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A couple of days ago, I was searching for a popular eBook
online.
Now I'm not going to tell you the name of this eBook
for reasons you'll understand in the next few minutes.
Okay, so here I was, opening Google, entering the name of
the eBook - clicking search, and checking through the first
few pages of search results.
- Forward to Page 5 of Google
I saw a link that looked like a PDF document.
Right click - open in new window
There, in full glory, was the eBook I was searching for!
The complete eBook, mind you, not a trial or demo -
sitting there for the world to download.
And this is a product that sells for over $25 online!!
Obviously I'm not going to tell you the name of the
eBook because it would not be fair to the reseller.
But it just made me realise that one of the reasons digital
theft is so prevalent is simply because... its so EASY!
Don't get me wrong. I don't condone theft of any kind -
digital or otherwise.
But would YOU shell out $25 for a product that everyone
can 'legally' download off the 5th page of Google?
Most people would just shrug their shoulders, hit the
save button and thank their lucky stars.
Result: The opposite of $ KA-CHING $ for the sellers
One of the problems with selling digital products online
is that it is so SIMPLE to do. So now everyone and their
grandmother wants to do it.
But most newbies have no idea that it requires only a
few simple steps to ensure a moderate degree of security
for your downloads.
So here I've outlined the five most BASIC security steps
That anyone selling digital products online must take.
These will take you only a few minutes to do, and you do
not need any special software or programming knowledge.
1. ZIP THAT FILE
The biggest problem arises when sellers store their
downloads as PDF documents, as in my experience
above.
Now you should know that Google, Altavista and many
other search engines can read and list PDF files.
While this may not be a problem for those adding content
to their sites in the form of PDF newsletters and reports,
it also means that you must never store a product you
want to SELL as a PDF file (unless it is in a password-
protected folder).
It gets worse. Google also converts your PDF files into
HTML documents. So ordinary browsers not only have
access to your PDF file, but - horror of horrors - they
can download your SOURCE FILE as well!!
The next logical step is for them to customize it with
their own links, compile it and sell it or give it away.
Result: The opposite of $ KA-CHING $ for the sellers
...AND the author.
A simple way of keeping your files out of the reach of
spiders is to upload them as a zip file. Search engines
cannot look inside zip files (yet) and list their contents.
2. CREATE AN INDEX.HTML FILE
You MUST have an index.html file in EVERY folder. It acts
like a curtain that keeps your files away from prying eyes.
A folder without an index file is like a house without
walls. Everyone can enter and help themselves to the
valuables.
The 'index.htm' file is the default file that opens when
you click on the link here -
http://ebizwhiz-publishing.com/
If you don't create an index.htm or index.html file,
you'd be allowing everyone to directly access the root
directory of the folder where you store your downloads.
Here is a folder I uploaded to show you what happens
when you DON'T have an index file.
http://ebizwhiz-publishing.com/test/
As you can see, all the files stored in it are clearly
visible and ready to download.
And yes, feel free to help yourself - I won't accuse you
of stealing :-)
3. SHOW PEEPING TOMS THE EXIT
You can use a simple script to redirect peeping Toms back
to your home page.
Here's the easiest way to do it using what it called a
"meta refresh tag." Add it between the Header tags like
this.
head
META HTTP-EQUIV="refresh" content="0;URL=http://ebizwhiz-publishing.com"
/head
Just replace my URL with your own in the example above
and paste it into the head of your document (before your
text).
You can see how it works by clicking on the test folder
here.
http://ebizwhiz-publishing.com/redirect/
Now even though you click on the folder URL, you will
be sent to my home page.
4. SPIDER-PROOF YOUR DOWNLOAD PAGES
To prevent search engine spiders from reading and
listing the download pages that link to your eBooks
add the tag below in the head of the document.
This "Robot" tag tells the spider that this page is not
to be spidered or indexed. As a result it should never
show up on a search.
head
META NAME="ROBOTS" CONTENT="NOINDEX, NOFOLLOW"
/head
5. CHANGE YOUR DOWNLOAD LINKS OFTEN
To prevent unscrupulous people from posting your
download links on forums or message boards, change
the folder or file name where you store them from
time to time, even if it means having to change the
download links in your merchant account.
Using these methods will give you a good degree of
satisfaction, knowing that you have taken the most
basic steps to protect your digital valuables - and at
absolutely no cost to you.
If you want greater security and more information on
plugging the security loopholes in your website, you
should take a look at this very revealing report by
Bogdan Ravaru.
The HTML Security Report
http://ebizwhiz-publishing.com/secureport/
_______________________________________________
Priya Shah is the author of "The Genius Guides"
http://geniusguides.com Get her free Course on
Internet Marketing "Be a WHIZ at E-BIZ"
http://ebizwhiz-publishing.com
_______________________________________________
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