Acrobat Web Capture 2

[mobyduck]

I've been checking my host stats and have noticed that just recently I've got some hits in the 'by browser' section from Acrobat Web Capture, with the grabber showing 'yes'.

I'm not sure what is being grabbed here - could it be the whole site that some rascal is attempting to steal or copy?
Should I worry about this and maybe make some changes to the htaccess file to block it ?

Any advice gratefully received..

MD

 

[Mike Lewis]

MD,

If this is what I think it is, it's part of Adobe Acrobat that lets the user convert a web page to a PDF. You're right that it can be used to grab an entire site, but the end product is a PDF, not a set of HTML files.

I can't see that it would be a problem for you if the rascal gets a PDF of your site, but I might be wrong. I'd have thought that if they want to replicate the site in some way, it would be easier for them to write a little script to save all the HTMLs.

Mike

__________________________________
Mike Lewis (Edinburgh, Scotland)

Visual FoxPro tips, advice, training, consultancy
Custom software for your business

 

[mobyduck]

Hi Mike,

Thanks for the reply. Maybe I'm getting a bit paranoid, but I did have somebody rip off a site I did a few months ago, and even found a modified version of it on a free css site.

I'm frankly not concerned if somebody wanted to copy my own site, but this particular site I'd charged to build, and I feel uncomfortable leaving it open to be copied after somebody else had paid for it.

Since then I use encryptweb to try to protect my customers intellectual property and I was concerned that someone had found a way around that.

Once again, thanks for the thoughts - have a star.

Regards

MD

 

[Mike Lewis]

Thanks for the star, MD. Do keep in mind that I am not an expert in web development -- unlike most of the regulars in this forum. I hope other folk will be able to give you further advice.

Mike

__________________________________
Mike Lewis (Edinburgh, Scotland)

Visual FoxPro tips, advice, training, consultancy
Custom software for your business

 

[trollacious]

EncryptWeb is NOT secure, though it might confound newbies. I would bet that most people here would tell you the same thing, and that it is a waste of money. If you post the URL of a page that is "protected" with this software, most of us can get the source code and the "protection" within seconds.

There is also software if you want to download entire sites without even having the site open in a browser, which would bypass any tricks you put in to disable certain functions in browsers. Disabling Javascript is the simplest trick to overcome protection schemes like you referred to, not hard to figure out or find information on. The only way to secure a web page from being copied is keep it off a web server.

Lee

 

[mobyduck]

Hi Lee,

Thanks for the comment - Like you, I think it's relatively easy to bypass virtually any security that stuff like EncryptWeb can do. My feeling is though that most pro's wouldn't need to rip off a site anyway as they can probably replicate it without breaking a sweat.

From a customer point of view though, bearing in mind that they have few technical skills, it's a least a bit reassuring that some effort has been made to protect their investment from the casual site burglar. I certainly wouldn't make any promises to my clients about total security !
I suppose it's all about risk management and balancing the advantages of having a web presence against the risk of having your investment copied for free.

It's all good advise though that others browsing this thread will find extremely useful, so have a star.


MD

 

[feherke]

Hi

From a customer point of view

If your customer not cares about the downsides :
[ul]
[li]The encrypted fragments size is larger.[/li]
[li]The encrypted fragments can be rendered only when are completely downloaded.[/li]
[li]External files ( images, scripts, style sheets ) included in the encrypted fragments can be downloaded only after rendering that fragment.[/li]
[li]Those who browse without JavaScript enabled ( text browser users, search engines, me after an idiot site's script made me angry ) will see nothing from the encrypted fragments.[/li]
[/ul]
I would be concerned especially for the search engines.

Feherke.

http://rootshell.be/~feherke/