Bandwidth/Image Theft

Bamfette · Post by **Bamfette** » Sat Jan 10, 2004 8:56 am

I just found this great article on why not to steal bandwidth, and what exactly that means. at buffyguide.com, if you can believe it. here is a link to it, cus they put it way better than i could.

http://www.buffyguide.com/webmasters/directlink.shtml

i bring this up again because Nightscrawlers had a HUGE problem with image theft a while back which caused the site to crash because we ended up exeeding our bandwidth allocation for the month. all because people were linking directly to our smilies, avatars and gallery images on their own sites or forums. I know some people don't see this as a big deal, webspace is free, right? wrong! our site is very popular. we average without the bandwidth theft problem 24 GIGS of data transfer every month. this isn't some little homepage that uses *maybe* a GIG a month. we use more bandwidh in one month than the average homepage does in four years. and then add the theft, we had a few real bad offenders who linked to large images at very popular forums, which added about 10 gigs to our total. and C has to PAY for that. moot topic at the moment anyway, since we had to turn off remote linking at this site via .htaccess file, so that any image someone links to ends up broken. but we never should have had to do that, and nor should any other site. and people still do use images from other sites in their sigs or avatars here without permission. read that article to see why what you're doing is real THEFT.

Northstars Love · Post by **Northstars Love** » Sat Jan 10, 2004 10:23 am

So true Jill. Someone is paying money for bandwidth and linking to their image(s) is only taking bandwidth from them. I know I wouldn't like it if someone linked to my images. I only get 3GB per month.

It's easy to get free or cheap webhosting for your images and avatars. Hell, I have 100MB space(which I pay for) for my website and I use that, AOL and Village Photos to host my images and avatars.

I read EZBoard has had the same problem. They have been inundated with very upset people that have had EzBoard members linking to their images and stealing bandwidth. So it is, unfortunately, happening all over.

But it does not make it right however.

Thanks for the link Jill.

Bamfette · Post by **Bamfette** » Sat Jan 10, 2004 10:08 pm

the thing you really have to remember for avatars and smilies in particular is that forums in general get WAAAAAY more traffic than regular websites because people are constantly checking in on them. true, avatars and smilies are small and end up being cached by your browser, but it still adds up considering we have around 1000 'visits' not hits, visits from unique members, a day. and we're not even on the high end of message board traffic. not the low end, either, but we don't come anywhere near ComiX-Fan or Millarworld, for instance. if someone links to our graphics at one of those places (which CX-Fan disallows, but Millarworld and many others don't) that has tremendously high traffic... bandwidth goes through the roof. if you get a free webspace somewhere, they will offer you enough bandwidth a month to host an avatar that you can use at various forums, AND run a reasonably sized website. i think the average they offer is like 5 gigs a month. trust me, that's more than enough for hosting an avatar even if you use it multiple places. but when bandwidth theft is a problem here, we end up hosting like 50 or more people's avatars, and even some full sized gallery images, and it adds up very quickly.

Maelstrom · Post by **Maelstrom** » Sun Jan 11, 2004 7:59 pm

Originally posted by Bamfette
if someone links to our graphics at one of those places (which CX-Fan disallows, but Millarworld and many others don't) that has tremendously high traffic... bandwidth goes through the roof.

Thank you for the article. Since I don't have my own site, and have very little idea how the process works, I had never even considered the concept of bandwidth theft. I kinda assumed one would just do a cut+paste instead.

But since you brought the subject up, is there any way we can forbid this practice? You said that CX-Fan disallows direct graphic links. Is it something we can do? And if so, is there any reason we would not want to do it? It seems that this is really creating trouble for us. I've lost count of how many time this place has crashed (temporarily or for days).....

Or am I misunderstanding the statement? is it that CX-Fan disallows anyone to use any direct links ON their page, as opposed to TO their page?

Bamf Bunny · Post by **Bamf Bunny** » Sun Jan 11, 2004 8:09 pm

Originally posted by Maelstrom
But since you brought the subject up, is there any way we can forbid this practice?

Yes - and it's long been done, due to just this sort of abuse.

The main reason Scrawlers would allow it is to allow people to directly link to, for example, some of the buttons along the lower left; they now have to say "Save one of the following buttons and link".

I think a larger problem now is Scrawlers members linking to offsite images in signatures and avatars. It'd be possible to force people to have their images hosted on Scrawlers, but that, in turn, would increase Scrawlers' bandwidth - and most people who keep their avatars offsite (like me) have their own webspace somewhere.

A number of users, though, have linked images from sites that don't want their images used this way. It's simply not feasible for staff to check every avatar's source. It'd be possible to disallow links to images on certain sites, I suppose, if they were frequently abused ... but in general it makes more sense for this blocking to be done from the host; and that's not always feasible.

Shadow_Dancer · Post by **Shadow_Dancer** » Sun Jan 11, 2004 8:58 pm

There are a number of free picture sites that can be used to store avatars if someone does not have their own website. I am using photobucket.com for the time being, and it has proved to be very reliable and easy to download to.

It seems to me that members linking their avatars from other types of sites should be encouraged to save the image and transfer it to a picture host instead

Bamfette · Post by **Bamfette** » Mon Jan 12, 2004 12:09 am

Originally posted by Maelstrom
But since you brought the subject up, is there any way we can forbid this practice? You said that CX-Fan disallows direct graphic links. Is it something we can do? And if so, is there any reason we would not want to do it? It seems that this is really creating trouble for us. I've lost count of how many time this place has crashed (temporarily or for days).....

Or am I misunderstanding the statement? is it that CX-Fan disallows anyone to use any direct links ON their page, as opposed to TO their page?

most of the short term outages are simply because we use a cheap web host, it has nothing to do with images. our host is cheap for what we require, and you get what you pay for (but they are getting much better! honest! we used to have to suffer like weekly outages that could last as much as a day, now we get maybe an hour loing outage a month, tops.). we host 5 domains (nightscrawlers itself, me and C's personal websites, uncannyx-sprites.com, heathensent.com) and 7 MySQL databases (the forum, chat, 2 blogs, 1 guestbook, the cam portal, and the oekaki) on the same webspace, and use 450 megs of space between all of them for $20 a month. trust me we wont find a deal like that anywhere else. not to mention the hassle of moing the whole site.... hosting packages for that kind of setup are few and far between while still keeping the price reasonable oh, sure you'll find plenty offering like 7 bucks a month for 500 megs, but they usually offer very limited extras for that kind of price, only one database, etc. and/or not nearly enough bandwidth. if, for instance, we were to go with the no doubt reliable host that buffyguide.com reccomended, the hosting package that offers enough webspace and bandwidth costs $54 a month which is about average, (and it is still one database shy of what we need, and it makes no mention of multiple domains.). we don't have that kind of money to spend on NS, so C fanangled a much cheaper alternative. our package isn't actually on there, but it is most akin the Pro package. but better. we have a custom deal happening. from what i have gathered from C, we doubled our former $10 a month account after the bandwidth thing. they doubled all our features, and we now pay $20, and it works out to better than the Pro plan.... C says they do it 'cause most people don't keep their webspace going for long before getting bored with it and abandoning it, so they are happy to have a long term customer even at discounted rates. when the site went down because of bandwidth theft, it was for about a week, and when you tried to access the site, you got a message saying we had exceeded our bandwidth.

the other outages were one time due to hacking, again for about a week since we (as in all three admins... what timing, eh?) were in San Diego when it happened, so could not fix it untill we got back. and other times, just server hiccups. nothing we did, nothing we can do about it except wait it out. if we payed more for our service, no doubt we would have fewer outages... but how can you argue with $20 vs $50+ every month? but they've gotten better of late, as mentioned.

CX-Fan requires you use their selection of on-site avatars, and if you save up enough points you are permitted to upload one. they also restrict thier avartars to 50x50 pixels, which cuts down on the size considerably (ours are 90x150 pixels) they also have turned off the image code in most forums so it is impossible to link to an image except for with a text link to it. we COULD do this. but this detracts from some of the fun, too, so we are trying to ask people to respect netequette instead before we resort to that.

I've pretty much given up on the reserved folder in the avatar gallery unless someone is desperate. for one, people just can't seem to grasp that thsoe images are... well... RESERVED, and not for genral use. i am constantly deleting people's avatars from their profile becuase they choose one from that folder when they arent the one who asked for it. also, now that we have more members, more people ask for them, and frankly, i just don't want to waste my time constantly uploading avatars for people, especially when i have to re-size them half the time. and third, as BB mentioned, it raises our bandwidth and webspace used. webspace isn't such an issue, webspace is cheap, it's bandwidth that's hellishly expensive.

Northstars Love · Post by **Northstars Love** » Mon Jan 12, 2004 8:06 am

Yeah, I joined X Fan not too long ago and I had to pick one of their avatars which I didn't really care for. I prefer mine really and all the other boards I've joined are all different avatars I host on my own webspace. As Jill said, webspace is cheap. Bandwidth is not! So I go with Village Photos to host most of mine. I pay $35.00 for 6 months but I get to upload 350 photos(there are some size restrictions but can't remember them off hand). But I have 100MB daily bandwidth, and as I said, I use it for avatars and photos.

Post by **Elwing** » Wed Mar 03, 2004 4:58 pm

Aye. Sometimes, when I feel bitchy, I go trough my access logs and pick out the bandwidth thieves. Then I find the picture in question, rename it, relink it on my site, and then post something really nasty

under the old file name.

<-this is the nicest one.

Labor intensive, but so satisfying.

the short of it is, don't hotlink to my site, ok?

Maelstrom · Post by **Maelstrom** » Wed Mar 03, 2004 5:10 pm

Elwing, you're actually nicer about it than Maddie.

I saw a website last night that stole bandwidth from Scrawlers, T&B, and Bamf Central. Maddie's stolen stuff showed up as a black link with huge 70 point green typeface that said FUCK YOU BANDWIDTH THIEF. Oh so satisfying. You have to wonder what the "webmaster" (cough*thief*cough) is thinking when they just let that stuff stay on their site.....

Post by **Elwing** » Wed Mar 03, 2004 5:19 pm

most pictures get linked to from message boards. Lots of clueless kiddies link to a nice (and huge) pic in their sig, not realizing that on a well visited board it will get loaded lots and lots and cost me huge amounts of bandwidth. (not to mention how much it slows down the board!) On the plus side, on a well visited board lots of people will get to see that cute "bandwidth thief" image in their sig file!
For some reason they are always spanish speaking boards, by the way. I don't know why that is but it never fails.

Bamfette · Post by **Bamfette** » Wed Mar 03, 2004 6:09 pm

actually Elwing. there is a much easier way to do that, automatically.

create a text file in any plain text editor. Notepad will work. i use UltraEdit though.

RewriteEngine on
RewriteCond %{HTTP_REFERER} !^$
RewriteCond %{HTTP_REFERER} !^http://(www\.)?nightscrawlers.com(/)?.*$ [NC]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_REFERER} !^http://(www\.)?bronzepig.ca(/)?.*$ [NC]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_REFERER} !^http://(www\.)?cstuck.com(/)?.*$ [NC]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_REFERER} !^http://(www\.)?xmbforum.com(/)?.*$ [NC]
RewriteRule .*\.(gif|jpg|jpeg|bmp)$ http://www.nightscrawlers.com/stolen.jpe [R,NC]

replace the websites with ones you would want to allow, including your own, to use your images, and the image with the graphic you wish to display when someone tries to steal your bandwidth. it's called .jpe because if it is called .jpg or .jpeg it creates a loop which will freezes things up and is not good. .jpe will still display it and so long as no other images on your site have that extension, it'll be fine.

save the file as .htaccess JUST .htaccess. nothing before the period and be sure the period is included. if it slaps a .txt on the end, just rename it to take it off. upload to either your base directory or the one where your images are stored. it will protect that directory and all under it.

it isn't working on NS at the moment since Bunny needs to do something to make it work, but on most servers it should work and replace stolen images with a graphic of your choice.

Post by **Elwing** » Wed Mar 03, 2004 6:50 pm

Thanks for the tip, jill, I will defenitely look into that...I have never quite gotten into scripts myself, so it will probably come down to jumping poor overworked bamfbunny again...

sevati · Post by **sevati** » Wed Mar 03, 2004 7:03 pm

Mwahaha. Amy, I loved that big green pic. You forgot the "ALSO: MORON" part. Anywho, I asked Jill for Maddie's email addy since I couldn't remember it, and I sent the page and a way to report it to the abuse team at the host last night. I should prolly check to see what she said.

BAMFCentral · Post by **BAMFCentral** » Wed Mar 03, 2004 7:14 pm

For further prevention, which should work for Nightscrawlers.... not sure about IIS (ie microsoft run servers) if it will work but it adds to what Bamffette is saying. Catching other items other than just Image theft....

http://www.animeast.com/page.php?title=Info

Mad With Power · Post by **Mad With Power** » Wed Mar 03, 2004 7:33 pm

Sevvy, to paraphrase, she said, "why would I report something that amuses me so terribly?"

I'm sure our travels to that site have given it more bandwidth than it's had, ever, so as far as I'm concerned it's great for a lark.

Bamf Bunny · Post by **Bamf Bunny** » Wed Mar 03, 2004 11:28 pm

Originally posted by Bamfette
actually Elwing. there is a much easier way to do that, automatically.

This will work on most servers running Apache. If you don't know what webserver software your host is using, you can look it up using http://www.netcraft.com.

By default, Apache servers limit what you can do with .htaccess files ... though a lot of webhosting sites relax this to allow users to manage their webspace themselves.

Bamfette · Post by **Bamfette** » Fri Mar 05, 2004 6:24 pm

Originally posted by Elwing
Thanks for the tip, jill, I will defenitely look into that...I have never quite gotten into scripts myself, so it will probably come down to jumping poor overworked bamfbunny again...

not that hard, really. just copy and pase what i put there exactly and make a few minor changes

eh, hell. here it is modified for your site:

RewriteEngine on
RewriteCond %{HTTP_REFERER} !^$
RewriteCond %{HTTP_REFERER} !^http://(www.)?blue-elf.com(/)?.*$ [NC]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_REFERER} !^http://(www.)?example.com(/)?.*$ [NC]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_REFERER} !^http://(www.)?nightscrawlers.com(/)?.*$ [NC]
RewriteRule .*.(jpg|jpeg|bmp)$ http://www.blue-elf.com/images/bandwidththief.gif [R,NC]

paste it into a text file save it as .htaccess and you're done! i set it to only protect jpg, since your bandwidth theft graphic is a gif. just to be aware that it leaves gifs on your site still up for grabs. and i left NS on the safe list incase you ever wanted to link to an avatar or something

and... hey El, incase you werent aware, this site: http://www.freewebs.com/eric_griffin/ni ... ctures.htm is using images form pretty much every big NC site out there. you and Bunny are the only ones to not replace the images being stolen. wouldn't it be OH so satisfying to completely break his page?

Maddie made a point earlier that we are actually probably giving him more hits right now than that page has gotten in its entire existence up until this point, but it is still satisfying and funny.

Bamf Bunny · Post by **Bamf Bunny** » Fri Mar 05, 2004 11:23 pm

Originally posted by Bamfette
i set it to only protect jpg, since your bandwidth theft graphic is a gif. just to be aware that it leaves gifs on your site still up for grabs.

gifs deserve protection too!

If you name your bandwidth theft gif so that the last two letters are distinctive (for example, QQ), you can protect all gifs except that one as follows:

RewriteRule [^Q][^Q].*.(gif|jpg|jpeg|bmp)$ http://www.blue-elf.com/images/bandwidththiefQQ.gif [R,NC]

Bamfette · Post by **Bamfette** » Fri Mar 05, 2004 11:30 pm

oooo.... neat trick, i didn't realize you could do that!

now i can link to my avatars if need be, most excelent

Siona · Post by **Siona** » Sat Mar 06, 2004 6:03 am

Thanks bunches for the article, Jill. and I can admit to stealing bandwidth before I knew about the whole thing. *kisses the feet of Steve for telling me*

~Siona

InterNutter · Post by **InterNutter** » Sat Mar 06, 2004 1:35 pm

Briefly OT: I just tried to visit Maddie's site and got an error page. Is her server being a buttmunch or am I doing something wrong?

Back on topic: Yee-owtch. I never realized that could even be a problem. I'm suddenly glad my BBS is penny-ante.

Bamf Bunny · Post by **Bamf Bunny** » Sat Mar 06, 2004 10:50 pm

Originally posted by Bamfette
you and Bunny are the only ones to not replace the images being stolen. wouldn't it be OH so satisfying to completely break his page?

The bitter irony is that my ISP doesn't seem to allow .htaccess. I've even tried some .htaccess files that use methods other than rewrite rules, without luck.

sevati · Post by **sevati** » Sun Mar 07, 2004 4:33 pm

Originally posted by InterNutter
Briefly OT: I just tried to visit Maddie's site and got an error page. Is her server being a buttmunch or am I doing something wrong?

Maddie is closing her site

T&B is no more. I'm sad...

Northstars Love · Post by **Northstars Love** » Sun Mar 07, 2004 6:12 pm

Originally posted by sevati
Originally posted by InterNutter
Briefly OT: I just tried to visit Maddie's site and got an error page. Is her server being a buttmunch or am I doing something wrong?
Maddie is closing her site

T&B is no more. I'm sad...

Trying no to go

but why is Maddie closing T&B?