eBook
Security Alternatives
A
recent guest read my review of eBook Pro and wrote to ask
about alternatives.
Here is my response almost word for word.
Opening
comments to the guest who wrote the inquery.
First,
thank you for your vote of confidence in my opinion by seeking
my advice. I value that.
It’s
been quite a long time since I wrote that article on eBook
Pro, so forgive me if I cover some of the same concepts. I’ll
give you . . .
- My
general answer
- The
alternatives you asked about.
GENERAL
COMMENTS ON EBOOK SECURITY
In
general I don’t recommend using any of the eBook security
programs that give the ability to disable the ebook. The reason
is simple. By definition every one of them requires the eBook
owner to be connected to the Internet to read it. Most of
them use IP logging, online password checking, computer identity
detection, or some combination of all three. This means that
the ebook is both tied to an Internet check of the Password
and the IP address in order to open.
If
the user wishes to transfer his or her ebook to, say, a laptop
to take on a plane, or a flash drive to take to work, he or
she is locked out due to the IP change. Or if on a plane or
his connection is down, the ebook cannot be opened.
Second,
many people mistrust .exe files. However a pdf file will be
opened without a second thought. It adds trust.
Guru
Michael Green has had quite a bit to say on subject of eBook
protection and he often repeats the view that you do yourself
more harm by inconveniencing your customers than is done to
you by theft. It turns out that the amount of theft claimed
by most of the ad copy for these products is vastly overestimated.
For a paid premium product there is really very little public
sharing going on. Yes you will have owners sharing it with
a few friends or relatives, but it is highly unlikely those
people would make duplicate purchases anyway. For the general
person surfing the Net it will be very hard to find your eBook
online, unless it’s extremely popular.
Green’s
recommendation (and most other’s as well) is to use
a standard PDF format and accept that there will be some theft,
but that is only a drop in the bucket compared to sales.
Want
to test that? Pick a guru’s eBook product and go out
to a Peer to Peer site and try to find it. It is very unlikely
you will find it – and those are the big name gurus.
Ok,
now the alternatives.
STANDALONE
SOFTWARE
eBook
Pro
Besides the comments I already made on Pickaguru, I’ve
since learned some additional issues. eBook Pro only comes
with 1000 registration codes. After that you have to purchase
more. You are only able to compose your ebook on the eBook
Pro interface. You cannot import it. Difficult to distribute
unless you own Mailloop or run your own database.
eBook
Gold
A better alternative than eBook Pro. Easier to use and more
flexible with regard to eBook composition and distribution.
If I were to buy one or the other it would be this one over
eBook Pro. However, be aware of some fine print. If you use
the Advanced Authentication mode of protection you only get
1000 registrations. After that you must purchase more at $70
per lot of 1000. However, the Password method is unlimited.
The fact that Marlon Sanders endorses it is significant. He
is very well respected for his truthfulness and ethics. I
am a little concerned whether or not is in compatible with
Windows Vista. I wrote to the help desk with this question.
I’m awaiting an answer. I wouldn’t buy it until
I know it is compatible.
Hyprlock
(www.hyprlock.com/)
This one is lower cost than either eBook Pro or eBook Gold.
It looks very impressive for the cost. One claim on the page
confused me. It claims unlimited eBooks but in the list of
benefits it says “1000 unique access codes.” I
wrote to ask for details about ths. The response in the box
below is the answer. It has been verified as compatible with
Vista. It is usable with any exe or pdf format. One particularly
nice feature is the ability to distribute demo copies that
allow the customer to see part of the eBook and purchase only
if they want more. That is a very powerful feature. Based
on the lower price and the array of features I would tend
to like this one better than either eBook Pro or eBook Gold.
But I’m still holding out for an explanation of the
100 codes statement.
Answer from Hyprlock explaining
about the 1000 access codes
-----quote-----
HYPrLock works as a third party
"helper" program for the Activ E-Book Compiler.
Activ E-Book itself is restricted to the 1000 password
limitation.
Here is how it works...
When an
Activ E-Book is installed on any computer the program
accesses the computer Hardware and Software and uses
this information to generate a "pointer" number
between 1 and 1000. This "pointer" number
is tied to a generated list of 1000 passwords. for example
"pointer" number 734 might equal password
"K5t&8Fg"
eBook security for 10,000 computers using this system
means that many computers are going to require the same
password. This becomes an acceptable situation when
you realize that you are trying to prevent the sharing
of passwords and if one customer required password "pointer"
734, the odds are extremely remote that any friend he
tried to share his program with would have the same
"pointer" and require the same password.
Therefore you can see that a 1000 password limitation
is quite adequate for an eBook protection system. If
you were ever concerned that someone was trying to post
a number of passwords on the Internet you could easily
recompile your eBook with a new set of passwords, but
I've never heard of anyone ever having to do this.
I hope this information helps..
----- end quote----- |
PAY
AS YOU GO MONTHLY SYSTEMS
Clicklocker
(clicklocker.com)
Pay as you go with a monthly fee of $24/mo. Viable if you
have significant sales numbers. However, you do have to go
to your control panel and check frequently to see if you have
abusers you should deactivate. Otherwise it is an excellent
option. For one price you have unlimited numbers of books.
It is compatible with any ebook authoring program and any
distribution system. The licensing is handled automatically
by the clicklocker system.
Virtual
Vault (ebook-security.com)
$29.95/month. Also a monthly fee-based program. Also sports
unlimited use. A little better than Clicklocker in that control
is automatic. No need to log in to your control panel to check
it. Those with illegal copies are automatically locked out.
Also works with any authoring software. The only real downsides
are, like Clicklocker, that they only work on PCs and both
have monthly fees.
File
Secure Pro (file-secure.com)
The most expensive of the monthly payment options ($7.95 initially
plus $69.95/month). Very spendy but the most advanced of the
high-end systems.
Personal
closing comments to the author of the email.
Included here because it is a good statement of my general
viewpoint toward all my guests.
I
hope I’ve shed some light on the alternatives. These
are all I’m aware of off hand.
However,
please keep in touch. If you do decide one one of them I’d
be very interested in the comments you have about them after
purchasing them Those comments would be helpful for future
reviews at Pickaguru.
Please
write anytime. I really mean that. I love to keep touch with
readers. I’m here to do my best to help everyone who
wants it regardless of any sales or financial consideration
for it.
Roger
Zimmerman
Internet
Marketing Gurus Reviewed
http://www.pickaguru.com
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