About Copy Protecting Web Pages : Threats and Techniques

File Protection vs Image Protection

The two (2) main areas to defend are:

File Protection - is the prevention of web page copy by saving HTML that is comprises the web page and its contents like scripts, CSS, images and other media
Image Protection - is prevention of copy of the web page while it is open and on display in a web browser.

Web Page File Protection

Preventing web pages from being opened is most difficult and nigh impossible when it is accessible and readable by normal web browsers like Chrome, Edge, Firefox and Safari.

Preventing access to web pages from bots and scapers is also most difficult when they can impersonate the user-agent of popular web browsers. Even the bot detection and fingerprinting employed by firewall solutions like Cloudfare have difficulty in getting that right.

The only sure solution for preventing access to web pages is by using encryption to ensure that its contents cannot be read until such time that the user's device and web browser proves that it is indeed being used by a human and for read only. And they only way to prove authenticity is by using a web browser that can decrypt the webpage while identifying the user in such a way that it cannot be deceptive in any way - which again eliminates all popular web browsers.

The ArtistScope Site Protection System (ASPS) is the only solution available for encrypting web pages at server level, and the ArtisBrowser is the only web browser that can decrypt ASPS web pages.

The methods for preventing acess to web pages are:

Password Protection - requires entering the correct password before the web page will open to display its contents.
DRM - digital rights management (DRM) provides access rights control by validating IP/network or fingerprint approval, ie: checking online for of the site owner's approved list.
Browser Detection - by requiring the ArtisBrowser, access to all other web browsers and applications is stopped at the door.

Preventing a web page being opened is the first frontier. Next comes the prevention of copy of its contents when it is open and on display.

Web Page Image Protection

Without image protection, when a web page is on display, its contents can be screen captured and recorded, or even printed. The methods to control are:

Save Page - web browsers provide options for Save As to save the file bincluding all attachments.
Print Page - when printing is allowed, the user can print off an unlimited number of copies.
Print To File - when printing to network printers is allowed, it can send it to software running as a "print driver" and converted to any type of file.
Copy-n-Paste - By highlighting text and images users can copy them to the clipboard for pasting into other documents, or dragged to the desktop.
Screen capture and recording - by using PrintScreen a user can take screenshots or screen record animations like video.
Remote recording - by using a virtual desktop the desktop can be viewed remotely on another computer that is not copy limited by any controls.

Best Web Page Protection

The best protection for web pages is provided by the ArtistScope Site Protection System (ASPS) software, because pages can only be displayed by the ArtisBrowser, and while a web page is on display, nothing can be copied or exploited in any way. ASPS effectively creates a secure tunnel between the web server and the user's desktop.

The next best solutions, and ones for shared hosting websites who cannot install ASPS at server level, is to use a service that integrates with an ASPS server like:

Copysafe Web Protection - Software to encrypt images - just having a small encrypted image on a page activates Protect Mode for ArtisBrowser.
Guest Video Protection - Secure web page hosting with options for DRM, copy protection and watermarking. Standalone - no website required.
Safeguard Media Protection - Plugin for adding copy protection to WordPress and Moodle web pages.

Alternative Solutions

Let's be clear. Web page protection solutions not listed on this page are useless.

While there may be plugins for CMS like WordPress claiming to "prevent copy", because they are based on JavaScript, which can only action in the web browser space and not at system level where copy protection needs to actioned, all they can do is fool newbies by preventing right-mouse-click options. Such plugins may be popular but they will not stop content thieves.

When it comes to copy protecting web pages, there is no alternative - only ArtistScope software can provide that capability. No one else can because no-one else has a web browser capable of doing what is needed - and ArtisBrowser is available for all computers and devices including Windows, Mac, iOS and Android mobile.

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