Disable copying data from webpage

Question

I was looking for any way to create web page,so that user wont be able to copy content from my web page. i.e. User wont be able to select the any text present on the webpage. Let's assume i am working on asp.net

Any interesting ideas to accomplish the task ?

Answer 1

Ultimately you can't.

If you disable the ability to select text, the context menu or even just the copy option from the context menu users will still be able to see your content.

If they can see it they can copy it:

• Take a screenshot.
• Take a photo.
• Type the text they see into Notepad.
• Dictate the text into a recorder.

It's not worth the development effort and you won't stop the determined copier. All you'll end up doing is annoying your legitimate users.

Add value to your site so people want to keep coming back rather than just taking content and running. This could be:

• Allow user generated content to expand on what's there.
• Update content regularly so it's always fresh.