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Possible Duplicate:
Is it possible to protect from downloading a video from a site.

i'm looking for a way to allow mp3 files to be streamed using a flash player on a php web page, but to hide and protect these files from download.

embedding the file into the swf is unacceptable for this project, since there will be many mp3 files, uploaded by users.

i have seen this kind of protection implemented in http://www.realworldremixed.com/ , when i tried to figure out how they did it, i didn't see a reference to the mp3 file even with a sniffer attached to IE. anyone knows how i can implement something like this?

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Nir Gavish
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    @the "not programming related" voters: That's a very fine line you're drawing there, between development (which this clearly is) and programming (which it may or may not be). By all means close as a duplicate or as subjective or unanswerable or something (I'm not voting that way, but...) but "not programming related" seems off-base. – T.J. Crowder Feb 09 '10 at 11:37
  • of course it's programming related! what else is it related to? CHEESE? – Nir Gavish Feb 09 '10 at 11:51
  • @OP: http://superuser.com/questions/14224/how-to-explain-drm-cannot-work/14764#14764 – RCIX Feb 09 '10 at 11:55
  • i'm afraid this **isn't** a DRM issue, and is not DRM related. i explicitly mentioned an specific example which does not use DRM, it simply does a great job at hiding the file. this is the sort of solution i'm looking for. with that said, thanks to all of you guys for your insight, it's much appreciated. – Nir Gavish Feb 09 '10 at 12:10
  • A basic truth about the internet: If it is online, it can be downloaded. The only way to protect stuff from being downloaded is to take it offline. - Sure, you can try to obfuscate it, but it does nothing but delay the inevitable. - Bottom line: to be visible **in any form** to a client, content must be download-able (streaming or otherwise), and as such can be downloaded. -- It's best to just accept this and focus on minimizing the loss when your stuff gets downloaded. Like embedding logos in images/videos, adding spoken commercials in audio, etc.. – Atli Feb 09 '10 at 12:33
  • we are in agreement, if it's sent to the client, then it's sent to the client. however, you can make things more difficult for an offender. and i repeat, i did **explicitly mention an specific example** and asked how they did it. that did not stop this question from being labeled a duplicate and then closed. (i cannot find realworldremixed.com anywhere on SA, but hey, it's much easier to hit the "vote to close this question" button than it is to follow a link. links are hard, i know. – Nir Gavish Feb 10 '10 at 18:38

3 Answers3

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See the question Sarfraz linked for several opinions.

You can half do this with streaming, because it's harder for casual users to "steal" streamed content than downloaded content. Harder, but not hard.

You can try to do this with DRM. DRM is a very attractive idea to content owners, but ultimately, you have to weigh the pros and cons. Obviously getting some degree of protection for your content is (to you) a "pro," but consider the very large "cons" as well: DRM is inconvenient for your users. It requires infrastructure to support. It's not an impediment at all to professional content thieves or even motivated amateurs. You can pretty easily find "DRM-stripped" copies of nearly all content out there; once one person has gone to the trouble, they tend to make it available to others (either for free or for a price).

Meanwhile, you're using (wasting?) valuable development time trying to prevent something that's not preventable in today's world.

I'd say: Go with streaming because it raises the bar, and then just accept that your content will get taken without your consent by some percentage of users. I assert you can lower that percentage by making it easy and convenient for users to acquire the content with your consent, which DRM is exactly the opposite of doing.

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T.J. Crowder
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Use a Streming library like FFMpeg. It is the easiest way.

Chathuranga Chandrasekara
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in my opinion there's no secure way to protect your mp3 because the user can always easily record the wave on his sound card.

the only way that keep a surfer from leach your songs is changing the volume of the song every 'X' seconds. this kind of up and down will permit the listening but will discourage the download

Alessandro Annini
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