Stop People Stealing Your Flash
It's easy forget the new generation of flash designers/developers coming through the ranks that are searching for the same answers I was just a few years ago.
So here it is, the easiest and quickest way to protect and stop people stealing your flash video, flash animation, flash applications and flash actionscript. It's called a container file. A blank, empty, useless swf that does nothing apart from calling another flash file onto the stage.
A container flash file is great for more that just protecting your flash, it also gives you a platform to load your website or video .etc and set it exactly how you want on the stage. That be centered, spanning, fixed or layered - what ever you need.
Container Flash Example:
loadMovie("mywebsite.swf", _root.dropZone);
So for a basic example of how you would use a container flash file, lets assume we are going to use it to launch our flash website and protect its flash video, animation and actionscript. On frame one you would set up a blank movie clip called/labeled dropZone, you would place this file where ever you would like the website to be loaded - presumably centered. Non spanned.
Frame one, on an actionscrpt layer, you would insert the code above. This calls the external "mywebsite.swf" file and places it in the dropZone (yor target area). Your external website swf would contain the preloader and once the load movie command is executed - your preloader will load in from the external file and your website will apear.
This basically stops people using something like "sothink swf catcher" to harvest your flash file. Now all they will get is a blank SWF. :)
So here it is, the easiest and quickest way to protect and stop people stealing your flash video, flash animation, flash applications and flash actionscript. It's called a container file. A blank, empty, useless swf that does nothing apart from calling another flash file onto the stage.
A container flash file is great for more that just protecting your flash, it also gives you a platform to load your website or video .etc and set it exactly how you want on the stage. That be centered, spanning, fixed or layered - what ever you need.
Container Flash Example:
loadMovie("mywebsite.swf", _root.dropZone);
So for a basic example of how you would use a container flash file, lets assume we are going to use it to launch our flash website and protect its flash video, animation and actionscript. On frame one you would set up a blank movie clip called/labeled dropZone, you would place this file where ever you would like the website to be loaded - presumably centered. Non spanned.
Frame one, on an actionscrpt layer, you would insert the code above. This calls the external "mywebsite.swf" file and places it in the dropZone (yor target area). Your external website swf would contain the preloader and once the load movie command is executed - your preloader will load in from the external file and your website will apear.
This basically stops people using something like "sothink swf catcher" to harvest your flash file. Now all they will get is a blank SWF. :)
Labels: Flash
posted by Aden Hepburn at
8:50 PM
2 Comments:
Sounds like a good first line of defense, however that empty .swf could be decompiled and the location of the 2nd .swf could be determined.
Ofcourse! Just like anything else, if someone really really wants to steal it, then they will find a way.
People who have SWF decompilers will still have the capability to steal your scripts .etc
But what this does do, as your correctly stated give you a front line of defence, if someone can be bothered to decompile the flash, file the loadMovie call function, gather that external link and source that SWF - then they pretty dam keen to get your work!
Let them have it. It's a compliment to the quality of your work :)
Post a Comment
Links to this post:
Create a Link
<< Home