LebGeeks

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#1 December 16 2014

joem
Member

Online magazine protection

Dears,

I am trying to find a way to secure an online magazine so that only 'subscribers' can read it; in brief, denying one subscriber to share the content of the magazine 'free' with others.

What type of file (online) should be the magazine or is there a way to have that type of security?

Thank you

Joe

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#2 December 16 2014

Joe
Member

Re: Online magazine protection

How much do you know about hosting online content? Are you looking for a service that would host your magazine for you? Are you looking to host it yourself? Are you looking to build something from scratch? Are you willing to pay for it?

Tell us more about the features you want. Who can create accounts, can any user subscribe on their own or do you want to create accounts for your existing customers yourself? Do you need the software to handle payments?


We can help you better if we know what it is you're going for.

Also a fair warning: It's extremely difficult to hide something completely from the Internet. PDF files will be shared, emails will be forwarded, password protected webpages will be copy/pasted elsewhere, ... It's one thing to make access depend on subscription, but you should expect leakage no matter which solution you choose. That's how the Internet has always worked :)

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#3 December 17 2014

rolf
Member

Re: Online magazine protection

joem wrote:

What type of file (online) should be the magazine or is there a way to have that type of security?

Yes, you can have a magazine kiosk (where you can block all functions except browsing the magazine) and put it in public places, and only allow members to use it (username/password, card or something). And oh have someone standing by to forbid people from taking pictures of the screen.

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#4 December 17 2014

joem
Member

Re: Online magazine protection

Dears,

I thank you for your prompt reply.
Ok, here we go;
It is a paper magazine which will go online.
Subscription will be by online payment through a credit card.
Now, I, myself, am trying to figure out / learn about the possibility to maximize 'not sharing' its content by one subscriber with non subscribers by finding the type of online format, file, etc. to use.
PS: I need to maximize security at much as it can go.

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#5 December 18 2014

rolf
Member

Re: Online magazine protection

Thanks,

Well you can't stop people from doing screenshots.
What you can do is use JavaScript to keep non-tech people from copy-pasting the text.
But then they can print the page as PDF and copy paste from that :)
So you can try to make it difficult, but here are some disadvantages of this approach:
- It takes time (hence is expensive)
- Often results in some loss of functionality (for example people can't print the article anymore, etc)
- Will result in some unhappy people (don't you hate it when you right click and get a popup alert instead of the right click menu? I do)

So in my opinion it's not worth it and better to invest the money and effort in paying a lawyer when you find that someone stole your article (which they will do if they really want to).

That's my opinion. I understand the need for people to protect their livelihood, and hope you will find a solution to your problem.

Also, I think there are some software or services that you can buy online, and they promise to protect your content by copying. This might be the most cost-effective solution. But I don't have any address or name now.

Alternatively you could try to work with it, not against it. Copying can be free publicity, and an measure of how much people like the article.

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#6 December 20 2014

Joe
Member

Re: Online magazine protection

I agree with rolf on how difficult, costly and ineffective trying to implement this sort of "security" over the internet can be. I cannot imagine anything beyond setting up simple html pages protected by username/passwords. This does very little to prevent leaks, but at least it will give your customers a sense of confidentiality.

Alternatively you could try to work with it, not against it. Copying can be free publicity, and an measure of how much people like the article.

If possible, this is the best choice you could make.

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