Stolen Ad Code

Can't Find Adsense Help Line

[ElvisFan]

Just spent the whole day re-naming and re-vamping stolen and hot-linked images on my sites... to my utter horror someone even included my adsense ad code on a forum...

Been into my adsense account and I just can't seem to find where I can contact adsense to let them know of my dilemma... must be too stressed out to see...

Thanks for any help...

[jetteroheller]

I have for this a far better method:

.htaccess redirect on referer

RewriteCond %{HTTP_REFERER} ^http://(.+\.)?blogspot\.com/ [NC,OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_REFERER} ^http://(.+\.)?myspace\.com/ [NC,OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_REFERER} ^http://(.+\.)?skypecommunity\.de [NC,OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_REFERER} ^http://(.+\.)?youtube\.com/ [NC,OR]
RewriteRule .*\.(jpe?g¦gif¦bmp¦png)$ [cgi.example.com...] [L]

Important, the stop-hotlink.png has to be on an other domain,
otherwise it would be an endless loop.

Put simple all pages hotlinking Your pictures in this.

[incrediBILL]

You can block the stolen AdSense code by defining your "Allowed Sites" in the AdSense control panel.

[ElvisFan]

I do have a java scriped which stops right click copy and paste... and my host also has some sort of code to block my images but that just doesn't stop those who scrape my pages... now I just found another of my images hot-linked on eBay...

Please, I just want to contact the powers that be at adsense to let them know that my ad code has been copied... thanks

[ElvisFan]

incrediBILL ... done that months ago... still a never-ending saga of checking every month to find thousands of my images hot-linked... alas, the trails of having great images that everyone wants to steal...

[jetteroheller]

now I just found another of my images hot-linked on eBay...

hot linked photos on eBay make much fun.

A nice redirect on referrer.....

For example somebody wanted to sell a notebook from 2001,
hot linked to a notebook from 2003.

I redirected to a picture from a notebook from 1994 :)

My greatest fun was to replace the photo of a luxury villa hot linked from a real estate site by the most ugly doghouse ever seen by me.

[incrediBILL]

I redirect many hotlinks to content that would more than likely make their account in violation of the site policies (such as ebay or adsense) and might get their account yanked, but then again, I'm not nice to people that take advantage of my server.

[edited by: incrediBILL at 12:02 pm (utc) on June 14, 2009]

[incrediBILL]

I do have a java scriped which stops right click copy and paste

Not worth the time to do it as anyone can click "view page source" and get direct access to everything they need.

[ElvisFan]

I used to hot-link back with other (terrible) images but then I thought this too is costing me bandwidth...

Please guys... who do I contact at adsense I need to sort out the stolen adsense codes... that is my real worry... thanks...

Glad to hear I'm not the only one with this problem...

[g1smd]

*** Important, the stop-hotlink.png has to be on an other domain, ***

or you could add a negative match RewriteCond for the replacement image's filename.

[netmeg]

ElvisFan - there is no real contact information for AdSense. You can try to use the form in the help files, but like as not you won't get a reply.

What are they going to tell you, anyway? To block your code from showing up anywhere other than the sites you specify, and to secure your images as best you can.

To be perfectly honest, it's not really their concern. It's yours.

[farmboy]

Just spent the whole day re-naming and re-vamping stolen and hot-linked images on my sites...

If someone has stolen your image and placed it on their site, that's a copyright issue and the way to contact AdSense is to follow their DMCA procedures. That can get the other party's AdSense account shut down.

Of course that's assuming the other party has put the image on a page with AdSense. If not, then it's not an AdSense issue.

now I just found another of my images hot-linked on eBay...

Create an image that reads "This eBay seller is a thief and isn't trustworthy" or "This seller is a thief, don't buy from this seller" then replace the hot-linked image with this new image.

Fun and effective.

FarmBoy

[ElvisFan]

farmboy... the main issue here is: the offender has included [MY ADSENSE AD CODE] together with my images and text... the images I can remove but not the text or my adsense ad code... which is my main worry...

I don't want my account to come under scrutiny with the powers that be at the plex....

[tim222]

Please guys... who do I contact at adsense I need to sort out the stolen adsense codes... that is my real worry... thanks...

"How can I contact AdSense support?"
[google.com...]

Scroll down and look for a sentence which reads, "If you've reviewed our resources and still wish to contact us, you can do so here"

[ThirdWheel]

ElvisFan, if you've already used the Allowed Sites feature, then by default you have already notified G that an unauthorized site is running your code. Your account shouldn't come under scrutiny for the behaviour of any sites carrying your code outside of those you have permitted. This feature also ensures that G is building a comprehensive list of sites that scrape AS code. What they do with that info is up to them, but I doubt you could tell them anything they don't already know.

Dick

[ElvisFan]

tim222 ... thanks for reading this post... I have since contacted adsense and hopefully now that they are aware of the problem my account will be safe.. kisses...

[ElvisFan]

ThirdWheel ... thanks for the heads-up... I needed to hear that... been quite a day...

You would think that the guy selling Elvis' Cadillac on eBay could have asked for the use of the image? For a link back I would have gladly allowed it.

[ThirdWheel]

No worries, ElvisFan, this is why we were given the Allowed Sites feature (in addition to reducing the number of emails to G). Your time is probably better spent chasing the hotlinkers with vigour (and wit, as FarmBoy suggests).

Good luck.

Dick

[netmeg]

I have a whole set of graphics in various sizes for quick substitution when I see this happening. I always include a special message for the hot-linker in which the word 'douche' predominates.

[g1smd]

Remember that the hotlinker will not see the replacement image.

It is the new visitors that will see it.

The hotlinker already has the old image cached in their browser.

[netmeg]

They usually see it eventually (or someone tells them - I don't care which) because they usually remove the link or image.

[RonS]

I had thought about putting up nasty images for hotlinkers, but then I thought "Why would I want to really tick off someone on the web who has already proven himself/herself to be unconcerned with doing bad things?"

I put up a "stolen from mysite.com" graphic on some hot-linked images (most notably *.myspace.* of course). In the end I figured that it was a fairly common practice and wouldn't tick people off enough to cause them to do something like start some sort of a DDoS attack or some such.

[ElvisFan]

Thanks for all your concern... I am still re-naming tons of images... I have a mind to delete all from my host... for a couple of days... but then again I would just have re-do my site... and that would take days...

RonS ... I know what you mean... bloggers just don't care what they steal... I run a thin line with bandwidth with my host... and I just don't feel like paying any more penalities... however, my main concern was my [adsense ad code] that was included when a whole page off my site was scrape... and posted on a forum... hopefully adsense realises my dilemma?

[edited by: ElvisFan at 4:49 pm (utc) on June 14, 2009]

[Pepito]

For hotlinkers I replace the image with a black one with just my URL. It creates free publicity to my site :-)

[ElvisFan]

I shot off a message to the eBay seller who hot-linked to my image (which I since removed and only a red X appears) ... here was his response

<paraphrase>rudely replied that they didn't steal it</paraphrase>

I am in two minds to reload the image with "This image was stolen from www.mysite.com/ blazon across the front... (as he can't revise the auction details after a bid has been placed)

Make for a great promotion tool to my site? Like to hear what you guys would do under this circumstance?

[edited by: jatar_k at 2:14 pm (utc) on June 15, 2009]
[edit reason] no email quotes [/edit]

[jatar_k]

>> Make for a great promotion tool to my site?

absolutely

[icedowl]

Do it.

[purplecape]

I'm still not clear from reading this thread if you've used the Allowed Sites feature? If you have the fact that your Adsense code is on a forum won't matter, and you won't have to contact AdSense about it.

I love the Allowed Sites feature. I only allow my URL. Some people also allow the URLs for Google caches and such.