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How do I make a link work once?

by yours2u
8 replies
Hi All
I want to send out an email to customers with a link to a download page but I only want the link to work once or twice so the customer can't just pass the email on. Any ideas how?
Thanks
#download #expire #link #make #work
  • Profile picture of the author nontemplates
    Not possible within an email. All you can do is password protect the site the link sends them to or you can deactivate the site after a visit or two. However since I am presuming you are sending out multiple emails the only solution is to password protect the page linked to and track IP addresses so multiple people do not use the same passwword username combo.
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  • Profile picture of the author Kevin-VirtualProfitCenter
    Easiest way is to use php to write a cookie on the visitor's machine when they visit. Then you can know whether or not they have visited before and hide your page accordingly. Pretty simple to do for anyone who knows a little php.
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  • Profile picture of the author HomeBizNizz
    Then they click the link, it will be counted the hits
    and therefore block it after x numbers of tries.
    You need a unique id per link too.
    Or something...?
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  • Profile picture of the author CMartin
    Originally Posted by yours2u View Post

    I want to send out an email to customers with a link to a download page but I only want the link to work once or twice so the customer can't just pass the email on. Any ideas how?
    Thanks
    Originally Posted by Kevin-VirtualProfitCenter View Post

    Append a unique "string" to each link--could be the user's email. Use PHP to read the email in the link and compare it to a database of all the emails who should have access. When someone visits your page the email in the link is compared to the database. If they've already been there then they don't get access.
    Kevin's solution will work, but you must implement it for the page and/or the link(s) you have in the page to download the product(s). So, if you have direct links to the product(s) without any kind of protection, users can easily share those links. But then, they can always share the downloaded product(s)

    Carlos
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  • Profile picture of the author d101
    ... complex with files and folders, either the file or the access protection would need to be changed dynamically by a script.

    but: what if the link would not point to the file ... but to an application that pulls it from a protected location ... ... ... ;-)

    i have developed a solution that does this.

    Each request is checked and validated. It works for images, movies and documents.

    it can be either required to log in, which tracks the visit aka download to the qualified user ... the link can be set to just expire after x calls .... or a certain date.

    .... better even: We do want the link to get passed around ... so when the next visitor comes around, the software automatically asks the visitor to qualify, either by opting in ... or paying.

    P.S. check out my channel on youtube.com/supersecretsoftware and look for "protected content videonote" ....
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  • Profile picture of the author d101
    Originally Posted by yours2u View Post

    ... with a link to a download page ...
    In my previous answer, i supposed you would be interested in protecting the actual file that is offered for download, rather than just the page.

    Trained pirates are used to look up the source code or activity window to pass the direct link around. (... even most ´superstar marketers' do not protect their files well enough)

    The Amazon S3 has a protection system in place too, but a bit complex to handle.

    hope this helps
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