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There are 3 main methods used to stonewall the saving of images from online content.

1. embed in flash/pdf

2. javascript to interrupt right clicking

3. overlaying a transparent image to capture the click

I say 'stonewall' because as a general rule: If the user can see/hear it then the user can save it. Most often in the pristine format supplied.

Content providers should be aware of this already and simply not make commercially-useful content available online. (E.g. by using low resolution/overly compressed or watermarked images.)

Where degraded quality is acceptable: Consider that even the least technical person you know is able to pickup a camera and point it at their screen.



4. Chunk the image into tiles so even if you get the pristine source, you need to reassemble it.

You can still do screenshots, but it makes it much harder to suck down an entire gallery.




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