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A quick tip - Monitoring your products download links

by John Romaine
6 replies
Heres something that I thought I would share. This is basically a very simple, quick and affordable way of monitoring your products download links across the web. This particular method isnt 100% fool proof, and its certainly nothing new, but it is a start, and it does at least provide a level of security in knowing that your products download links arent being leaked all over the net.

I would recommend using DLGuard for total security.

Anway, enough babble...

You should always try to use random strings for your download links ...eg 118pKiQ7HNjjkswoJ8654.html

If not, definitely something to consider in future. Certainly avoid using download.html or (product name) download or something similiar - far too easy to find.

Once you have everything in place, head over to Google Alerts, and enter your file name into the search query text field.

Complete the steps required, then submit.

You should now be notified if Google picks up your download link on any external sites.

Be sure to set your robots.txt file to prevent crawling in sensitive folders.

Anyway, as said, this isnt anything new, but I thought it may help some.

John
#download #links #monitoring #products #quick #tip
  • Profile picture of the author Shaun OReilly
    I use DLGuard too and it protects downloads very well.

    If you're using DLGuard, it's better to use a URL for the
    product file that is NOT accessible directly via the web.

    So, you place the file OUTSIDE the public_html (or htdocs)
    so that the URL can't be shared via the Internet.

    That way, only people who purchase the product through
    DLGuard can then get connected to the product download
    URL.

    And, the download URL is also not indexed by the search
    engines.

    To do this, create a folder outside the public_html for your
    downloads.

    Then in the box entitled, "URL to Download File", put the URL
    that's non-web accessible.

    E.g. /home/yourusername/downloadfolder/product.zip

    Dedicated to your success,

    Shaun
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  • Profile picture of the author John Romaine
    Shaun,
    Its funny how its just expected that most people host with Hostgator. Im assuming you are referring to their file/folder topology? Anyway, I dont host all of my sites with them so the public_html folder stuff doesnt apply.

    But yes, I agree, definitely DLGuard for total security. I use it myself, but still like to know where my links are on the net.

    Cheers
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    • Profile picture of the author Shaun OReilly
      Regardless of the hosting company, place the folder
      outside the root.

      That way, you don't even need to worry about it being
      indexed by the search engines. Because it's non-web
      accessible, it won't be indexed so the robots.txt and
      Google Alerts, etc won't be necessary.

      Prevention is better than cure.

      It's just another way of doing it that's even more secure
      IMO - if you're using DLGuard.

      For maximum security, you want your download folder
      and files and links to be non-web accessible.

      Dedicated to your success,

      Shaun
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    • Profile picture of the author ArticlePrince
      Originally Posted by ramone_johnny View Post

      Shaun,
      Its funny how its just expected that most people host with Hostgator. Im assuming you are referring to their file/folder topology? Anyway, I dont host all of my sites with them so the public_html folder stuff doesnt apply.

      But yes, I agree, definitely DLGuard for total security. I use it myself, but still like to know where my links are on the net.

      Cheers
      The hosting company doesn't matter. Your website is just a folder tree of files, browsers just display those files as they are supposed... What I mean is, the file tree structure is a part of every website on the Internet; they all have a public_html folder that holds everything online. By putting something outside of that folder, it doesn't get put on the Internet. :-)
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  • Profile picture of the author John Romaine
    Thanks guys, I hadnt considered placing my download links outside the root directory. Hmm...looks like I have a bit of work to do
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    • Profile picture of the author Shaun OReilly
      No worries.

      One of the first products I sold got indexed in Google
      (duh!) and I was puzzled why.

      I'd used a fully web-accessible download link and that's
      what got indexed.

      That's when I learned about the importance of placing
      download links outside the root.

      Here's the instructions within DLGuard:

      Using a file path (advanced users):
      If you wish, you can store your file in a non-web accessible folder (ie. outside of your public_html folder).

      When using this option, instead of using a full URL, simply use a file path such as: /downloadfolder/file.zip

      DLGuard is an excellent way to protect downloads.

      Dedicated to your success,

      Shaun
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