If Your Graphics Don't Display? Firewall problems

[Mich 0]

Just discovered something. I was having issues with my graphics not displaying for some people when they visited my site. After much consternation, I decided to investigate my cPanel settings. I had activated my "Hot Link Protection" but hadn't checked the box to "Allow direct requests". For some reason this affects the display in some cases. I don't know why, but since I have checked that box, the problem seems to have been solved.

 

 

Hope this helps others.

 

Notice from BuffaloHELP:

Moving to Hosted Members Area.

Edited January 14, 2006 by BuffaloHELP (see edit history)

[BuffaloHelp 24]

There's a demo cPanel page that shows how to correctly set your hotlink protection http://forums.xisto.com/topic/26954-cpanel-demo-page-for-new-applicants-and-guests/

 

Other searches in the forum with the keyword "hotlink" before you make a new topic. If you simply want to display your graphics without any blocking (accidental stealing) then turn the hotlink protection OFF. You do not need to go through all those settings. If you want to protect your graphics, ENABLE the hotlink protection and set your access correctly. Your current setting does not protect you from others linking to your graphics that are stored in your website. This ultimately uses up your bandwidth. It all depends on whether you are concerned with your bandwidth usage or copyright of your graphics.

 

By your current settings, it's redundant that you have it enabled and allows all web traffic to link and view your graphics. Again, if you want to allow all then simply turn off the hotlink protection. Allow Direct Request means that if I were to enter the full URL into my address bar

http://forums.xisto.com/no_longer_exists/

I can still see the image, even with hotlink protection enabled.

[Mich 0]

If you want to protect your graphics, ENABLE the hotlink protection and set your access correctly.

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OK, so you say that I have defeated the purpose of activating my hot link protection by checking that box. Do I understand you? I should go back then and remove the check, right?

 

I had visited the instructions and I do have my access set correctly, I just blanked it out on the screen shot.

 

The instructions do not address a problem about which I have been having a lengthy exchange with tyssen and jlhaslip at this forum

http://forums.xisto.com/topic/32203-xhtml-software-to-use-quotes-or-not/=

 

Starting at #8 thru to #14.

 

Please explain, if you can, why tyssen cannot see my graphics when I have my hot link protection activated. When I checked the box, tyssen said he can see my graphics.

[BuffaloHelp 24]

Well, according to your post #1 in this thread, you only allowed three URLs to view your graphics. Yet, your access list was incomplete. Therefore Tyssen couldn't see it until you allowed direct access. And since your IMG SRC="http://forums.xisto.com/no_longer_exists/; Tyssen was, then, able to see your graphics. Actually not just Tyssen but all of us.

I've just accessed your site and I can see your entire graphics just fine. This tells me that you've set your hotlink protection correctly. The reason you enter your domain name is that when graphics are viewed (requested) from your own site (like showing your page when people enter your site) you want your graphics to show. But when, for example, I use your IMG SRC link to my own site, graphics should not show up. In fact I have made a test page for you. You can disable the hotlink protection and see what happens with this page http://forums.xisto.com/no_longer_exists/

[Avalon 1]

Mich, I wrote a tutorial about hotlinking here. http://forums.xisto.com/topic/27222-how-to-stop-image-hot-linking-for-a-selected-directory/ In particular it covered how hotlink protect particular directories rather than your entire site. This is useful if you want to allow hotlinking to certain images such as banners but not all images on the site.

[Mich 0]

Well, according to your post #1 in this thread, you only allowed three URLs to view your graphics. Yet, your access list was incomplete. Therefore Tyssen couldn't see it until you allowed direct access. And since your IMG SRC="http://forums.xisto.com/no_longer_exists/; Tyssen was, then, able to see your graphics. Actually not just Tyssen but all of us.

 

In fact I have made a test page for you. You can disable the hotlink protection and see what happens with this page http://forums.xisto.com/no_longer_exists/

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I am not making myself understood to you. I said in my last post that I had BLOCKED OUT the portion of the image that showed the http:// s. My access list has never been incomplete and has always been correct. From day 1 it has looked like this:

 

 

If it hadn't, I couldn't have seen my own graphics with the protection activated. I fully understand the function of the "HotLink Protection" and how to configure it. As far as I know, everybody but tyssen has been able to see my graphics on my site all along. The problem with tyssen not being able to see my graphics when he went to my site had nothing to do with an incorrect configuration in the Access Box.

 

On a wild guess, I went in and checked the "Allow direct requests" box to see if that would help, and this corrected it for him. I don't know why, any more than I and jlhaslip can understand why it was different for him. I just understand that it corrected the problem.

 

And, checking this box does not negate the HotLink Protection. People still cannot hotlink from any site other than those listed in my access box when I check the direct request box. I have run a test of my own by taking my http://forums.xisto.com/no_longer_exists/ out of the access box so I cannot link to it from that site. I ran up an htm there with a link to an image on my webset dot com; and No Image. Came back and put a check in the direct request box and the image still won't come up. So checking the box doesn't defeat the purpose of hotlink protection. Give it a try. I have left the changes in for now. And you will find that the hotlink is still in effect at your sample even with the direct request box checked.

 

http://forums.xisto.com/no_longer_exists/

 

Yes, maybe people can put the url of the image in the address box and pull up the image directly, but that is ok. I am giving the graphics away for free. I just want people like tyssen, whatever their problem is, to be able to view my graphics when the go to my site.

 

And this is what I was trying to express and diagram in my #1 post in this forum. Some people cannot see your graphics when they are at your site unless that "direct request" box is checked if you are using "HotLink Protection". I don't know why. That is just the way it is.

[Mich 0]

Mich, I wrote a tutorial about hotlinking here. http://forums.xisto.com/topic/27222-how-to-stop-image-hot-linking-for-a-selected-directory/ In particular it covered how hotlink protect particular directories rather than your entire site. This is useful if you want to allow hotlinking to certain images such as banners but not all images on the site.

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Great Avalon. I will print this out for reference. Have to do it tomorrow morning tho, since the printer wakes my husband up when I use it while he is sleeping. He was a machinest running CNC and the printer printing meant trouble. So, he is sensitive to the noise.

THANKS!

[Mich 0]

I have amended the screenshot in Post #1 to better illustrate what I mean.