Help... Computer Geek needed...!!

ostketten · Post by **ostketten** » Tue Jan 01, 2008 12:58 pm

Hey guys, I want to copy protect some data cd's I will be burning, not encryption though (ie. password protection) that won't do it, I need to prevent someone from making a duplicate with third party burning software (roxio for example) or simply dragging the files off the disk and burning them to a new disk with Windows. I don't need anything fancy, Im not trying to keep James Bond from copying these, I just want to stop the average bear from making copies for his buddies etc. Anybody know of a relatively low cost solution for this...?? Any help is much appreciated, thanks.

[CAT]CplSlade · Post by **[CAT]CplSlade** » Tue Jan 01, 2008 1:46 pm

Maybe this will help?

http://www.cypherix.co.uk/index.htm

Google brings up a number of software suggestions but most are pay-to-play.

ostketten · Post by **ostketten** » Tue Jan 01, 2008 2:57 pm

Maybe this will help?

http://www.cypherix.co.uk/index.htm

Google brings up a number of software suggestions but most are pay-to-play.

Unfortunately this won't do it, it falls into the category of "encryption" which in essence means password protection. This would be good for protecting something you don't want unauthorized users to have access to, but it won't do for something you want to make multiple copies of and then distribute to the public, because you would have to provide each recipient with a password in order to access the files on the disk, and once the person has access to the files they could make as many copies as they want. What I need is something that will burn files to the CD, and make it "read only" at the same time, meaning the files on the disk could be opened and read or printed out (these are Adobe PDF files), but could not be tranferred to the hard drive or burned to a blank disk. I don't mind paying something, I just don't want to spend $50 or more to get the job done. Thanks anyway for the link.

[CAT]CplSlade · Post by **[CAT]CplSlade** » Tue Jan 01, 2008 5:16 pm

Sorry about that. I didn't read through the entire FAQ on that software. It seemed the most promising of that hits I did get.

I found this later:

http://www.freedom-to-tinker.com/?p=946

Unfortunately, I personally have not heard of a way to do what you want without encryption because as you know, if it could be done there would be no music piracy. Even the article I just linked admits more sophisticated means can lift those files from your disc. I certainly know that 99% of dvds out on the market are not safe from methods I'm personally aware of

.

ostketten · Post by **ostketten** » Tue Jan 01, 2008 6:04 pm

Even the article I just linked admits more sophisticated means can lift those files from your disc.

Oh yeah, I understand that... I just want to make it more difficult for the average Joe to drag and drop the files into his Windows explorer and presto, 5 mins. and one blank disk later he's got a usable copy to give away to his pals. I realize I'm not gonna thwart a determined individual who has the right software and the time to do it. Thanks for the latest link, I'll check it out.

grunt1 · Post by **grunt1** » Tue Jan 01, 2008 6:14 pm

If possible, can you say what type of files these are? pdf, video, images, word documents, ?

ostketten · Post by **ostketten** » Tue Jan 01, 2008 6:27 pm

If possible, can you say what type of files these are?

Yep..as mentioned above they are Adobe PDF files.

I'm beginning to think there is no cheap or easy way to do this, so I may just give up the whole idea of copy protection. If anybody knows a relatively inexpensive and/or easy way to do it please let me know. Thanks.