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Prevent Screen Capturing

Scheduled Pinned Locked Moved C / C++ / MFC
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  • E Emilio Garavaglia

    Just one curiosity: why is your "vendor" giving "confidential document" to people he doesn't trust? Why should the "customer" trust you "vendor"'s products? If the the bug is in the problem, every answer is "bad".

    2 bugs found. > recompile ... 65534 bugs found. :doh:

    M Offline
    M Offline
    Moak
    wrote on last edited by
    #24

    Emilio Garavaglia wrote:

    why is your "vendor" giving "confidential document" to people he doesn't trust? Why should the "customer" trust you "vendor"'s products?

    Why was original poster looking for a possible technical solution? Because opportunity makes the thief and by limiting the quick-n-easy access you already prevent the majority of people from doing something stupid. It's why we have crappy locks on our doors, it does not keep out trained intruders/thiefs/ninjas, but still better than having them unlocked, just a little lock does a great job. Unfortunately, there is no simple technical solution to prevent data theft or screen capturing. /M

    Chat in Europe :java: Now with 24% more Twitter

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    • M Moak

      Hehe. :) What wonders me that the scanned quality is so bad, maybe has something to do with overexposing/interference from two light sources (scanner and screen).

      Chat in Europe :java: Now with 24% more Twitter

      C Offline
      C Offline
      Code o mat
      wrote on last edited by
      #25

      If possible, try to turn the backlight off of the screen.

      > The problem with computers is that they do what you tell them to do and not what you want them to do. < > "It doesn't work, fix it" does not qualify as a bug report. < > Amazing what new features none of the programmers working on the project ever heard of you can learn about when reading what the marketing guys wrote about it. <

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      • I Iain Clarke Warrior Programmer

        Moak wrote:

        Btw, it works

        And to think, I thought I was talking rubbish... Iain.

        I am one of "those foreigners coming over here and stealing our jobs". Yay me!

        C Offline
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        Code o mat
        wrote on last edited by
        #26

        We have a saying that goes "A good priest learns until his death.", don't ask me where that came from though...

        > The problem with computers is that they do what you tell them to do and not what you want them to do. < > "It doesn't work, fix it" does not qualify as a bug report. < > Amazing what new features none of the programmers working on the project ever heard of you can learn about when reading what the marketing guys wrote about it. <

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        • M Moak

          Emilio Garavaglia wrote:

          why is your "vendor" giving "confidential document" to people he doesn't trust? Why should the "customer" trust you "vendor"'s products?

          Why was original poster looking for a possible technical solution? Because opportunity makes the thief and by limiting the quick-n-easy access you already prevent the majority of people from doing something stupid. It's why we have crappy locks on our doors, it does not keep out trained intruders/thiefs/ninjas, but still better than having them unlocked, just a little lock does a great job. Unfortunately, there is no simple technical solution to prevent data theft or screen capturing. /M

          Chat in Europe :java: Now with 24% more Twitter

          D Offline
          D Offline
          David Crow
          wrote on last edited by
          #27

          Locks are only meant to keep the honest ones out.

          "One man's wage rise is another man's price increase." - Harold Wilson

          "Fireproof doesn't mean the fire will never come. It means when the fire comes that you will be able to withstand it." - Michael Simmons

          "Man who follows car will be exhausted." - Confucius

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          • C Code o mat

            Just a side-question: would placing your flatscreen on a scanner actually work i wonder? I mean, since the scanner has a bright lightsource i supose the reflection of that (on the screen) would supress the light coming from the display. If there's a way to turn the scanner's lightsource off (or to not turn in on in the first place) and do the scanning than i supose it could work...but it would probably produce some fancy interference/refresh-asynchronity artifacts.

            > The problem with computers is that they do what you tell them to do and not what you want them to do. < > "It doesn't work, fix it" does not qualify as a bug report. < > Amazing what new features none of the programmers working on the project ever heard of you can learn about when reading what the marketing guys wrote about it. <

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            Y Offline
            Yusuf
            wrote on last edited by
            #28

            Well, there is one way of testing it, Why don't you try it. I suspect it won't work.

            Yusuf May I help you?

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            • I Iain Clarke Warrior Programmer

              Nishad S wrote:

              But if the application is a viewer for a confidential document?

              That was my guess, really. My suggestion about the UI was very tongue in cheek. But the points given to you are very good ones. a) It's not your computer - but that might not be true, if the environment is provided for this purpose. Think train ticket purchasing kiosks. b) If a person can see it, they can use a camera, pen and paper, or even just their own brain cells to remember. If you can trust a user not take a photo, you can trust them not to use Print Screen. If the computer is under your control (Let's say you work for the CIA in IT), then it doesn't matter if they print screen - they have no usable USB slots to export the data! This strikes me as a daft requirement by someone who has not given it a lot of thought. Now, which Clancy novel was it, where every time a document was shown to someone, it had a deliberate error, so they'd know who the leak was...? I think the only way you can stop people is to make it a firable offence to steal, and to not let unauthorised people play! Iain.

              I am one of "those foreigners coming over here and stealing our jobs". Yay me!

              J Offline
              J Offline
              JudyL_MD
              wrote on last edited by
              #29

              Iain Clarke, Warrior Programmer wrote:

              Now, which Clancy novel was it, where every time a document was shown to someone, it had a deliberate error, so they'd know who the leak was...?

              Patriot Games. The scheme was called the Canary Trap Judy

              Be wary of strong drink. It can make you shoot at tax collectors - and miss. Lazarus Long, "Time Enough For Love" by Robert A. Heinlein

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              • E Emilio Garavaglia

                "But I am trying to increase the difficulty to take unauthorized copies so that its frequency will get decreased" Yes but ... doing it illegally (or with illegal methods) is unauthorized as well. Who are you to disable my system's features if I didn't authorize you to do so?

                2 bugs found. > recompile ... 65534 bugs found. :doh:

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                N Offline
                Nishad S
                wrote on last edited by
                #30

                Emilio Garavaglia wrote:

                Who are you to disable my system's features if I didn't authorize you to do so?

                I am not disabling any system feature than making my application react differently... for example, when pressing Print Screen key, my application will be painted as black. That's all! :) And if I give the user full permission to take copies as he/she desires, then I have to raise the price of the product that much higher in order to meet development expenses and all. That cannot be bearable for the user. And I am not creating an open source application. So I have to deliver the product with a minimum price tag, and with enough profit. If the user makes copies and spread it easily, then my product will end in loss of money. Especially if the product is for a specific kind of people (say, technical students).

                - ns ami -

                E 1 Reply Last reply
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                • N Nishad S

                  Emilio Garavaglia wrote:

                  Who are you to disable my system's features if I didn't authorize you to do so?

                  I am not disabling any system feature than making my application react differently... for example, when pressing Print Screen key, my application will be painted as black. That's all! :) And if I give the user full permission to take copies as he/she desires, then I have to raise the price of the product that much higher in order to meet development expenses and all. That cannot be bearable for the user. And I am not creating an open source application. So I have to deliver the product with a minimum price tag, and with enough profit. If the user makes copies and spread it easily, then my product will end in loss of money. Especially if the product is for a specific kind of people (say, technical students).

                  - ns ami -

                  E Offline
                  E Offline
                  Emilio Garavaglia
                  wrote on last edited by
                  #31

                  "I am not disabling any system feature than making my application react differently" Don't play with words: the print-screen is not a functionality that belongs to your application. Things don't become "legal" if you call them differently. "And if I give the user full permission to take copies as he/she desires..." Respect to what the European law says, the user HAS THE FULL LEGAL RIGHT to make all the copies he wants for his own personal use. Trying to avoid this is illegal. At least in the EEC. If you want to limit the use of your application make your application binded to something that cannot be easily changed (HW dongle, registration keys, etc. etc.) but limiting the user rights about his own use of his own tools is an abuse. Your rights about how your software is use ends where the right about how the user use his system begins.

                  2 bugs found. > recompile ... 65534 bugs found. :doh:

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                  • I Iain Clarke Warrior Programmer

                    Nishad S wrote:

                    But if the application is a viewer for a confidential document?

                    That was my guess, really. My suggestion about the UI was very tongue in cheek. But the points given to you are very good ones. a) It's not your computer - but that might not be true, if the environment is provided for this purpose. Think train ticket purchasing kiosks. b) If a person can see it, they can use a camera, pen and paper, or even just their own brain cells to remember. If you can trust a user not take a photo, you can trust them not to use Print Screen. If the computer is under your control (Let's say you work for the CIA in IT), then it doesn't matter if they print screen - they have no usable USB slots to export the data! This strikes me as a daft requirement by someone who has not given it a lot of thought. Now, which Clancy novel was it, where every time a document was shown to someone, it had a deliberate error, so they'd know who the leak was...? I think the only way you can stop people is to make it a firable offence to steal, and to not let unauthorised people play! Iain.

                    I am one of "those foreigners coming over here and stealing our jobs". Yay me!

                    N Offline
                    N Offline
                    Niklas L
                    wrote on last edited by
                    #32

                    The easiest thing to do is to add a small bright banner at the top of the viewer application stating that the document has been watermarked to identify leaks, w/o actually doing anything to the document. That could be intimidating enough.

                    home

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                    • M Moak

                      Emilio Garavaglia wrote:

                      why is your "vendor" giving "confidential document" to people he doesn't trust? Why should the "customer" trust you "vendor"'s products?

                      Why was original poster looking for a possible technical solution? Because opportunity makes the thief and by limiting the quick-n-easy access you already prevent the majority of people from doing something stupid. It's why we have crappy locks on our doors, it does not keep out trained intruders/thiefs/ninjas, but still better than having them unlocked, just a little lock does a great job. Unfortunately, there is no simple technical solution to prevent data theft or screen capturing. /M

                      Chat in Europe :java: Now with 24% more Twitter

                      E Offline
                      E Offline
                      Emilio Garavaglia
                      wrote on last edited by
                      #33

                      Nobody is going to prohibit to put YOUR lock on YOUR door. But if you want to put YOUR locks on MY door ... at least you should agree.

                      2 bugs found. > recompile ... 65534 bugs found. :doh:

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