Don't Disable Right Click!

Protecting your Images

1. Disable Right Click on Images only

If you really must disable right-click, then limit the aggravation and use a script that disables it on images only (some scripts also prevent the IE6 image toolbar from appearing). Of course there will be times when people want to use right-click and have their mouse over an image, so I'd recommend you change the message slightly to reflect the fact that only images are affected.

2. Mark Images

Another way you can identify images as your own is to mark them in some way. The best way to deter the would-be thief is to make a visual mark on the most interesting part of the image. Marks such as your logo, your site address or even the word "sample" in either a solid or translucent colour make it obvious that an image is not intended for general distribution. This graffiti-style tactic works well on sites that offer artistic services, and can also help to discourage hotlinking.

3. Digital Watermarks

Digital watermarking is the practice of embedding identifiable information into a file. Typically this is a unique ID code or the image creator's contact details. This embedded information is invisible to the average surfer but can be viewed with the aid of graphic program plug-ins or specialist stand-alone decoders. A digital watermark is typically stronger than a physical mark, because it is not obvious when you look at an image whether it has additional information. Having said that, this method provides no deterrent to a thief, although in theory it should make tracing your work (and in some cases derivative works) much easier.

4. The Window

If you want to show the level of detail in your high quality images without giving away too much "for free", then you could use what I refer to as the "window" method. Imagine you were looking at the full image through a square inch hole in a piece of paper; you wouldn't be able to see much of the final image, but you will be able to see the quality and detail in the image without having to display the full image. I've seen this approach implemented in Java at some image galleries (allowing you to move the viewable window), although it is probably simpler (and quicker for your visitors) to use a cropped image based on the original.

Protecting your HTML

Using a script to disable right-click is not the most effective way of making your source code difficult to read. Most of the techniques used to protect HTML source code use JavaScript, so if visitors happen to have it switched off, the site becomes unusable.

There are three main JavaScript techniques used to protect the source code of a page:

• Encode the source code to make it unreadable without decoding
• Put the bulk of the source code in a JavaScript include
• Open the page in a new window with all menus disabled (not recommended)

The only way to make it more difficult for curious people to decipher your HTML source code without having to resort to using JavaScript is to remove needless white space. The effect is to turn your code into one or more long lines of code so that anyone using the view source function in a browser finds it difficult to read without taking the time to tidy it up.

What Will You Protect?

Obviously, the alternatives you choose to use will depend on what you need to protect and how important its protection is. You should bear in mind that anyone who's determined to steal your stuff will find a way to steal it -- even if this means taking a screen capture or typing out an article you've disabled text highlighting on!

Of course, there is a much easier way to protect your content from would-be thieves without ever having to disable any browser functions. If you want to protect something that badly, don't put it on the Web in the first place! For more information, see:

• Disable Images Click - details of a script that disables right click on images only.
• Digital Watermarking Links - includes links to various audio, image and video watermarking resources.
• Samples of Watermark Techniques - ideas on how to create a visible watermark.
• HTML Guard, How Secure? - detailing tricks used to protect source code and images along with their drawbacks.
• Using JavaScript Includes to Manage Content - how to use JavaScript includes.