Comments on: How to ridicule a bandwidth thief http://eirikso.com/2006/06/19/how-to-ridicule-a-bandwidth-thief/ The personal web site of Eirik Solheim Tue, 22 May 2012 12:07:07 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.2 By: eirikso http://eirikso.com/2006/06/19/how-to-ridicule-a-bandwidth-thief/comment-page-1/#comment-1945 eirikso Sun, 29 Jun 2008 21:46:13 +0000 http://www.eirikso.com/2006/06/19/how-to-ridicule-a-bandwidth-thief/#comment-1945 In the most basic statistics software that was used on Dreamhost where I hosted this site before I could look into a list that showed exactly where all traffic came from and what files they asked for. Most of the traffic going directly to an image was hotlinking. And I could click the link to see exactly where it came from. Now I have changed host and activated something they call hotlink protection. And as far as I can see I can't find any hotlinking in my logs, but the new host use another stats software, so I am not sure. Maybe I simply don't find it in this software. In the most basic statistics software that was used on Dreamhost where I hosted this site before I could look into a list that showed exactly where all traffic came from and what files they asked for.

Most of the traffic going directly to an image was hotlinking. And I could click the link to see exactly where it came from.

Now I have changed host and activated something they call hotlink protection.

And as far as I can see I can’t find any hotlinking in my logs, but the new host use another stats software, so I am not sure. Maybe I simply don’t find it in this software.

]]> By: KieranMullen http://eirikso.com/2006/06/19/how-to-ridicule-a-bandwidth-thief/comment-page-1/#comment-1944 KieranMullen Sun, 29 Jun 2008 17:32:36 +0000 http://www.eirikso.com/2006/06/19/how-to-ridicule-a-bandwidth-thief/#comment-1944 Could you provide details on how you did this? How did you find out that your images were being hotlinked through your stats? Could you provide details on how you did this? How did you find out that your images were being hotlinked through your stats?

]]> By: eirikso http://eirikso.com/2006/06/19/how-to-ridicule-a-bandwidth-thief/comment-page-1/#comment-1942 eirikso Sat, 04 Aug 2007 23:38:30 +0000 http://www.eirikso.com/2006/06/19/how-to-ridicule-a-bandwidth-thief/#comment-1942 This post is all about the fact tha this <strong>can</strong> be a problem. If you don't have a host that give you close to unlimited bandwidth this kind of theft can be a problem. And you should take measures to avoid bandwidth theft by using .htaccess or other methods of avoiding it. I don't care before this adds up to a serious problem. But I have started including a watermark on my images to state the origin of the pictures on eirikso.com. Time will show the point where I post this detailed tutorial on how to avoid bandwidth theft... This post is all about the fact tha this can be a problem. If you don’t have a host that give you close to unlimited bandwidth this kind of theft can be a problem. And you should take measures to avoid bandwidth theft by using .htaccess or other methods of avoiding it.

I don’t care before this adds up to a serious problem. But I have started including a watermark on my images to state the origin of the pictures on eirikso.com.

Time will show the point where I post this detailed tutorial on how to avoid bandwidth theft…

]]> By: bob http://eirikso.com/2006/06/19/how-to-ridicule-a-bandwidth-thief/comment-page-1/#comment-1943 bob Sat, 04 Aug 2007 23:20:23 +0000 http://www.eirikso.com/2006/06/19/how-to-ridicule-a-bandwidth-thief/#comment-1943 To Aaron You say you don't see the point, and draw a conclusion about a "fundamental lack of understanding" Let me give an example where I run a small website with no intention or need for big bandwidth. I post a fairly large size photo and forget about it. Its viewed a few times a month at most. Then some poster on a messageboard with a huge amount of traffic hotlinks my image. Suddenly the image is viewed a few thousand times a day. 2 months go by and that initial theft of an "...empty pack of gum, and a few pennies in spare change" is suddenly my life saving in the form of bandwidth. True story. To Aaron
You say you don’t see the point, and draw a conclusion about a “fundamental lack of understanding”
Let me give an example where I run a small website with no intention or need for big bandwidth. I post a fairly large size photo and forget about it. Its viewed a few times a month at most. Then some poster on a messageboard with a huge amount of traffic hotlinks my image. Suddenly the image is viewed a few thousand times a day. 2 months go by and that initial theft of an “…empty pack of gum, and a few pennies in spare change” is suddenly my life saving in the form of bandwidth.
True story.

]]> By: Jakee http://eirikso.com/2006/06/19/how-to-ridicule-a-bandwidth-thief/comment-page-1/#comment-1941 Jakee Thu, 21 Jun 2007 03:19:55 +0000 http://www.eirikso.com/2006/06/19/how-to-ridicule-a-bandwidth-thief/#comment-1941 yes now people make own web site to save time they take link from other site and paste in own site to save time but if they work hard they make their own web site better yes now people make own web site to save time they take link from other site and paste in own site to save time but if they work hard they make their own web site better

]]> By: Wisnaes.com - Visual communication » Bandwith theft http://eirikso.com/2006/06/19/how-to-ridicule-a-bandwidth-thief/comment-page-1/#comment-1940 Wisnaes.com - Visual communication » Bandwith theft Fri, 02 Feb 2007 17:21:59 +0000 http://www.eirikso.com/2006/06/19/how-to-ridicule-a-bandwidth-thief/#comment-1940 [...] site and I do neither speak the language nor write it. Then I remembered an article I read at Eirikso.com about this and thought I would try something similar just to see if it was [...] [...] site and I do neither speak the language nor write it. Then I remembered an article I read at Eirikso.com about this and thought I would try something similar just to see if it was [...]

]]> By: Eirikso http://eirikso.com/2006/06/19/how-to-ridicule-a-bandwidth-thief/comment-page-1/#comment-1939 Eirikso Tue, 28 Nov 2006 08:17:07 +0000 http://www.eirikso.com/2006/06/19/how-to-ridicule-a-bandwidth-thief/#comment-1939 Yes. Indeed. He caught my joke and have been sporty enough to hotlink from this article as well. :-) Yes. Indeed. He caught my joke and have been sporty enough to hotlink from this article as well. :-)

]]> By: ralph emerson http://eirikso.com/2006/06/19/how-to-ridicule-a-bandwidth-thief/comment-page-1/#comment-1938 ralph emerson Tue, 28 Nov 2006 07:48:18 +0000 http://www.eirikso.com/2006/06/19/how-to-ridicule-a-bandwidth-thief/#comment-1938 It seems that Elvis has caught on to your little joke… by hotlinking a picture from this post showing him hotlinking. It seems that Elvis has caught on to your little joke… by hotlinking a picture from this post showing him hotlinking.

]]> By: Eirikso http://eirikso.com/2006/06/19/how-to-ridicule-a-bandwidth-thief/comment-page-1/#comment-1919 Eirikso Thu, 29 Jun 2006 08:31:36 +0000 http://www.eirikso.com/2006/06/19/how-to-ridicule-a-bandwidth-thief/#comment-1919 I agree on the fact that this case alone is not much of a theft. And as you say, this is the way the internet works. Hotlinking is an important part of the success of sites like Flickr and YouTube. But hotlinking can be a problem. It can bring sites down. It can add up and eventually be an extra cost for the site owner. You can read more about that <a href="http://altlab.com/hotlinking.html" rel="nofollow">here</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bandwidth_theft" rel="nofollow">here</a> and <a href="http://www.google.no/search?hl=en&client=firefox-a&rls=org.mozilla%3Aen-US%3Aofficial&q=%22Bandwidth+Theft%22&btnG=Search" rel="nofollow">here</a>. <blockquote>Still.. whats the “point” ?</blockquote> The main point of this article was to show that you run a risk when you give a third party complete control of a window in your own page. I agree on the fact that this case alone is not much of a theft. And as you say, this is the way the internet works. Hotlinking is an important part of the success of sites like Flickr and YouTube.

But hotlinking can be a problem. It can bring sites down. It can add up and eventually be an extra cost for the site owner.

You can read more about that here, here and here.

Still.. whats the “point” ?

The main point of this article was to show that you run a risk when you give a third party complete control of a window in your own page.

]]> By: Aaron http://eirikso.com/2006/06/19/how-to-ridicule-a-bandwidth-thief/comment-page-1/#comment-1921 Aaron Wed, 28 Jun 2006 12:30:37 +0000 http://www.eirikso.com/2006/06/19/how-to-ridicule-a-bandwidth-thief/#comment-1921 I don't understand the term "bandwidth thief" considering the amount of bits we are talking about. A better analogy might be that you got pick-pocketed and the thief made off with a business card from the bar you visited last night, an empty pack of gum, and a few pennies in spare change. There also seems to be a fundamental lack of understanding about how the internet "works" (and I don't mean technically, I mean the collaborative networked experiment which has been happening for the last dozen or so years). If you are truely paranoid a simple approach would use a script that changes all your files around nightly on your website, updating the links, replacing the old images with something offensive such as a photo of a cow or a piece of cheese. Still.. whats the "point" ? I don’t understand the term “bandwidth thief” considering the amount of bits we are talking about. A better analogy might be that you got pick-pocketed and the thief made off with a business card from the bar you visited last night, an empty pack of gum, and a few pennies in spare change.

There also seems to be a fundamental lack of understanding about how the internet “works” (and I don’t mean technically, I mean the collaborative networked experiment which has been happening for the last dozen or so years).

If you are truely paranoid a simple approach would use a script that changes all your files around nightly on your website, updating the links, replacing the old images with something offensive such as a photo of a cow or a piece of cheese.

Still.. whats the “point” ?

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