Jump to content
WnSoft Forums

Security Idea


Casey

Recommended Posts

I have an idea that *may* work for those of us trying to prohibit people from taking images from a presentaiton. Disabling the print screen buttons is no big deal. The problem is that you can de-compile an .exe file and get the images. It seems to me that you could ENCRYPT the image files as they are written to the .exe files. That would stop 99.9% of people from getting your images...... I think.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Casey,

I am a registered user of Paint Shop Pro which has a screen capture feature bulit into it. I quickly created a Slideshow from Px2Exe and ran it.

I activated my hot button for the screen capture and was able to Grab" images from the running slide show.

How would you "encrypt" an image to put into a slide show? Wouldn't you need some software to decrypt the image within a running slideshow?

The only way (my opinion) is to watermark the image OR make it a low res picture that even if it was "grabbed" from a capture program, it wouldn't be of any resolution to print it out.

Anyone else?

;)

Marian

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The picture encyption protection process would not work here ... as Marian describes that there also needs a procedure to dycyrpt the image. Also as JRB (formerly jb) states ... even if there was a process to dycyrpt the image ... one can still use Screen Capture.

As always ... I always give users, previewers or potential customers ... only the parts I want them to have totally free. These parts maybe watermarked or incomplete in some form or manner. If you want to sell your entire "pie" ... dont give them the whole "pie" to taste ... just a slice.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

This is very similar to the questions people ask me about ways to stop people copying their pictures from their website...

Bottom line, if they want it....they shall get it. The only people you *may* stop, are the ones that don't know how to use shortcuts or read raw html.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Stu writes:

The picture encyption protection process would not work here ... as Marian describes that there also needs a procedure to dycyrpt the image.

So... you can somehow extract the images from the .exe file and get back the original .jpg files? Without sharing this with the world, perhaps you might e-mail me and tell me how this works. Occasionally I have images in my own PTE presentations and manage to lose the originals (or at least misplace them). The ability to "extract" back the images out of an .exe could be very useful. Let me know how this works if you can.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Truelight,

Unless, you didn't see the post up top, a screen capture program CAN "grab" the images from the slideshow!

There's 2 methods to "frustrate" a user from PRINTING them or getting a "GOOD" screen capture.

1. PUT A WATER MARK ON THE IMAGE (ACROSS IT.)

2. SCAN THE IMAGE IN AT VERY LOW DPI TO PREVENT PRINTING!

Forget about ENCYPTION software! That's another DIFFERENT issue!

Marian

:rolleyes:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

No matter what you do, there is always a way around it such as reverse engineering an executable file. I look at it this way: If a user has the technical skills and software to reverse engineer my executable code and wants my images badly enough to go to all that work to get them, let him have them!

All you can do is protect theft from otherwise honest people. A dedicated thief will always find a way around whatever you try to do to protect intellectual property. I doubt that even a dedicated thief would have much luck making much off most our images anyway - it's not like most of our photos are fine art masterpieces. Sometimes I think we are like an old dog with a dirty old bone that most other dogs wouldn't want anyway, but we will show our teeth, growl and protect it with our very life even though probably nobody wants it anyway :-)

Best regards,

Lin

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Gee... big response! Not quite as elementary as I'd suggested, folks! The screen capture programs access what is called the "screen buffer", which is created by the computer in the video card. It's sort of like the computer creates one whole frame so many times per second via the video card. The frame buffer is the last stop before going to your monitor. Disabling access to the frame buffer isn't really that difficult, although it's not a technique that is used as often as it could be. I'm getting out of my depth here, but I understand that it has something to do with the various flavors of frame buffers (which is a hardware device).

As far as encrypting/decryping goes, the idea is the PTE does the encryping when the exe is created and the .exe does the decrypting when it is run. But if you decompile the exe the images will still be encrypted and useless for stealing. You'd have to figure out the decryption algorhythm to make a go of it and THAT is beyond 99.9% of people.

For those using a digital signal (LCD panels), prohibiting sceen captures is a snap. It's the analog monitors that are still difficult (and dominant).

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Lin & Casey!

I agree with all the comments, BUT what person (World super hacker?) is going to reverse engineer/dissamble Pix2Exe to "get at" some images?

I use mine for photography purposes. (Portraits, families, weddings,etc.) Who is willing to "reverse engineering/hack" at a slide show file to grab "an 8x10?" What's that person's time worth?

It's just a heck of a lot easier if they came to you and spent the money to purchase one!

While I'm at it, what do you (I do photography) use PX2Exe for, that makes one "worry" about stealing images?

:rolleyes:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Marian,

For some, if not all, it's the principal of the thing. It's kinda like the question of downloading "free" music that really isn't free. The photographer has rights over his/her photographs and the world should not think that they have free access and use of them just because they can "capture" them. The question really becomes sensitive when your trying to make a living with your photographs. That's one persons opinion.

JRB :rolleyes:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

While I'm at it, what do you (I do photography) use PX2Exe for, that makes one "worry" about stealing images?

I'm a photographer also, and most of my work is done for clients who will eventually (or not) purchase an expensive piece of art from a gallery. I really don't care if someone "steals" my photographs from a slideshow because I'm not selling the photograph per se, I'm selling the service of providing quality photos of a very expensive piece of artwork to allow the potential buyer to make sound purchasing decisions without spending a few thousand dollars in travel to see the art in person.

On photos which I do sell as photos, I use encripted watermarks which are invisible on prints, but can be detected electronically on the file itself. Only if an individual or large business would begin selling my work for profit, would I have any interest in pursuing legal action against them, and in most cases I would wait until they had already made a windfall profit to make the cost of litigation worthwhile.

By and large, it's a non-issue with me. I think that worry about it is completely overblown and that there is really little one can do to prevent a dedicated theif from stealing. A couple years ago when I was in Beijing, there were perfect copies of major MicroSoft software being openly sold on the streets for the equivalent of $10 per. Same but legal software in the U.S. was selling for over $500. They were complete with manuals, holographic seals, etc., I doubt that even MicroSoft would be able to easily tell that they were copies.

If a company with MicroSoft's resources can't stop this, I think we are kidding ourselves that we have any chance at all - so having someone steal a photo or two from a PTE slideshow is probably very low on my priority list of worries... :rolleyes:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

That doesn't make it right or even O.K. Because it's the theft of a small item should not deter us from pointing out the wrongness and seeking ways to limit it and even prevent it. I'm sure the large retail chains will agree. Because a wrongful act seems impossible to stop should not end in our resignation and acceptance of it as "more trouble than it's worth" to deal with it. That's how a society declines.

JRB

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Lin & JRB,

I agree with you both. Back in the 70's, I spent a year in Taiwan. I saw rampant copyright stuff going on. (What can you do?)

In this situation, we are users of this product and ideas are being "thrown out" to prevent someone from grabbing "our" work!

If someone wants to "actively" hack at the program to steal the image (one way or another) then, how are we to know?

In the meantime, we do the best we can!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

In terms of reverse engineering, the vernacular here is "decompiling" and there are freeware tools on the net that will do it almost effortlessly and you're left with everything that you put into the executable file.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Casey,

Correct again! But, I have to add again, the "normal" user will NOT do this!

Hmm, let's see! I need to have a portrait sitting. My photographer uses P2XE to show me the "proofs."

I think I'll surf the web for a decompiler, and then spend several weeks, trying to learn THAT program (which is shareware, "crippled" to a point) to extract an 8x10 which I like of myself!

Nah! I'll look for Freeware! This one is no good, that one is useless, etc

NOT!

:rolleyes:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Mild deterant.

Crypto-Lock by RTSoftware

Version - 2.01

Website - RTSoftware

======================================================

A completed Pictures to exe file cant be accessed with a resource hacker, as a portion in it is compressed with a program like ASPak.

DECOMPILING ...I found this program which can encrypt the whole file, or just the PE Header in your .exe file.

I suggest minimum encryption (PE header) as a full encryption (On PII 350MHz computer, 5.45MB file took about 45 mins) With the correct password the file will automatically decrypt and execute your .exe file. The password you enter during

encryption is processed with SHA-1 if it is less than 36 characters

long. The resultant key is then used to encrypt either part of the

file (minimum encryption) or the whole file (maximum encryption).

For both encryptions, the part to be encrypted is compressed first

to deter cryptoanalysis.

The only way to recover the original file (executables only) is when it has been decrypted and is running.

Just a suggestion...

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Steev

What good will it do to encrypt a slideshow? I downloaded the Crypto-Lock by RTSoftware program as you mentioned and I installed it. I created a slideshow and encrypted it.

All it does is to ask for a password. You have to give the password to your client, so they can view the slideshow!

I was then able to screen capture the images anyway!

What good does the encryption do for Pic2Exe?

:rolleyes:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Marian,

What do you have to do to screen capture an image? Is it a keystroke that automatically does it? In P2E you can set it so the Print Screen button does not work. I know there are other 3rd party programs that I believe use keystrokes. If this is the case, why not lock all keys except the [esc] key (which shuts down the program). Wouldn't this prevent the use of 3rd party screen capture software?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

cameraman

Such a function is quite effective in detering even the most sauvy user.

However ... PTE does not have this function . Such a function needs to be able to be implemented internally by the compiled show exe. Using external 3rd party apps that execute this function wont work to your benefit.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Regarding Individual photographs total protection is nigh on impossible and furthermore anyone can get the idea and reproduce it themselves. What is more worrying is the actual concept of a particular presentation.

I saw PTE in August and after 5 mins I knew I wanted to buy it, It was so good I did. As other people have said is it worth all that hassle to rip off a particular photo?

So now and boy am I having trouble all ways. Timing PTE is a real pain, I have been reading all the postings on here and had come to various conclusions myself. One of them being that I had a presentation ready, then I resized all the pics down. The timings went to pot!!! I had saved 10MB of space but of course each image was loading quicker and so it went on and on. Now I have it in synch (manually) and yes on different machines it runs at different speeds, that I expected. I can't work out how to it in the synch window because I need to synch both pic duration and effect duration. (Any ideas most welcome)

This is now getting to me as this is a presentation I first did 21 years ago on a 3 slide projector system and I thought at last I can now get it out to a wider audience, and this forum seems to be the best I have ever seen.

Now comes the crunch and returns me to my opening response to a previous message. When I first presented my work it was deemed to be worthy of Euorpean worth, now that I have redone it in computer form all the people that I have shown it to say I have to sell it and let lots of people see it. I do want people to see and I am willing to do so, but do I do that on here and risk any strangers ripping off the idea, not that from what I see any in this forum would do that, or do I just say this is for all and let it go? Also it would be nice to earn some money at last.

As I said at the start individual pics can be copied or even reproduced but an entire work is a different matter.

Discuss

Mike

Link to comment
Share on other sites

why not lock all keys except the [esc] key (which shuts down the program).  Wouldn't this prevent the use of 3rd party screen capture software?

Sure, it would. But it would also mean that you can't switch away from the show to do something else when a part of the show you have already seen and are not interested in is playing.

That's what we have Windows for.... to be able to do more than one thing at a time. The idea of an application taking over the entire PC is very un-Windows-like!

This is PARTICULARLY relevant for long shows until Igor gives us a way of skipping to a place in a show at execution time.

Harold

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...