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I always (sort of) knew it was true, but..

by hh66
10 replies
..had it confirmed to me today ..and in a big way:

THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS 100% SECURITY FOR DIGITAL PRODUCTS!

Being a stubborn, and probably naive, so-and-so I always harboured the belief that *somewhere* there was a security solution that could never be cracked...

I was wrong, dead wrong.

I won't mention his name, or his company, but i've had a response today from someone who runs a well-known company whose sole endeavor is to secure digital products from unauthorised viewing.

He went in to some detail with me about how my claim was true, and how his solution had indeed been cracked. His company's security solutions (for .pdf e-book security) start at around $5-6,000 per year. He also explained that company's who are more expensive than that have also had their security compromised.

I feel for the guy, I really really do!... it felt like he was spilling his heart out to me, to be honest. Anyway, the upshot of this is: NO solution is 100% secure. If you are going to "secure" your products for sale then I guess the best advice is to try and do the least obtrusive solution possible, for the customers you are selling to.

So if, e.g. you are doing some .exe download, and your customers start complaining, then it may be an idea to go back to .pdf.
#knew #sort #true
  • Profile picture of the author theIMgeek
    The fact remains, if a video/document/site can be viewed, it can be re-saved in a way (screen capture) that circumvents any digital protection that might be in place.

    Just like a book can be photocopied.

    -Ryan
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    • Profile picture of the author ASUService
      Yep, True Fact!

      Locks only keep out honest folks! If the efforts of those trying to break things were put to better use we'd have a much better world.
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      • Profile picture of the author rdkelsey
        Originally Posted by ASUService View Post

        Yep, True Fact!

        Locks only keep out honest folks! If the efforts of those trying to break things were put to better use we'd have a much better world.
        I have said that a gazillion times ... too bad the human dilemma is so black hat and dishonest.

        --BK
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      • Profile picture of the author Tymarkinc
        If someone steals your product, hopefully it's because it's a quality product. Obviously, you will be losing sales, but if you've reached that level(people want your stuff so bad,they will steal it) you should be making some good money already.

        I would spend more time on creating new products and helping more people than stressing over my product security, because at the end of the day, it's out of my control.

        Good post
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        • Profile picture of the author hh66
          Excellent posts from everyone here..

          Thank you,
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  • Profile picture of the author Steven Carl Kelly
    If those of you who publish infoproducts aren't hanging out in the BH forums, you're making a big mistake. Just yesterday, on one single page in one single forum, I found threads offering free downloads of 7 (seven) current WSO's.

    Seven WSO's on one single page, free for anyone to illegally download.

    Pay attention to what's going on with your products, people. But at the end of the day, don't beat yourself up over it. That's one reason why you can't sit still in this business. Create, create, create.
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    • Profile picture of the author hh66
      Originally Posted by Steven Carl Kelly View Post

      If those of you who publish infoproducts aren't hanging out in the BH forums, you're making a big mistake. Just yesterday, on one single page in one single forum, I found threads offering free downloads of 7 (seven) current WSO's.
      Steven makes a great point about visiting BlueFart/Torrent forums. If you are selling information-based products, then this could be a good way of trying to pre-empt or mitigate some of the adverse effects of having your product downloaded illegally.

      CDarklock, a member here, also made the suggestion yesterday that a "special offer" could be made to such users... perhaps tailored for them, and their particular "free" disposition.. :-)
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      • Profile picture of the author mcmahanusa
        Most offline retail stores factor in a certain percentage of loss due to theft when making their financial projections. Online...it seems to me that you just have to apply as much protection as you can without financial damage, and figure that the ornery thievin' polecats that lurk in our virtual world are gonna cause some loss. And that's just life.

        Of course, picturing the thieves buried up to their necks in a fire ant bed, heads covered with honey, is also to be considered.
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        • Profile picture of the author hh66
          Originally Posted by mcmahanusa View Post

          Most offline retail stores factor in a certain percentage of loss due to theft when making their financial projections. Online...it seems to me that you just have to apply as much protection as you can without financial damage, and figure that the ornery thievin' polecats that lurk in our virtual world are gonna cause some loss. And that's just life.

          Of course, picturing the thieves buried up to their necks in a fire ant bed, heads covered with honey, is also to be considered.
          Yep, it's just a cost of doing business online. Protect your product as much as you see fit 'though by all means.

          As for the "ant bed", well, I knew my visualization skills would come in handy someday... ;-)
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  • Profile picture of the author ProductLockdown
    While you are right, there is no 100% security for a digital product...there's no sense to not at least be a little proactive about it! Protecting (or at least limiting) the number of downloads that can occur for your digital piece would at least hopefully retain a few of those missed sales by the wanna-be digital thief. Like mcmahanusa said, spending as much as you can to keep your product secure without damaging your revenue stream seems the be the most logical solution to a never-ending problem.
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