Anti-copy

Anti-copy

by Mon B -
Number of replies: 4

Hi everyone,

I use Mooddle to offer both free and paid courses. At my old website I had simple webpages with an anti-copyright script to stop anyone stealing the work.

The same script does not appear to work in moodle > resource > webpage.

Does anyone have any advice?

tia
smile

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In reply to Mon B

Re: Anti-copy

by Marcus Green -
Picture of Core developers Picture of Particularly helpful Moodlers Picture of Plugin developers Picture of Testers
It is impossible to comment without more information on your anty-copy screipt. However you should be aware that the PC and the internet is the biggest digital copying system in history and anything you do to prevent copying will be circumvented with ease by large numbers of your potential user base. If you don't want something copied, don't put it on the web. 
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In reply to Mon B

Re: Anti-copy

by Tony Hursh -
Hi, Mon. If your script works by attempting to disable right-click, it's providing a false sense of security at best. See this thread for a lengthy discussion of why this doesn't work.

Fundamentally, if the user can see your page in his browser, your information is already on his or her computer (otherwise there'd be nothing for the browser to display smile). He can get it out of the browser cache, retrieve it with wget or some similar tool, or simply reload the page with Javascript turned off.

Circumventing "anti-copy" scripts is trivial, and these scripts often create serious usability problems for legitimate users.

"Digital files cannot be made uncopyable, any more than water can be made not wet." -- Bruce Schneier
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In reply to Tony Hursh

Re: Anti-copy

by Mon B -

Thank you for your comments.

Yes, I was aware of the 'everything is copyable' issue, and that scripts, etc, can be got around. Just didn't want to make it so easy.

My script was simply disabling right-click. Naturally anyone can even choose to copy all the text by hand. I know. Like I said, just preferred some course wasn't abused. Most users aren't computer savvy and would give up after a simple 'no right-clicking' allowed.

I know, it's not popular. lol

I share so much on the net, but some things are sensitive. And when a user has paid for content... What a boon for the net to have that sort of security! Porbably won't happen in my lifetime. ;)

thanks again smile

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In reply to Mon B

Re: Anti-copy

by Timothy Takemoto -

Dear Mon

It will depend on the students, but I find that it is rather less than one in 30 that can access the page.

Howard Miller mentioned the fact that a building full of adults were stumped by a right click blocker but the javascript that Ravi posts and mine in this thread, does more than block right click.

I have done anonymous surveys, at the end of terms asking if students know anyone who has gotten around the system, and I have yet to have a student say yes (of about 600 students per year, for two years.) Once they have taken the course, they would be free to criticise the security and brag about having beaten it, or berate the course for allowing some students for having beaten it, but everyone says that they could not, or did not, and knew of noone that did, in an anonymous survey. It is also pretty apparent when there are cheaters -- there are people responding quickly with right answers. This is not happening (and it was before I used these sort of measures).

I guess that those that are on the ball will delete the browser cache files just before attempting a test and then look in the cache just afterwards. But another another thing that I do is add a warning with the students IP when they press right click. "Your IP has been recorded" this encourages them to think that various things are being done.

I think it would be possible also to cause quiz pages to call home if they are hotlinked from the cache, if the student does not turn off their internet connection. The possibilities like this, probably help to deter those students that know what to do.

Of course, randomisation and pools of questions help too.

Please see my last post in this this thread.
http://moodle.org/mod/forum/discuss.php?d=12821

Copy blocking works to an extent, and an extent is enough to make it worth doing.

Tim

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