X-Cart forums

[Warwick]

Is there anybody who has tips on the best way to protect your eGoods? Or do you believe the standard X-Cart setup for eGoods is good enough?

[Jon]

There's nothing in the egood module that prevents people from posting a link on websites, message forums, etc. for download before the link expires. When I sold egoods (audio) I liked to watch my file not found errors and see who was distributing, usually a warning smartened them up and if not I banned them from the store. You could have some checking custom coded into the module to limit the number of downloads before they have to contact you for a new link.

[Warwick]

Originally Posted by Jon

There's nothing in the egood module that prevents people from posting a link on websites, message forums, etc. for download before the link expires. When I sold egoods (audio) I liked to watch my file not found errors and see who was distributing, usually a warning smartened them up and if not I banned them from the store. You could have some checking custom coded into the module to limit the number of downloads before they have to contact you for a new link.

Thanks Jon,
Valuable information, do you have suggestions on where and how to store the eGoodies best protected?

[Jon]

If you have a dedicated server you can store the files below your root directory and then they are completely unaccessible except by a download link. Otherwise store them in a folder with an .htaccess file that blocks access to them.

By doing this you will prevent direct access and then you just need to focus on protecting your download links from misuse.

[wjbrewer]

Jon has given you a lot of good suggestions. I have a module that implements these extra security measures for egoods:

Limit to a single IP
Limit to the same IP that made the original purchase
Limit the number of download attempts (clicks).

Also, it tracks the IP of all attempted downloads, and let you have a real-time view of all of the egoods download activity on your site. It also has the ability to disable a download link if you believe that the download link is being used for unauthorized downloads.

You can check it out here:

http://www.alteredcart.com/Download-Expander-p-1.html

[Warwick]

Originally Posted by Jon

If you have a dedicated server you can store the files below your root directory and then they are completely unaccessible except by a download link. Otherwise store them in a folder with an .htaccess file that blocks access to them.

By doing this you will prevent direct access and then you just need to focus on protecting your download links from misuse.

Thanks Jon, I figure I could store them below my store directory but can I then still access them through X-Cart? i.e. will it be able to see that?

[Warwick]

Originally Posted by wjbrewer

Jon has given you a lot of good suggestions. I have a module that implements these extra security measures for egoods:

Limit to a single IP
Limit to the same IP that made the original purchase
Limit the number of download attempts (clicks).

Also, it tracks the IP of all attempted downloads, and let you have a real-time view of all of the egoods download activity on your site. It also has the ability to disable a download link if you believe that the download link is being used for unauthorized downloads.

You can check it out here:

http://www.alteredcart.com/Download-Expander-p-1.html

Hi Bill,
Thanks but no thanks ... I already use all of your excellent mods
I just want to be extra sure that I have taken all possible precautions.
Warwick (a.k.a. Pieter, remember? )

[wjbrewer]

Forum names...I never know who anyone is.

[Warwick]

Originally Posted by wjbrewer

Forum names...I never know who anyone is.

No Problem Bill, another chance to get your wonderful mods promoted

[Warwick]

Originally Posted by Jon

If you have a dedicated server you can store the files below your root directory and then they are completely unaccessible except by a download link.

Jon, can you explain a bit further? I don't have a dedicated server but do have cpanel access so I can get 'above' public_html. Is this what you mean? And if so how do I make it possible for X-Cart to access there? Thanks.