Before
using this software, you need to create an SQL database on your web
host.
If you don't know
how to do this, you should be able to ask your web hosting company to create
one for you. They should send you the database name, user name and password
values for the database, which you should enter into the software (see
below).
If you would prefer
to create the database yourself, you can view detailed step-by-step
instructions on how to create an SQL database. You will need to be connected
to the Internet to view the instructions. They are in the form of a PDF
file, so you will need Adobe Acrobat installed on your PC in order to read
them (click
here
to download Adobe Acrobat if you don't already have it installed). To
read the instructions, click
here.
Once you have created your SQL database, click the button above then enter
your details into the boxes as follows:
Maximum
Adsense clicks
You can select any number from 1 upwards. For each visitor to your site,
this is the maximum number of Adsense ads that he or she can click on. Once
a visitor has clicked on this number of ads, your Adsense ads are
automatically hidden from that visitor. Note that although this solution
works with the latest versions of Internet Explorer and Firefox browsers, it
is not guaranteed to work with all browsers, so you should also use the
secondary protection mechanism too.
Maximum
Page Views
This feature provides a secondary protection mechanism and it is strongly
recommended that you use it. You can select any number from 1 upwards, but a
typical value is 3 to 5. For each visitor to your site, this is the maximum
number of page views on which Adsense ads will be shown. If a visitor
views more than this number of pages, your Adsense ads are automatically
hidden from that visitor. If you do not want to use this feature, simply set
the number to a very large value (such as 1000).
Hide
Adsense Ads For
You can have the ads hidden for an hour, 3 hours, 12 hours, a day, 3 days, 7
days, 15 days, 30 days or forever. The default is 3 days, which is generally
more than adequate. This means that if a visitor returns to the site any
time within 3 days of the ads being hidden, the ads will still be hidden. If
they return to the site after 3 days, the ad click and page view counters
will be reset - and Adsense ads will be visible again.
Note that the SQL
database keeps a record for each visitor. These records are re-used when
they expire (i.e. when the Hide
Adsense ads for period has elapsed). The records are small -
only 12 bytes each - but the longer the
Hide Adsense Ads For period,
the larger your database will be. It is not recommended that you use the
Forever setting as the
records will never get reused and the database will get bigger and bigger
over time.
Hide Any
Google Search Forms
If this checkbox is checked, any Google Adsense Search forms on your web
pages will be hidden as well as your Adsense ad blocks. This gives extra
protection, since the search results also contain your Adsense code. (If
your pages do not contain Google Adsense Search forms, this checkbox has no
effect). Please also see the
Protection Issues section below for more details on search form
protection issues.
SQL Database Name
SQL User
Name
SQL Password
SQL Host
SQL Table
Name
These are the details of your SQL database. The host entry is usually left
as "localhost" and the table name is usually left as "adsensect".
Script Path
This box is usually left blank. See the
Single Script Installation
section below for details of the use of this box.
Replacement
Ads
The software allows you to replace up to 8 Adsense ad blocks. To enter a
replacement ad, select the number using the drop-down box, then type or
paste the replacement ad into the large text box. To paste, right click
inside the large text box and select "Paste" from the menu.
The ads are
replaced in the order in which they are encountered in the HTML of the web
page. If you have enabled Hide any
Google search forms, any search forms are replaced after all the
ad blocks. For example, if you had two ad blocks and a search form, ads 1
and 2 would replace the Adsense ad blocks and ad 3 would replace the search
form.
If you leave any of
the replacement ads blank, the Adsense ads will be hidden with no
replacement ad inserted in their place.
Load
Default Ads
This button loads the Replacement Ads
with a standard set of three Amazon ad blocks. It provides a quick and easy
way to set up replacement ads, but is only really useful if your web pages
have a large Adsense ad block at the top (300x250 or 250x250 pixels), a
banner in the middle (468x60 pixels) and small ads at the side (180x150
pixels or similar). This is a common layout, but there are of course many
different page layouts in use on the Internet. The replacement Amazon ad
blocks are 300x250, 468x60 and 180x150 pixels respectively. When you click
the Load Default Ads
button, a small dialog will appear, allowing you to enter your Amazon
affiliate ID and select the colors for the ads so that they match your web
pages. Note that the Load Default Ads
button is purely provided for convenience. You can instead enter your own
Amazon ads - or any other replacements ads you want into the software.
Create
Script Button
When you have filled in the boxes, click the
Create Script button then
select where to save the new script file on your PC. The script file is
usually named "adsenselock.php" but you can choose a different name if you
wish. The software will also create a file called ".htaccess" in the same
folder on your PC.
You should upload
both these files to your web host. They should be uploaded into the same
folder as any web pages that are to be protected. If you have more than one
folder containing such web pages, upload the two files to each of the
folders. If you would prefer to have a single installation of the script to
protect all your folders, see the
Single Script Installation section below.
You may use the
scripts created by this software on as many websites as you own personally,
but you must not distribute, give away or sell the script or any part of it
for use by anyone else.
Create
Your Database Table
Once you have
uploaded the script to your web host, you need to create your database
table. You only need to do this once, even if you are protecting files in
multiple folders. To do this, activate your web browser and enter the
following, replacing mysite.com
with the web address where you uploaded the script. If you uploaded the
script to more than one folder, you can enter any of the web
addresses.
http://www.mysite.com/adsenselock.php?createdb
Using
The Software On Web Hosts Without The Mod Rewrite Feature
If your web host supports "Mod Rewrite" and uses ".htaccess" files, you do
not need to modify any of your web pages in order for this software to work.
If you are not sure, simply try the software on your website to see if it
works. Alternatively you can ask your web hosting company whether it
supports "Mod Rewrite".
If your web host
does not support Mod Rewrite, you will need to make a small change to
every web page. First of all, every web page will need to be a ".php" file.
If you are using HTML files, you will need to rename them to ".php" files.
For example, "page1.html" would become "page1.php". Any links to the pages
will also need to be changed.
You will also need
to add the following line to the top of every web page...
<? include "adsenselock.php";
?>
Single Script Installation
This section
only applies if your web host does support "Mod Rewrite".
The usual solution
is to upload the script created by this software and the associated htaccess
file into every single folder on your web host which contains web pages to
be protected. It is however possible to upload a single copy of the script
(and a single htaccess file) onto a website so that all subfolders (and
subdomains) of the website are protected.
In order to do
this, you need to enter the full script path into the
Script Path box on the
software. The easiest way to find your full script path is to use the
software to create the script as normal (with the
Script Path box blank) then
upload the script to your web host. Now activate your web browser and enter
the following, replacing mysite.com
with the web address where you uploaded the script to:
http://www.mysite.com/adsenselock.php?getpath
The script path
should be shown in your browser. Copy the path to your Windows
clipboard. Now activate the Create
Adsense Lock Script software again, paste the script path into
the Script Path box on
the software and then click the
Create Script button again. The software will now generate a new
script and new .htaccess file. Upload these two files to your web host.
Create your database table (as described above) and the software should then
protect all files and subfolders on your website.
Protection Issues
The software
substantially increases the security of your Adsense account. However it is
not possible to provide any guarantees with this type of software. The
correct operation of the software relies on Internet browser features and
even though the software incorporates two different mechanisms, it is still
not guaranteed to correctly handle all possible cases. In addition, Google
Adsense code is Javascript, which is inherently insecure and easy to access
and copy. A good analogy for this software is to think of it like fitting a
secure padlock to a door - it substantially increases the security of the
door, but does not guarantee that there will not be a break in.
You should also be
aware that this software only protects your own web pages.
If you have a
Google search form on your web pages, visitors can repeatedly click on
adverts shown on the results pages, even if you use the feature in
this software to hide the form itself. In addition, if you use an Adsense "Link
Unit" (which shows a set of links which open results pages on Google.com),
the same thing applies. If you are concerned about this, you should avoid
using search forms and link units.
Note also that your
Adsense code is visible on all your web pages, simply by viewing the source
code. It is possible for someone to copy your Adsense code onto a page on
his or her own site and then click on the ads repeatedly. This is not a
normal occurrence, but you should be aware of the possibility.
Overall this
software provides the best protection currently available for your Adsense
account, but there are still ways in which your account can be targeted.
Using this software does however provide valuable protection. It also
demonstrates that you are serious about tackling this problem (a fact
that you should discuss with Google in the event of a problem arising with
your account).