saved by right mouse click options or clicked on to save directly. In fact the encrypted image is also safe from spiders and image grabbers because being encrypted, even if they do download the image, it cannot be displayed from anywhere else other than the web site that it was encrypted for.
However for Windows computers PrintScreen and screen capture can be prevented, which should be good news for those corporate networks using Windows computers and workstations throughout. Anyone wanting access from outside, especially from a mobile device, should not be welcome anyway.
For web sites using a CMS like Drupal, Joomla, Moodle or WordPress, ArtistScope provides free web site add-ons that enable site owners to upload images already encrypted locally by the
image protect software. The software purchase is a one-time fee that includes free support and free upgrades for life. It also includes the DLL interface for Windows servers to encrypt images as they are uploaded. For Linux servers a web developer should be able to create a PHP interface for encrypting uploads that suits the web site back end.
If still wondering how to protect images displayed on Facebook? The answer to that is no, it is not possible because without a proprietary viewer on the Facebook page it cannot display encrypted images. You can only display encrypted images on web sites that you control to be able to use custom viewers on the web pages. However it is possible to copy protect a Facebook web page by using the ASPS Demo Service. It has been proven to copy protect web pages anywhere by mirroring the page. But the process is impractical because without being able allow access to that page to the ASPS mirror only, and prevent direct access to the page, the unprotected page will always be accessible from the web. A CMS plugin is available to manage such access, but again, unless you have the right to install it on the web site in question, it is impractical. Non-believers should check out the ASPS Demo Service.
Author: William Kent
Date: 10th September 2019
Return to DRM and Copy Protection
Comments
No comments
