How to offer a downloadable product

[palmpal]

Hello,
Can someone point me to the correct forum to find out info about offering a downloadable product? I need information about what type of coding is needed and the basic steps to get something set up.

Thanks!

[fivaxis]

Securenetshop shopping cart supports downloadable products.

[palmpal]

Hello,

Don't ask me why but I never thought to look at the actual HTML coding of a site that offers this! I didn't realize that it was a simple <a href> code connected to a zip file! I'll take a look at the cart you mentioned because I'm not sure if Mal's has this capability or not. Thanks!

[Bruce Townsend]

Beware of using a fixed vanilla <href> link - it's an invitation to fraud. It only has to be posted on some hacker site somewhere, or emailed around, and the whole world can download your goods without paying.

You really need a system that uses obfuscated links that change for each order, and can be set to expire after a set period. I only know of one off-the-shelf solution that offers this kind of security - though I would be interested to know if there is another.

[edited by: tedster at 4:56 am (utc) on Jan. 8, 2004]

[hotwheel]

My company also offers time controlled, "below root" file linking for downloadable goods via our ecommerce software. So there is more than one :)

[edited by: tedster at 4:58 am (utc) on Jan. 8, 2004]

[snag]

There's a company called ealaddin that bought the internet startup I used to work for. They can package any digital content for secure distribution and unlocking, and can also add a try and buy splash screen to just about any program. Basically the user downloads an encrypted file and gets an unlock key from the server... much better than having a password protected link or something...

[shrirch]

OSCommerce has a decent download manager if you're looking at paid downloads.

Also, you can look at putting a random password into a zip file using a perl script or renaming a file and copying it to a download directory if you're looking for some easy solutions.

[Ernie]

Heres an easy to use HTML encyrptor that can hide you download link. Pretty simplistic but might work.

[jimworld.com...]

[Jenstar]

Both Clickbank and 2Checkout offer secure ways to redirect customers to a downloadable product after payment.

[palmpal]

Thanks for all the suggestions. Has anyone had any luck with PayloadZ? I was wondering if it would work with Mal's?

[mquarles]

Jenstar,

Clickbank does not offer any security for the download file--you have to handle all that yourself. If you don't make it secure, it is not secure.

MQ