Hide video from DownloadHelper.

OneTwo

Do anyone know how to hide a video from download helper (firefox plugin) using php or something? tried everything but it stills find the link

OneTwo

Got it. You make a file named get.php with this:

<?php  
    session_start  ();
    header ('Location:'.$_SESSION['VIDEO']);
    session_unset('VIDEO');
?>

you're renaming your video to something like gay.txt, you put this on your video page:

<?php
    session_start();
    $_SESSION['VIDEO']="gay.txt";
?>

and you put get.php where's your video url.

// moved it to tutorials.

OneTwo

someone can still get the video if he goes to the source code and press the get.php link.

debug

If someone is determined they will get your file. They have to, anyway, to play the video.

OneTwo

@debug said: If someone is determined they will get your file.

I just don't want. If I put a session destroy in the end of the video page I will get an error that the video couldn't be found. any ideas?

OneTwo

i just don't want the php file to be cached if i click on it on the source code.

OneTwo

Got it and it's working. Now nobody can't download the video. It's a pretty good method I came up with. I'm bored to write about it now but if anybody wans to know can PM me and send me a freaking amount of cash to help him

BassHost

Wattermark your videos.

debug

@OneTwo said: Got it and it's working. Now nobody can't download the video. It's a pretty good method I came up with.

Give me a test link and I'll download the file.

---

Anyway, your first code (the one with header(Location: (url))), doesn't hide, as you will see the HTTP redirect.

OneTwo

@debug said: as you will see the HTTP redirect.

how?

subigo

If someone can play your video, they can rip it. Simple as that.

OneTwo

@subigo yeah i figured that out. it caches the file on firefox cache so you can download it. someone can always rip it with a camera. but a newbie would not be able to rip it the way i do it and will not think of a camera.

@debug yeah man i was wrong. any way the file can be cached in memory instead of disk?

debug

@OneTwo said: @debug yeah man i was wrong. any way the file can be cached in memory instead of disk?

What do you mean by that?

Roph

Not possible. And the point has already been made. If you want your visitor to be able to watch your video, at some point, you HAVE to give it to them.

You'd have better luck "protecting" your stream by not serving a static file but a stream over something like RTSP.

Aldryic

Seems to me like it would be more efficient to give your visitors a place to frequently obtain new material, rather than try to retain visitors by preventing them from obtaining their own copy of the content you show them.

exussum

post a link and see how quick one of us can get it ...

quirkyquark

@Aldryic said: Seems to me like it would be more efficient to give your visitors a place to frequently obtain new material

+1

Is this one of those membership-type deals where you have access to the "library" so long as you keep shelling out?

httpfox -- and wireshark, if someone is desperate enough -- are all that one needs.

gsrdgrdghd

@quirkyquark said: httpfox -- and wireshark, if someone is desperate enough

There are even sniffers dedicated to dump streams, i just can't remember any names though :S

@OneTwo You are fighting a pointless cause. Stop causing the viewers inconvenience and spend your time on better things like improving the website.

MrAndroid

Look how complex YouTubes anti-download system is, yet it can be bypassed

Unless you spend 1000s on DRM its impossible

DanielM

I use Realplayer for Flash Based Downloads. There is another called Replay Media Catcher.

gsrdgrdghd

@Daniel said: Unless you spend 1000s on DRM its impossible

Now that would be 1000s wasted.

OneTwo

@Roph said: You'd have better luck "protecting" your stream by not serving a static file but a stream over something like RTSP.

still, you can dump it.

@exussum said: post a link and see how quick one of us can get it ...

i can get it, through the browser cache.

who removed this from tutorials? it's still a tutorial.

exussum

its not a tutorial ... not every post you do is a tutorial. not though browser cache i mean we could likely post the url to the video too

OneTwo

@exussum said: its not a tutorial ...

have you seen my second post?

MrAndroid

@OneTwo said: have you seen my second post?

I don't get what your PHP code is trying to accomplish, your simply redirecting to the video.

OneTwo

@Daniel i use a flvplayer so if a user goes to the source and find the get.php file and enter it on the browser he will get a blank page.

MrAndroid

@OneTwo said: @Daniel i use a flvplayer so if a user goes to the source and find the get.php file and enter it on the browser he will get a blank page.

But then he can just use wget.

OneTwo

@Daniel said: But then he can just use wget.

ehm....how? what command exactly would work?

quirkyquark

Since nothing is going to stop a determined power user, let's talk about ways to prevent Joe Sixpack from ripping your vids. It's been a while since I've done HTML/PHP so if I have typos/errors I'm sure others will point it out

• using cache-control headers to set no-cache and no-store policies for the player swf/flv should help with the cache issue.
• set up apache so it will only respond to a request for the flv IF the referrer matches your swf player's; better yet, set the swf to send a custom header with its requests and "authenticate" based on that.
• Use a POST as well as key/values so that the player is not invoked with a GET containing the video filename to be played.
• This would take some decent programming skills--or you could pay someone to do it if the content is "valuable" enough. You would change the format of the video (frame headers, etc.) so that it is no longer recognizable/playable by any regular player, e.g. by modifying part of the ffmpeg source, compiling it and then using it to encode your videos. At the same time, modify the codec inside your SWF player so it can recognize and play such altered files. Now, almost anyone who is somehow able to download the files won't be able to play them with any of the standard players (VLC, MPC, etc. )

debug

@OneTwo said: @Daniel said: But then he can just use wget.

ehm....how? what command exactly would work?

He can't exactly use wget, however if he's logging the HTTP headers, they would see:

Location: {the-url}

Because your original script only redirects the user to the file. If they learn the file name (which is simple) they get unlimited access to it.

OneTwo

@debug 99% of the viewers are newbies so who cares......