Hey, hands off my photos!
网络照片防扒术 轻松防扒安心享受 作者：21ST 时间：2008-07-15
来源：21世纪英文报第761期
Learn how to protect your personalphotographs. IMAGINECHINA
tan 晒黑
cyberspace网络世界
propel 推进
sue 控告
embed 嵌入
metadata 元数据
obtrusive 突出的
watermark 水印
legitimate 合法的
deter 阻止，威慑
kit 工具箱，工具包
verification 证明，核实
listing 条目
BONUS
Expressions
How to describe a person who keeps something that doesn't belong to him:
appropriate vt.
挪用，未经许可占有或使用
The politician appropriated taxes to pay for a private yacht.
这名政客挪用税款买了一艘私人游艇。
lift vt.
据为己有，偷
The little boy lifted a candy bar from the local convenience store.
小男孩从附近一个便利店偷了一块糖。
pocket vt.
私吞，盗用，据为已有
The organizer pocketed some of the receipts from the charity concert.
组织者将慈善音乐会的部分收入饱入私囊。
MANY young people have already grown accustomed to sharing their lives with friends online. After a trip to the beach, boys upload photos of their tanned bodies to Facebook; girls post pictures of themselves in a brand new skirt on a BBS.
Sharing is valued in cyberspace, but some people are profiting from it by copying and selling others' pictures or by using those pictures to propel their business.
Liu Xing, a Taobao.com online shop owner, puts a warning on each of her pictures: "If anyone copies my pictures without my permission, I'll track you down and sue you."
She admits, however, that she really has no way of tracking down an online photo thief.
"The fundamental issue is that digital photos are easy to copy and distribute, and they're just as easy to separate from their ownership details," says photographer Tony Sleep, the administrator of CopyrightAction.com.
However, there are several ways to get partial protection for one's online photos. Take a look at them.
How to protect your images from online thieves
IPTC info
Jpeg and Tiff photograph files can contain embedded copyright and contact details in their metadata fields, thanks to the International Press Telecommunications Council (IPTC) standard. When a picture is copied, those embedded details will stick to it.
"But not all photographers are aware of the possibility or can be bothered to provide the details. And not all image-editing software can write IPTC info or read it," says Tony Sleep.
So when choosing image-editing software, consider whether it supports IPTC editing.
Watermarks
Some photographs are marked with a large, obtrusive watermark, such as a word identifying the owner. Tony Sleep says that the practice "renders the image unsuitable for legitimate use while deterring theft".
Creating a watermark doesn't require any professional expertise. For example, Visual Watermarker, a watermarking tool, claims that it can "embed very strong watermarks made up of multiple layers". With its help, you can "edit and create new watermarks, and convert multiple files at once".
Infringers can erase a watermark by using image-editing software. But this takes time, especially if part of the watermark covers complicated colors and layers.
Corporate effort
Canon supplies a data security kit that works with its EOS cameras. This kit embeds image-verification data in every image.
EBay uses a scheme called VeRO to handle the problem. Users can register copyrighted works with the program, and eBay will act to remove listings that infringe on their copyright.
But no site can actively verify every picture its users upload. So the first thing you should remember when uploading a picture is this: You'd better limit access to your photos to trusted friends.
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