Reasons Why You Need to Password Protect Your Downloads
Posted by janelleNov 22
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Just the word “freebie” itself is enticing because it connotes something that is being given away for free. And this freebie exist both in the online and offline world. Since it’s free, it’s often abused – especially online. And in the online world, this freebie is also known as ‘downloads‘. In this post, you will find out the reasons why some people password protect their freebies.
No. 1: Awareness of the Terms of Use
Freebies are called as such because they are free. But even though they are being offered for free, there will always be terms that have to be adhered. And most often than that, the terms the creator made are being taken for granted. So to make those people read the terms, some webmasters tend to embed the password in the terms of use section. With this – at least some parts – the terms of use can also be read.
No. 2: To Avoid Leeches
In relation to number 1, there are people who take the creator/owner/uploader’s effort for granted. And to – somehow – prevent that from happening, files are being password protected. With this, the users will be aware of the effort exerted by the creator/owner/uploader.
Note: Of course, because they need to look for the password. >_>
No. 3: To Prevent Hot Links
Because some people tend to have it the easy way – they hot link. This is one of the common mischievous acts online. With this, the effort exerted by the creator/owner/uploader will be put to waste. Other than that, their resources are exploited especially when they host their freebies (downloads) on their server.
If you are providing downloads, it’s better to password protect them. The three reasons mentioned above are just some of the million reasons why you have to do it.
This is a good blog entry. I’ve never thought of password-protecting the goodies I have for my visitors before so this entry made me think about the pros and cons of doing that. Oh well. Thanks for the heads up, Janelle
Thank you. You are right on those reasons. Similarly to Gel, I didn’t think of it before but I am gonna put your words into practice.
Yep, you’re right. These are three good reasons for using password-protected downloads. It’s a good tip with the password hidden in the terms of use – as you said most ppl don’t want to read anything that is longer than let’s say two lines.
Sadly many people will only get annoyed at another disrtraction that a password creates, and instead of appreciating the effort you put in preparing your download they will get irritated. I get this kind of annoying comments all the time. I just hope more people will be kind enough to say thanks for my work.