Lesson #21 Guarding Your Member Area
Written By Titmowse

Naturally the object of the paysite is to provide content that only money can buy. The paysite webmaster has to lock their member product away so browsers won’t access it. There’s no honor system on a paysite.

A trip through the newsgroups or a search on some of these file sharing networks results in showing just how prevalent content theft has become.

Hollywood may bitch and record companies may moan but the adult industry suffers content theft as much if not more than they do. Websites and message boards exist that are dedicated to the trading of paysite passwords and user names. Freeloaders have learned they can steal access which is better and faster than stealing content. Whatever they steal, people will steal and your job is to try to keep the theft down to the lowest possible minimum.

The easiest way to protect your member’s area content is to use an IPSP. IPSPs are Internet Payment Service Providers or third party billing processors. They set up shopping carts and take payments via debit cards, credit cards, and check withdrawals. They do this for a percentage of your sales and one of their services is providing member’s area security. They’ll show you how it’s done and even provide templates and console codes and live support. They can’t do every task it takes to keep looters away from your database of blondes getting spanked with feathers. What they can do is make sure the places and pages you designate hands-off to non-payers stay that way.

The next not-so-easy part is to try to think like a surfer who is smart and wants to liberate free goodies from your member’s area. Just as any application in a software program has two or three ways to execute it, there are always three or four or more ways to get into the sanctuary of your member’s area. Not only do you have to have locks on all the holes you’ll find; you have to keep changing the locks. Content thieves and password crackers are a persistent lot. They’re good at hacking security files and finding holes in your web. You might not ever prevent all of them from getting in but you can do so much with software, codes and common sense. As long as you resign yourself to the fact that people steal and in this business the thieves are very clever, you’ll have the right frame of mind to police for content burglars.

The next step is to learn the codes and find the software that will aid you in keeping password traders and movie pirates out of your business. You might even consider hiring a programmer who specializes in site security or can at least monitor the activity on your servers for unauthorized access or excessive downloading. If not, there are wonderful programs that do a lot of monitoring through automation and also update security features on a regular basis. There are basic, simple securities you can employ on your own like creating .htaccess access files that can be configured for password authentication and image protection.

Look for the Software heading in our Cozy Academy Library to browse hundreds of website security links and programmers who can setup website protection for your paysite.

It would be nice if we lived in a world where people only got what they paid for but we never have. There will always be those who either through greed or malice want what we have and will take it without hesitation. You have a product to sell and you’re in business. One measly combination lock on your front door isn’t enough to protect your stock and property. You’ve got to bar the windows, deadbolt the back door and sometimes even hire a guard dog or rent cops. The tighter you keep your precious member’s area, the more they’ll want in.